After months of merciless back-to-back testing on some of the UK's most ruthless trails, What Mountain Bike magazine today reveal their Trail Bike of the Year.
Twenty full-suspension bikes priced from £1,900 to £2,600, and with 120mm to 150mm of travel, were pitted against each other to find the cream of the crop. They were shared between as many testers as possible, and put through their paces on a wide range of terrain.
From enduro downhill racers to marathon cross-country specialists, novices to pro skills coaches, and from trail centre black runs to ploughing through ice-crusted moorland bogs in the middle of the night – the more that was thrown at them, the better.
Last year's winner, the Canyon Nerve XC 9.0, once again made the list of contenders but how did it fare this year in the face of fierce competition from the likes of the Trek Fuel EX8 and the Giant Reign 2?
The verdict is revealed in issue 134 of the magazine – on sale now – and we'll be profiling a selection of the top bikes, including the overall winner, on BikeRadar over the next couple of weeks. You can check out some of the contenders in action in the teaser video below:
Trail Bike of the Year preview
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The testers reflect on this year's crop of bikes
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The contenders
- Avanti Vapour 29.2
- Cannondale RZ One Twenty 1
- Canyon Nerve XC 9.0
- Commencal Meta AM 3
- Corratec X-Force 0.2
- Cube AMS 29 Race
- Felt Virtue Expert
- Ghost AMR 5900
- Giant Reign 2
- GT Sensor 1
- Kona Tanuki Deluxe
- Lapierre Zesty 314
- Marin Mount Vision XM8
- Norco Sight 2 - 2012 Trail Bike of the Year winner
- Santa Cruz Nickel D
- Scott Spark 35
- Stevens Glide SX
- Titus El Guapo X9
- Trek Fuel EX8
- Trek Rumblefish Elite
