Voodoo Loco review: an ideal partner for budget-conscious shredders, but it needs one vital upgrade

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Entry-level mountain bikes, or at least those on the cheaper end of the scale, have traditionally been conservative in their on-trail attitude, with long-in-the-tooth geometry and tyres that roll fast on tarmac but offer little in the way of off-road grip.

But there are bikes that buck this trend, and the Voodoo Loco is one such example.

The Loco's geometry wouldn’t be out of place in an enduro race (if you’re brave enough to enter a hardtail category), while the product managers have clearly put performance front and centre, while sticking to a relatively affordable price point.

The Loco follows the classic UK hardcore hardtail playbook, with a 140mm-travel Marzocchi fork, broad rubber and svelte steel tubes, while the use of mullet (mixed size) wheels gives a nod to where the MTB scene is at in 2026.

The result is a bike costing £1,250 that’s almost as fast down a track as some of the most expensive trail hardtails I’ve ridden. With a couple of tweaks, it’d be right up there with the fastest.

• Read more: Best hardtail mountain bikes in 2026 – top-rated hardtail MTBs and our buyer's guide

Voodoo Loco ride impressions

The Loco’s focus isn’t on its climbing ability, and while its uphill performance isn’t going to set any records, the bike shouldn’t let you down.

The long front half of the bike gives you plenty of room to avoid feeling cramped in the cockpit (despite the short stem), and it's easy to shift your weight forward and back to balance rear-wheel traction and front-wheel directional control.

The seat angle, measured at 75.5 degrees for my saddle height, isn’t the steepest, but with the fork sagging under your weight, it steepens into a suitably well-perched place on sharp pitches.

The Maxxis Dissector rear tyre doesn’t have the tallest of knobs, but this helps the wheel roll fairly fast on solid surfaces, so it doesn’t feel a drag on monotonous fire-road climbs. Should you want to put more effort in, the Marzocchi Z2 fork has a lockout to prevent it bobbing when you get out of the saddle.

The only criticism I had on the hills concerned the drivetrain.

While the 10-51t 12-speed Shimano Deore cassette gives you ample range to spin up, the KMC chain really grinds its way over the sprockets when it’s wet and muddy. It’s smooth and quiet in better weather.

Let it rip

The fun starts at the top when you slam the 170mm dropper; the Loco certainly delivers on the descents. It's fast, fun, confident and capable – within the context of it being a hardtail at the cheaper end of the scale.

The Loco’s geometry is sorted. The long reach (488mm in a size-large), paired with the 63.5-degree head angle, means the front half of the bike is super-long. The bottom bracket is low to the ground, too.

With your weight low between the axles, combined with the long front-centre, the bike carves through long, well-supported corners with confidence, and can plough through straight sections with relative ease.

Further back, the 430mm chainstays are short, with just enough room for the 27.5in rear wheel. The smaller wheel and shorter stays don’t add to the front end’s stability – instead, they counteract it by giving it a snappiness that long barges of bikes can lack.

Steep, tight turns are shrugged off, thanks both to the way the smaller rear wheel dips into turns and the extra backside clearance given by the smaller wheel.

In fact, it’s on the steepest tracks that the Loco shines brightest. Counterintuitively, the lack of rear suspension matters less the steeper it gets, and the fork’s support and the brakes' control help you guide the bike down chutes and into catch berms with confidence.

Taking the hits

There are some compromises, though.

On tight, slippery tracks, the 27.5in wheel is quicker to break traction than its bigger sibling, especially with the Dissector’s cut-down blocks – you need to be on your toes over twisty roots.

While the front end gives you the confidence to blast down chunky singletrack, the rear clanks into square edges, with the smaller wheel not rolling as smoothly as the 29in wheel up front.

However, keep these slip-and-slide moments under control and you’ll find yourself giggling your way down the track.

Voodoo Loco spec details

Fortunately, the 140mm-travel Italian fork is well controlled and easy to set up, so the front Maxxis Minion DHR II tyre can do its best at digging into dirt to offer up braking and cornering control.

To control the bike, the stubby 45mm stem bolts onto a wide 780mm bar.

The grips are thin – great for feel, but not the most forgiving, although they’re a cheap and easy swap if you want to save your hands.

The four-piston Shimano MT420 brakes offer decent stopping power, but a pad and rotor upgrade would unlock more. Fortunately, the long lever blades offer space for an extra finger on there when arm pump kicks in.

At £1,250, Voodoo has done a stellar job with the spec – decent gears, good brakes, a simple but effective fork, grippy rubber and that 170mm dropper post.

I’d recommend upgrading to a set of the best MTB brakes, and I’d also swap the tyres to ones with a thicker carcass. This would offer additional puncture protection, as well as damping the ride characteristics a little, taking the edge off hits and slips.

There are only two sizes on offer. However, the short seat tube, and 453mm or 488mm reach figures mean they should suit a relatively broad range of rider heights.

The frame details all come from the UK hardcore hardtail recipe book – external cable routing, threaded bottom bracket, seatstay-mounted rear brake, thru-axles front and rear, and slim tube profiles.

In addition, it’s great to see a SRAM UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) – they're easy to replace and enable an easy upgrade to a SRAM Transmission groupset if you wish.

At just over £1,200, the brand-name packed spec list is not to be sniffed at. The Marzocchi Z2 is a simple fork, but is smooth, controlled and stiff enough for this application.

Shimano's drivetrain is a solid performer, even if the KMC chain gets grumbly in the wet, while the tread patterns of the Maxxis tyres are popular for a reason.

The deep-drop 170mm dropper post is a highlight, meaning the comfy WTB saddle gets right out of the way on descents.

Voodoo Loco bottom line

The Voodoo Loco is a prime example of the beloved UK hardcore hardtail.

While the lack of rear suspension might slow you down, the rest of the package will take some abuse and help you navigate those steep techy tracks that the UK is so well known for.

The kit bolted to the well-thought-out steel frame is up to the task, but a couple of upgrades will unlock even more performance.

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