Manitou Mattoc Pro fork

It might be easy to let the Manitou Mattoc Pro fly under the radar with all the hype surrounding some of the front suspension we’ve tested in this issue. Once you get the Mattoc Pro on the trail though, it quickly becomes clear that this is one fork that shouldn’t be overlooked.

One of the standout features is the external Hydraulic Bottom Out adjustment. The ability to control the ramp-up in the last part of the stroke gives the fork a bottomless feel without having to crank up the high-speed compression. Many forks offer ramp up control, but it requires internal adjustments. Being able to adjust this externally made set up a breeze, and it helped strike the perfect balance between a soft and supple initial and mid-stroke with a big-boy-sized ramp-up to keep me in control.

If you do love to tinker internally, fear not, all of the travel adjustments–from 170 millimeters down to 140 millimeters–are handled internally in 10-millimeter increments via travel-reducing chips. This can help get you dialed in on a 26- or 27.5-inch bike, but the Mattoc is not yet available for 29ers.

For a fork that comes in on the lower end of the price spectrum, the Mattoc Pro delivers top-end performance that’s able to rival many of its more pricey competitors

PRICE 850$

Cannondale Trail SL 29 SS

The fat aluminium tubes are a constrast to the skinny items seen elsewhere in the test, but this rigid Cannondale uses them to create one of the most old-school - and lightest - rides here.

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Merida Big Nine 100

Wit the bikes swapped over, we head out on the same loop again, this time on the 29in Big Nine 100. Whereas the Big Seven was snappy off the line, the 29er takes a couple more pedal strokes to get up to speed. That said, once it's up there, it's easy to keep the big wheels rolling, allowing us to cover ground with ease. The fire road is at times a little rough, and the bigger wheels roll over the imperfections so we barely notice them.

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CANYON NERVE AL 8.0

S ince their entry into the UK market a few years ago, Canyon have made a name for themselves as purveyors of well-made bikes that exhibit often extraordinary value. The secret (or catch, depending on your point of view) is that the brand don’t have dealers – they ship bikes directly to your door.

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SKS Airbuster CO2 inflator

The alloy Airbuster has a large knob so you can regulate the flow of gas, a mechanical stop to prevent the cartridge being pierced in transit and a dust cap to keep the valve free of debris. While it works with Presta and Schrader valves, switching between them requires a fiddly change of the valve head. The thin rubber sleeve doesn’t provide much protection from cold spent canisters. You can’t insert much of the valve into the inflator head, so you have to be careful to avoid leaks. Price $33 w/16g cartridge

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KONA SHRED

With a reputation for no-nonsense ruggedness and a background in the always progressive and punishing riding of Canada, Kona have been building hardcore hardtails for longer than almost anyone else. The Shred is the most expensive bike on test but it’s a proper trail tank.

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All Arround MTB

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