The Roost is Starling Cycles’ hardtail mountain bike that’s been designed to offer pure, unadulterated fun and longevity, and it does so in spades. It's a modern trail hardtail that squeezes every inch of fun out of any trail with an exhilarating and rowdy but confident and refined ride feel. This easily makes it one of the best hardtail mountain bikes on the market.

The Troy Lee Designs Descent jacket is handcrafted to keep you dry in the harshest conditions. With its stealthy, low-profile design, it does an effective job of keeping even the harshest of weather at bay but a lack of ventilation limits its versatility and it’s not without fit issues either. Do these issues impact its standing among the best mountain bike jackets? Read on to find out. 

Spotted under a neat wrap job at Eurobike and around some of our local trails, Whyte has pulled the covers on its brand-new E-Lyte lightweight e-mountain bike platform. Introducing three models, they all offer full power with a 400Wh battery and all are compatible with the Bosch PowerMore 250Wh battery. The PowerMore is included with 150 Works and 140 Works bikes and there's an optional extra on the 150 RSX.  Power is 600W peak, 250W nominal. Its lightest weight XC/trail build is set to weigh just 16.4kg. Here's everything we know about Whyte's exciting E-Lyte lineup.

The Yamaha Moro-07 is an e-mountain bike offering that's aimed at the all-mountain genre. There are aspects of this bike that deserve praise; the great build kit and motor at an extremely competitive price. But due to some strange geometry choices, among other aspects, the bike falls flat. Where it’s trying to pave its way in a marketplace that’s crowded with very good e-MTBs, the Moro-07 is an aspirational swing and a disappointing miss, holding it back from a rightful spot as one of the best electric mountain bikes.

For 2023, RockShox gave its Super Deluxe shock a big shake-up adding new dials and internals, which has culminated in an excellent rear damper with a very useful range of adjustment. As a result, it combines coil-like small-bump sensitivity with the progression expected of its air-sprung design. While faults are few, its high-speed compression adjustment requires a tool and, in certain frames, it can be hard to reach but remains one of the best rear shocks for mountain biking money can buy.

Hunt, the brand best known for its wallet friendly but high-performance wheelsets, isn't shy of supporting excellent riders and nurturing young talent. Kicking off its list of fresh signings for 2024, the brand has welcomed the four-cross National Champ, 14-year-old Amelia Martin, to the roster.

Early this year, Mondraker introduced the Chrono DC has a downcountry hardtail that was a bit more aggressive than its cross-country sibling, thanks to more travel and slacker geo. Now the Spanish brand has given the belowed downcountry platform a complete refresh, claiming that it's more versatile than ever before.

The BFe has been a mainstay in Cotic's range since 2005 and it has received high acclaim since its inception. Today, the brand has brought fresh updates to its 650b hardtail but, in a bittersweet move, this is the last little wheeled ripper it will build.

The Fulcrum Red Zone Carbon wheelset has found a solid foothold in the cross-country mountain biking race scene and, after some serious time underneath the world's fastest riders, the brand has used rider feedback and in-depth analysis to create the Red Zone Carbon+. This wheelset brings performance to the next level through asymmetric spoke beds and a fancy carbon layup to shed weight by four to five per cent.

Scott’s Grenade Evo Zip knee pads are a burly set of knee guards that pack heavy-hitting protection credentials, whilst supremely comfortable to pedal in thanks to a Scott-designed D3O pad. They may sit at the pricier end of the spectrum but their delivery of awesome comfort and protection more than justifies the cost, making them a serious dark horse among the best MTB knee pads.