Berria's latest iteration of the Bravo is a cross-country mountain bike that utilises a host of smart and flexible tech with the aim of giving the riders the lightweight, efficiency, and mechanical simplicity of a hardtail mountain biking but with the vibration-damping qualities of a full susser.

• The ultimate guide to frame materials: what's best for bikes?
• Mountain bike size guide - how to get the perfect fit
• Cross-country mountain bikes: understanding their design

The new Bravo benefits from a full high-modulus HM2X carbon fibre, triple monocoque frame that combines Toray T700, T800, and T1000 fibres. This choice is said to optimise the weight-to-stiffness ratio in important areas of a bike frame. Not only does the unidirectionally run fibres increase lateral stiffness but the brand says the frame weighs in at 999g.

Berria has then used an EPS process which uses a polystyrene expander that's inserted into the frame to pressurise the carbon. We're told that this allows the best layering of the carbon while reducing excess resin and squeezing out all of the air that'll cause bubbles in the fibre.

2023 berria bravo riding 1.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Making the Bravo a true softtail bike is the SOFTEX system which is a suspension technology that uses a Full Ball pivot point that's integrated into the frame. This system also includes what Berria calls the Tibia seatpost and rear stays and the combination of that results in 28mm of suspension travel at the rear of the bike.

This is all done through controlled flex that's been built into the frame with the flexy seat post providing low-level vibration damping and when the impacts get heavier, the rear stays and pivot point actuates. SOFTEX is then tuned to each frame size to best suit all sizes of rider.

The brand reckons that this results in a bike that's lighter than full suspension systems, with a lesser requirement for regular maintenance and a faster rebound to full travel. This is while retaining the efficiency and light weight of a hardtail.

2023 berria bravo riding 2.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Moving onto the frame features, there's a lot to cover here too as the Bravo benefits from double height chains stays to increase stiffness around the bottom bracket, and it uses a single diameter head tube at 1-1/2"  by 1-1/2" to boost stiffness at the front of the bike. The new XC bike is then built to accommodate a 110mm suspension fork.

Design specifically for performance on the XCO circuit, this bike gets a geometry to suit, so there's a 430mm chainstay which is 7mm shorter than the previous bike and it gets a 67.5-degree head tube angle. The bike can then fit 2.4in tyres and there's an integrated seat clamp that uses an internal wedge system.

2023 berria bravo riding 3.png, by Liam Mercer

Elsewhere, the bike is fully internal cable routed and it gets what Berria calls the AMS, or Anti Mud System. It's said that this is a design that stops the frame from accumulating mud in order to reduce the resistance mud build-up can create.

Prices for the new Berria Bravo start at £2,500 and go up to £4,400 for a bike equipped with Fulcrum Red Zone Carbon wheels.

• berriabikes.com

You might also like:

• Mountain bike vs hybrid bike - understanding the differences
• Five things that weren't cool - until enduro happened
• How to tweak your mountain bike's geometry - Cockpit