Carbon Wasp, a brand based in Yorkshire, has made a name for making carbon fibre mountain bikes here in Blighty by hand – and now it has unveiled its updated do-it-all MTB, the Truffle. It's still built to blur the lines between trail and cross-country mountain biking but welcomes geometry tweaks and changes to its suspension kinematic.

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Although small, Carbon Wasp has been building carbon components and accessories for years now, with some being featured by world-class riders on the road, track and in triathlon. The brand says some of its components have been found on Tour de France bikes and used during the past two Olympic games.

The Truffle is a mountain bike shaped to be light but strong enough to take on rigorous riding often associated with 'trail'. Carbon Wasp says it's not designed for bike parks but that's not to say it isn't up to the task.

2024 carbon wasp truffe linkage 2.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Importantly, the carbon lay-up has been refined thanks to Carbon Wasp's investment in precision tooling that creates a better finish and makes manufacturing faster. Pre-preg carbon fibre allows the brand to control quality and improve lead times. Each part of the bike's frame, linkage included, is made using the material.

This iteration of the Truffle gets all the mod cons. So there's internal storage in the frame's downtube, plenty of space for a long dropper post, ISCG mounts and a UDH. The frame can house 2.6in tyres and up to a 38T chainring.

2024 carbon wasp truffle storage.jpg, by Liam Mercer

The theme of 'modern' continues as we move onto the geometry. The bike now benefits from longer reaches across its four-size range. So that means the large frame gets a 480mm reach and a 65.5-degree head angle across all sizes. Impressively, the new Truffle has six chainstay length options spanning 435 to 460mm in length. For simplicity's sake, the chainstay isn't adjustable, rather customers can pick their preferred length upon checkout.

As for the suspension, it's designed to be plush and progressive. With that, the bike features 38 per cent shock progression throughout its travel.

11 Truffle-120.jpg, by Liam Mercer

The new Truffle comes in frame only and costs £2,600. There's also a frame built with a Cane Creek IL DB Air shock at £2,950. The brand doesn't paint its frames but rather offers single-coloured custom wraps.

• carbonwasp.com

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