BIKE TEST XC RACE RIGS
Mountain Biking UK|February 2022
We punish three no-compromise cross-country machines (and ourselves!) on some race-course laps and out on the trails in a fight for first place
TOM MARVIN
BIKE TEST XC RACE RIGS

MEET THE TESTER

TOM MARVIN TECH EDITOR

Technical editor Tom has 20 years of XC riding under his belt. Having raced everything from shorter XCO-style events to 12- and 24-hour epics and multi-day marathons, he knows what makes an XC bike competitive on the track, and fun when you’re not aiming for a podium.

Cross-country (XC) is evolving fast, with increasingly technical tracks pushing racers to the limits of their skills, while the overall pace and competitiveness shows no sign of slowing down – the opposite, in fact, for our homegrown riders, who are finally beginning to make their mark on the world scene once again. As such, brands have been forced to make their XC bikes ever more capable in rough terrain. At the same time, the age-old pressures to make these machines as light, efficient pedalling and fast-rolling as possible, to give racers an advantage on the climbs, haven’t gone away. All this means that today’s XC bikes are as fast and competent as they come.

This story is from the February 2022 edition of Mountain Biking UK.

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This story is from the February 2022 edition of Mountain Biking UK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

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