Latest articles by Guy Kesteven
Bespoken Word – Everybody loves a rebel alliance, but is UK mountain biking playing into the Empire’s hands again?
Opinion Guy Kesteven asks if the launch of the UK MTB Trail Alliance is another ‘People’s Front of Judea” Monty Python moment for mountain bike advocacy or something more genuine and significant?
Peaty’s Products are looking to rule the grip game with their new Monarch range, I put them to the test to see how they fared
Review DH MTB legend Steve Peat is no stranger to hanging onto bars and Guy Kesteven has been getting hands on with Peaty’s new Monarch grip designs to see if they really do rule
Why do I think the new RockShox Pike Ultimate RC2 is potentially the best midweight trail MTB fork ever?
Review What have RockShox done to solve the issues with their last generation of forks and does it work?
Bespoken Word – I’m an analytical addict and Comparing Bike Data is my CBD
Opinion Guy Kesteven has been testing bikes and kit professionally for nearly 27 years but he still absolutely loves every click, tweak, footage review and re-ride of the evaluation process
Best cheap MTB pedals 2025 – top-rated flat and clipless options that won't break the bank
Buyer's Guide Our pick of the best cheap MTB pedals you can buy, whether you're looking to go flat or clipless on the trails
I've been riding 'gravel' for more than four decades, but here are 10 things that really suck about gravel biking
Opinion For a bike genre founded on opening up boundaries and celebrating freedom, gravel riding seems to really stir up emotions. But what particular beefs does our tech ed Guy Kesteven have about the mostly wonderful world between road bikes and mountain bikes?
Santa Cruz Heckler SL review – is this the Californian brand's most fun e-mountain bike ever?
Review Santa Cruz’s latest mid-weight, MX wheel e–MTB is an absolute riot on the trails but is the Fazua motor a potential weak link in terms of all-weather play time?
Best gravel shoes – we test 10 top off-road shoe options for racers and explorers
Buyer's Guide The best gravel shoes that will make your pedaling more efficient so you can ride faster and longer in comfort
Yeti SB140 LR T3 X0 Turq review – pricey and lacking a host of modern features, but it still quietly rips like nothing else
Review Is Yeti’s all-round ‘mountain bike’ the ultimate blend of iconic brand and innovative technology? Guy Kesteven has been enjoying the last few months finding out.
How bikes can change lives forever by activating kids instead of medicating them
Opinion Guy Kesteven is a firm believer in the mental as well as physical benefits of biking at all ages, but now the evidence is so strong even Hollywood is picking up on it
Best mountain bike sunglasses – we test the top MTB eyewear for protection and clear vision
Buyer's Guide Our experts choose 10 of the best mountain bike sunglasses that will protect your eyes from debris, harmful UV rays, and keep you looking stylish on the trail
Bespoken Word – Off-road cycling is hard enough without being abused by keyboard cowards
Opinion Mountain and gravel bike riders have to cope with a lot. Rocks, roots, drops, techy climbs, slippery surfaces, filthy weather, stinging, scratching plants, punctures, mechanicals. But whatever level you ride at, sometimes the worst challenge you can face is other people
It's a gravel gold rush as 100km of new off-road trails open in Wales this weekend
News You could win a Trek gravel bike or Rab clothing when you ride the new trails around Coed y Brenin at Saturday's opening
Best mountain bike brakes – our testers rate the most reliable MTB stoppers around
Buyer's Guide No matter your riding style and budget, our experts have picked out the best mountain bike brakes available
10 things you need to know before buying an electric mountain bike
Opinion E–MTBs get you further, or fit in more fun runs however fit you are (or aren’t), but which design trends are dead ends and which features fail? Guy Kesteven gets revved up about his biggest e–MTB frustrations
Bespoken Word – Do the new gravel trails at Coed y Brenin complete the “it’s just old skool MTB” circle?
Opinion Guy Kesteven had an awesome day previewing the new gravel bike trails at Coed y Brenin, but what does this reinvention of past pioneering tell us about the future of off-road riding?
Is the Kinesis G2 all the road and gravel bike anyone really needs?
Review The G2 packages twenty years of Kinesis design experience into an affordable alloy all-road / gravel all-rounder. I've been riding one all spring to find out how it performs
Best enduro helmets – top-rated head protection for enduro and gravity MTB riding and racing
Buyer's Guide The best enduro helmets offer good ventilation and high levels of protection for riding fast on technical, DH-graded MTB terrain
I've tested all kinds of mountain bikes over three decades, but these 5 modern MTB features drive me properly nuts
Feature Guy Kesteven roasts horrible headsets, compromised cockpits, e-MTB mount madness, stupid storage and hidden spec horror so you don’t have to suffer at the hands of dumb design
Pipe down MTB conspiracy theorists, it turns out that SRAM's UDH gear hanger was a truly brilliant idea after all
Opinion
Mondraker Chrono Carbon DC RR review – Spanish downcountry bike turns out to be 'damn confusing'
Review
Your local bike shop needs your support, but do they need to do a better job of supporting themselves?
Opinion It’s Local Bike Shop Day on May the 4th and Guy Kesteven reckons that sort of initiative is a great idea. However, he also thinks a brief forensic study of how the day has officially been presented tells us why some small scale shops might be struggling.
Best dropper posts 2025 – our top-rated options for dropping your saddle
Buyer's Guide Whether you're riding XC or enduro, here's our test team's choice of the best dropper posts to get your saddle out of the way for maximum maneuverability
