Latest articles by Guy Kesteven
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
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
Features 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 2026 – 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
Cervelo Aspero Apex XPLR AXS review – fast but user-friendly gravel bike
Review Guy Kesteven has been riding Cervelo’s new fast but friendly drop bar dirt bike to see who it’ll suit best and he reckons it’s potentially a real sweet spot for the road rooted but gravel curious
Bespoken Word – You are the problem, not your bike
Opinion Guy Kesteven reckons it’s time most of us stopped thinking about what we can upgrade on our mountain bikes to go faster and look at the real weak link in the system – ourselves
I test bicycles for a living, here are the 5 must-have features to look for when buying a budget gravel bike
Features Guy Kesteven is one of the most experienced bike testers in the world, so what does he think are essential features on a cheap gravel / all-road bike?
5 things a lifetime of bike testing has taught me about how to upgrade your MTB
Features Starting cheap, seeing the whole system, trying before you buy, measuring carefully, or servicing rather than upgrading. What can our most experienced test editor tell you about improving your mountain bike?
Best mountain bikes under $1000 – top-rated bargain hardtail MTBs that give maximum bangs per buck
Buyer's Guide Our test team's round-up of the best $1000 mountain bikes for hitting the trails on a budget
6 signs you need to stop riding your mountain bike and give it some workshop attention right now!
Features Broken brakes? Grinding gears? Loose bearings? Dead suspension? Droopy droppers? Wobbly wheels? Here's the niggles that could be a nightmare if you don’t get them sorted straight away
Best light mountain bikes 2026 – lightweight cross-country MTBs under 10kg
Buyer's Guide The best light mountain bikes combine sensational acceleration and XC speed for ultimate off-road climbing performance
Why are the fastest MTB race bikes in the world so different from what we mere mortals ride?
Opinion
