Guy Kesteven

Guy Kesteven

Technical-Editor-at-Large

Guy Kesteven is Bike Perfect's technical editor-at-large. Hatched in Yorkshire he's been hardened by riding round it in all weathers since he was a kid. He spent a few years working in bike shops and warehouses before starting writing and testing for bike mags in 1996. Since then he’s written several million words about several thousand test bikes and a ridiculous amount of riding gear. To make sure he rarely sleeps and to fund his custom tandem habit, he’s also penned a handful of bike-related books and talks to a GoPro for YouTube, too.


Current rides: Cervelo ZFS-5, Forbidden Druid V2, Specialized Chisel, custom Nicolai enduro tandem, Landescape/Swallow custom gravel tandem

Height: 180cm

Weight: 69kg

Articles by: Guy Kesteven

Giro Cascade Vest

Giro Cascade Insulated Vest review – fast riding Polartec protection

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Is Giro’s new Polartec insulated vest worth the high cost for high performance, low sweat warmth?

PNW Satellite bag

PNW Satellite seat pack review – secure, dropper-friendly saddle bag

By Guy Kesteven published

Review PNW’s seat pack is neat, secure, dropper friendly, and eco but not the easiest to get into

Guy Kesteven riding the Scott Scale RC SL 2023

Scott Scale RC SL 2023 review – the ultimate in XC excess?

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Can an XC hardtail really be worth 14k? Scott have pulled out all the stops with their insanely high spec Scale RC SL and Guy Kesteven went deep into the pain cave at the launch to find out how fast it can go

Guy Kesteven Gear of the Year

Gear of the year – Guy Kesteven selects his top 10 MTB products of 2022

By Guy Kesteven published

Feature Guy’s pick of the best mountain bike kit of 2022 stretches from sawn-off puncture stabbers, excellent value rubber, double-duty pumps, shocks, forks, lathed loveliness from Lancashire and super expensive ‘super trail’ bikes

On One Rujo

On-One Rujo steel gravel bike – beautiful riding bargain

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Can On-One’s Rujo steel gravel frameset really deliver a super bike smooth ride for a versatile value price?

WTB Sendero

WTB Sendero TCS Light/Fast Rolling Dual DNA SG2 tire review – 650b specific gravel tire

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Is WTB’s 650b only, dedicated dirt tire the rubber you need for your gravel bike this winter?

Lezyne bar pod

Lezyne Hard Bar Caddy handlebar bag review – easy access storage

By Guy Kesteven published

Review What are the pros and cons to taking Lezyne’s handlebar storage pill?

A rider on a trail at sunset

Bespoken Word – it’s not too late to get on Santa’s nice list

By Guy Kesteven published

Opinion Guy Kesteven suggests that showing your appreciation for folk who’ve helped you out this year, getting your gifts from smaller suppliers with a backstory you’re into, or just creating random ‘festive cheer’ is the best way to celebrate the fact the days are going to start getting longer very soon

Evil Loophole wheels

Evil Loophole MTB wheelset review – premium polymer hoops

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Does a new polymer-based composite give Evil’s super expensive Loophole mountain bike wheels a suitably superlative ride?

Pirelli Scorpion Enduro

Pirelli Scorpion Enduro S & M 2022 MTB tires review – new compounds ahoy

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Pirelli have tweaked the compound on their Scorpion Enduro tires, so how are the Soft and Mixed tread, ProWALL and HardWALL versions riding now?

Specialized Trail Thermal jersey

Specialized Trail Thermal jersey – casual ultralight coziness

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Is Specialized’s new Thermal jersey the ultimate ultralight warmth booster?

Whyte 429

Whyte 429 Trail Hardtail review – fast fun for the money

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Does Whyte’s entry level trail hardtail still deliver their signature singletrack good times?

Moving MTB forward

Bespoken Word – reframing mountain biking

By Guy Kesteven published

Opinion Guy Kesteven reports back from the first of many discussion meetings designed to tackle a lot of the issues that mountain biking needs to work on if it’s going to move forward and grow even more

Specialized Trail Rain Jacket

Specialized Trail Rain jacket review – simple, effective waterproofing

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Specialized have dropped the price and fancy branded fabrics, but the result is actually a better fitting and performing jacket for most riders

Specialized Trail Wind jacket

Specialized Trail Wind jacket review – lightweight breeze blocker

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Windchill killing, hooded warmth booster which trades water resistance for less sweat and styles it out on and off the bike

Topeak Mountain 2Stage Digital

Topeak Mountain 2Stage Digital pump review – a 2-in-1 solution for tires and suspension

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Is Topeak’s dual-action mountain bike tire and shock pump worth blowing up your wallet for?

Specialized SWAT jacket

Specialized Trail SWAT Jacket review – packable weather protection

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Is Specialized’s packable shell worth having when the weather turns grim?

Vitus Sentier

Vitus Sentier 29 review – decent hardtail at a great price

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Have Vitus managed to buck the reduced performance budget bike trend and make the Sentier a really good mountain bike for under a grand?

Kyle Strait rides his bike at Red Bull Rampage in Virgin, Utah, USA on 18 October, 2022

Bespoken Word – how to beat Black Friday

By Guy Kesteven published

Opinion While the rest of the team are working flat out to harvest the best possible Black Friday deals they can find for you, I’d like to take a moment to talk about the alternatives to Kamikaze consumerism

PNW Pebble Tool

PNW Pebble mini-tool review – cute, colorful, trailside tool

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Is PNW’s tiny Pebble multi-tool everything you need for trail repairs?

Abus MoDrop

Abus MoDrop QUIN helmet review – comfortable and well-vented enduro/trail lid

By Guy Kesteven published

Review German brand Abus is from the security tech world but it has all the features you need in an extra protection lid on lockdown with the MoDrop MIPS QUIN

Specialized Trail Jersey 22

Specialized Trail Long Sleeve Jersey review – style and tech combined

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Casual styling with fabric tech and a cut that works great on the trail makes for a super versatile jersey

Schwalbe G-One RS

Schwalbe G-One RS gravel tire review – super-fast semi-slicker

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Is Schwalbe’s scalped tread gravel tire as fast as it looks and what are the consequences for control?

Muddy rider

Bespoken Word – get better at wetter, part 2

By Guy Kesteven published

Opinion Guy Kesteven reckons riding in the wet doesn’t have to ruin your mood, your bike, and the trails. In part 2, the old wrinkler throws some wisdom at how and where to ride to enjoy winter, or just wetter, trails, and how not to be a d*ck when it’s weather for ducks

Yeti SB120

Yeti SB120 T1 first ride review – sublime short travel thoroughbred

By Guy Kesteven published

Review Yeti’s new SB120 is the bike we’ve been waiting for from Colorado for years. Seriously sublime ride dynamics come at a wallet and weight expense though

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