BikePerfect – how we test

Our star ratings explained

FIVE STARS: Outstanding, leading in its category 

FOUR STARS: An excellent product with great performance 

THREE STARS: Good performance but may be compromised

TWO STARS: Below average performance or poorly designed

ONE STAR: Not fit for purpose, should be avoided

At Bike Perfect our goal is to equip you with the best buying advice possible on everything mountain biking, e-MTB, gravel and bikepacking related. We review everything from bikes to bells and clothing to cleats in order to make Bike Perfect the most comprehensive and trustworthy off-road buying advice destination.

Between us, our in-house team has spent over 50 years testing bikes and bike products and over 100 years riding bikes. We draw on this wealth of knowledge to provide accurate and informed reviews that are based on real-life experiences rather than PR hype. Every product reviewed is independently rated in relation to their performance on the trail and how they compare to direct competitors.

Details matter, so we aim to drill down into the finer points of every product we test to give you the most comprehensive and relevant reviews around. We take nothing for granted and always check the product information provided to ensure we're passing on accurate information to you, whatever the marketing materials might say.

We've recently started adding a new section to our reviews and buying guides called the Lowdown which enables us to give scores for different attributes of each product. While the scores you'll find there are a good indicator of the overall score, that is a separate value and not an average of the scores given in the Lowdown section.

A drawer of bike testing tools

Just some of the tools we use when testing bikes and gear (Image credit: Guy Kesteven)

We guarantee our reviews are:

Independent

Our reviews are completely independent and have no commercial influence. No-one is able to buy ratings or pay for reviews. Every product reviewed is tested to the same exacting standards and held to the same unbiased testing process.

Relevant

We review the products that we think are the most relevant to our reader's riding experiences across multiple disciplines. We seek the best performing kit across a wide range of price points so that we can give you the most useful buying advice possible.

Rigorous

The only way to get a true idea of how products perform is by using them. We are all riders and test these products in the real-world and on a broad selection of riding situations over as long a period of time as practicable.

Diligent

We don't test products in a vacuum. All our reviews include cross-references with other similar products, but also with other testers' experiences and findings in order to give you the most accurate conclusions possible.

Get in touch

For information on who makes up the Bike Perfect editorial team and what we do, please see our 'about us' page. To contact the team directly, email richard.owen@futurenet.com