What Mountain Bike magazine have revealed their Trail Bike Of The Year – and the result will come as a bit of a shock to some. Last year's winner, the Trek Fuel EX 8, has been toppled from the throne and it's a new challenger that's taken the crown – the Nerve XC 9.0 from German direct-sell company Canyon.
In total, 17 of the latest £1,999-£2,399 full-suspension bikes were put through their paces in a bid to find the ultimate trail bike, including established favourites from Giant, Scott, Santa Cruz and Lapierre, and new models from the likes of Specialized and Whyte. After months of testing, it was the Canyon that emerged victorious, with the test team describing it as "a pretty much flawless all-rounder at a price that'll make the competition cry".
What Mountain Bike editor Matt Skinner says: "This year's Trail Bike Of The Year saw a wildcard triumph over all comers in the form of new-to-the-UK Canyon's Nerve XC 9. It may be new to us but it's proven to be a genuinely outstanding bike at an incredible price. To find out the full reasoning – and to see how the other bikes fared – you'll have to read the magazine."
There's a full Trail Bike Of The Year feature in this month's What Mountain Bike (issue 120), including reviews of all 17 contenders. You can check out a teaser video below. Thanks to Adam Loretz at Abject Productions for the audio.
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