HARDTAIL OF THE YEAR 2022

In the post-Covid world, top-quality hardtails are in short supply, but we've still pulled together six of the best entry-level models from both shop-bought and direct-sales brands

- Alan Muldoon, Danny Milner

After what seems like a lifetime, we're back on track with our Hardtail of the Year test. In the three years that have passed since our last hardtail bonanza, a lot has changed. Covid put a spanner in the works of production, bike prices rocketed as availability shrunk. And in the latest blow to consumer confidence, inflation is eating away at our spending power. Which makes our Hardtail of the Year test more important than ever before.

And while we'd love to say that our 2022 test is the biggest and best to date, given the current climate, that would have been an impossible task. In fact, looking back we can't believe just how good we had it. In 2018 we had 18 bikes in total, evenly split across three price points. Then we tweaked the format for 2019 to deliver a new sub-£375 price point, with four separate categories in one massive test with 24 hardtails.

But like so many things post-Covid, we've had to adapt. As such, we've adopted the same format as our Trail Bike of the Year test, splitting the bikes into two distinct categories: Shop Bought and Direct Sales, both at a single sub-£1k price point. And the reason is obvious: getting bikes at lower price points is still proving incredibly difficult and price hikes make that harder than ever before.

One thing hasn't changed though, we still allocate a single test rider to each category to ensure that the highest possible test standards are maintained. And the decision to split the test isn't just about direct-sales brands having a competitive advantage. Yes, that's important, but it's also true that many people, especially new riders, aren't comfortable receiving a bike in a box on their doorstep. And that's where the traditional bike shop plays a key part.