Head-to-head: biketest hardcore hardtail

Best of British - two UK-designed bikes with no rear-end bounce battle it out

Hardcore hardtails feel like a particularly British phenomenon. Think about mucking about on a slack-angled bike with no rear suspension, and chances are you're imagining a rowdy slip-and-slide on a track scratched straight down the fall line by folks who should know better. Bikes like this pair from Ragley and Whyte are designed to eat this stuff up, along with all the greasy linked turns, steepness and daft fly-offs you can chuck at them. Not to mention the odd jump session, some trail centre laps or even the occasional big pedalling-heavy day in the countryside.

UK brands kickstarted this category in the first place and really celebrate this side of mountain biking culture, so it's unsurprising that the Mmmbop and 905 tested here are built for messing about in the woods as much as for getting from point to point off-road as quickly as possible. And, since both brands have been at the forefront of aggro hardtail design for years, you'd hope they know a thing or two about what makes one sing by now.

Both machines are aluminium-framed with front suspension and 650b (aka 27.5in) wheels, and are no-nonsense, tough and easy to chuck about. Wear your jeans and hoodie on them to kick about at the pump track or jumps, or don your trendy riding kit to chase your mates on full-sus bikes down proper downhill tracks. Slack geometry is a key ingredient to this versatility, keeping you upright and off your arse in the woods. Both bikes here have powerful fourpot brakes and grippy tyres, too, to maximise downhill capability on faster and steeper tracks. A UK hardcore hardtail also needs to be reliable enough to handle winter wetness, with plenty of mud clearance.