YT IZZO UNCAGED 7 £6,299 (shipped) Gravity brand target race-tape prowess

YT Industries aren't the first brand you'd associate with cross-country racing, but Y they've taken their Izzo trail bike and added ground covering speed. Weight has been shaved, suspension travel reduced and rolling resistance cut.

THE FRAME 

The Izzo Uncaged has a full-carbon frame and doles out 120mm of four-bar linkage rear travel. Geometry is radical for XC, with reaches ranging from 432mm to 517mm across the five sizes. The head angle is slack, at 66.5 degrees, while the seat tube angle is a steep 77.5 degrees. A flip-chip in the rocker link lets you steepen the angles by 0.4 degrees and raise the BB by 5mm, should you want a bike more suited to technical climbing than rallying descents.

THE KIT

Buying direct means you get stellar components for the money. Carbon hoops from DT Swiss, wireless shifting and dropper post tech from SRAM, Ultimate-level suspension from RockShox and carbon finishing kit from Race Face add up to a drool-worthy spec list.

THE RIDE