WE'VE LOOKED AT SINGLE-PIVOT SUSPENSION BIKES before in our concept tests, but here we’re looking specifically at the differences between an elevated chainstay design and a regular low pivot design with conventional chainstays. The two bikes in question are a DiamondBack S70 and an Orbea Rallon FX — which is top in the £1,500 stakes?

TWELVE ENTRY-LEVEL MTBS ARE HAND-PICKED for a special mission: to carry the novice rider into the hostile environment of off-road and prove themselves as all-rounders in doing so. Will these machines make it, or is this simply a suicide mission?