Death of the hardtail? We’ll hear nothing of it. This beast is still alive and kicking and it ain’t about to bow down to full sus. We selected four £1,000 machines and put them to the test

FOUR WAS THE MAGIC NUMBER until not that long ago — the inches of travel front and rear that defined the full-suspension trail bike. And it’s still a good number whether you’re a weekend warrior or a suspension virgin. We rounded up four £1,500 rigs