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?

WITH THE TRAVEL on front forks getting longer by the hour, how much travel is enough and to what extent does it determine a bike's character? We took three bikes offering 80, 100 and 130mm of suspension to find out