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?

While the full-suspension bike has developed in frantic spasms under marketing and media spotlight, the hardtail's recent evolution has almost gone unnoticed. Far from extinct, the species has now diversified to encompass every facet of the riding spectrum