A new frame that jumps straight onto our list this year (as a side note how nice is it to see a brand do something new and not just develop an established platform?) the Canyon Sender feels instantly at home among this esteemed company.

Inspired by moto, but covering all the downhill basics, Canyon really has built a bike that stands apart form the rest of the field. In truth we probably need a bit more time on it before we can comprehensively place it on this list but our gut feeling on the rides we’ve had tell us it’s well up there. It currently holds its place second in line to the Demo, it could well go one higher – we simply need more time on the bike.

Read the full review here

The privateers’ favourite, the Giant Glory is a composed package with a business-like and reliable specification. These may not be terms that set your pulse racing but if you look at its results in the hands of Marcelo Gutierrez (and formerly Danny Hart) you’d be a fool to underestimate this bike.

It’s one of the lightest downhill mountain bikes available (with a carbon version released this year) and has a smooth, compliant ride that translates to some serious speed when pushed hard – it just does everything well.

The Glory has an exceptional balance to its chassis, and the proportions front and rear of the bike together with one of the lowest bottom brackets in the business and one of the longest ‘reach’ dimensions make it a bench mark bike in many respects. It pushes the Specialized Demo hard but that’s nearly two thousand pounds more.

In short it’s simple, fast, silent, balanced and easy on your body. We are mostly talking basics here. So many brands that make downhill bikes think they have it dialled. Ride the Glory and all becomes clear how crucial it is to get chassis flex/stiffness, damper tune and wheel build working in unison. Do not underestimate this bike.

Read the full review here

Trek Session 9.9

Looks like a Session, right? That’s what you’re supposed to say in these situations. Except when you actually get close to one there are very few bikes that can match the level of detail and finish on this beauty – but then you’d hope so for that money!

The well thought out frame comes with the best damping around and it has proven race-winning pedigree under Aaron Gwin, Tracey Moseley and now the Athertons. It’s the most expensive production downhill mountain bike available but it could well be with good reason

Trek has been working on this suspension design for ten years and it’s among the more refined systems out there. It’s an incredibly balanced bike that can be placed easily around the trail – and oh, so fast. For us it’s slightly too high in the bottom bracket, and comes with a superfluous ‘high’ geometry setting that we’ve never felt the need to engage.

The very first thing we’d do though is swap out the standard Bontrager bar, it’s too narrow and we’re not sure what Trek were thinking with it. Despite this it stands as one of the top production downhill mountain bikes going and comes with an otherwise flawless spec. As an all-round downhill bike that can be applied to the quite diverse this bike really takes some beating.

Read the full review here

Orange 324

Santa Cruz V10 CC

Successful, iconic, coveted and with a price to match, the Santa Cruz V10CC is a bike steeped in mythology but cast all that aside and it’s a bike that can still deliver. The introduction of XL and XXL sizes mean that it’s now a viable option for even the tallest riders (Minnaar and Peaty both measuring 6ft 3 in) while staying as light as ever.

For us, the ride isn’t up there with the likes of the Demo or the Session, especially on long, steep, rough tracks but it has a playfulness that the other two fail to match. The V10 is now more like a V8 with 216mm of travel and it has adjustable geometry but like the Trek Session we see the higher setting as a non-feature and would prefer a lower setting instead

The latest V10 lacks poise in steep terrain, but it has incredible pace on less- steep grounds, and there’s great fun to be had in skimming, ducking and weaving like a courser after a hare. It brings its own speed that’s not found in monster trucking through the rough but using it gain power and momentum. It might not be outstanding, but it’s very good.

Read the full review here

GT FURY

The bike that delivered World Championships for Gee and Rachel Atherton is still going strong despite their defection to Trek. It may be Mondraker that takes all the plaudits for big bikes, but if you look at wheelbase, you’ll find that the GT Fury is actually longer and size wise, we simply couldn’t fault it.

Stiffness is a much coveted feature in modern bikes but if anything the Fury has a bit too much for us. There’s no doubt this is a thoroughbred race bike designed for World Cup tracks but it won’t be a barrel of fun on your local bike park’s jump line.

It’s one of the most stable bikes around though and a great package at just under £5,000 for a race ready and reliable build. If you can get past the chunky industrial look that it has and some of the overkill welds and you aren’t after a beauty queen with the spec and sizing it’s a great bike.

Click here for the full review

Scott Gambler 710

The Gambler was released a few years ago and instantly caught the eye. It still stands as one of the lightest aluminium production bikes and we think that the geometry is faultless. It’s also well specced for a £5k downhill mountain bike with a Fox 40 taking care of things up front and a full Saint drivetrain.

Unfortunately, we didn’t like the Fox Float X2 at the back. We’ve been less than impressed with its performance on most bikes, we had to ram it full of spacers and even then the rebound has to be run almost fully open to get any life out of the bike. However, since our test we’ve found there have been inconsistencies with shock tunes and have ridden better versions. On top of this, the back end has an off-putting knocking noise. It can be lessened by running the lowest geometry setting but it isn’t really what you want when you’re putting down this much money.

Even with its faults its still massively enjoyable riding the Gambler. As a workhorse it’s a good bet for many riders and has stood up well to many riders giving it some stick. It’s now also, finally, earned its first World Cup podium under Adam Brayton.

Click here for the full review

Check out our buyer’s guide to DH bikes HERE and the Dirt 100 HERE.

see also

CUBE FRITZZ 180 HPA SL

EVIL INSURGENT – BIKE TEST

MARIN HAWK HILL 2017

NORCO OPTIC

TRANSITION PATROL