Our pick of the best hardtail mountain bikes over £2,000, under £2,000, under £1,500 and under £1,000

By Tom Marvin

Published: Monday, 05 August 2024 at 11:50 AM


The humble hardtail mountain bike seems to be going through a mini-revival, with a raft of cross-country, downcountry, trail and even radder rigid frames being introduced.

What are the advantages of a hardtail? Where uphill speed matters, the direct connection from crank to axle, without energy-inefficient suspension spoiling the fun, is the quickest way to get up to speed.

Riding rough-and-ready trails on a hardtail might beat you up a little more, but there’s something almost zen-like about being able to pick the smoothest line between the chunder, while pumping through rollers to generate free speed.

Hardtails are often also lighter, easier to maintain and cheaper than full-suspension mountain bikes, because there are fewer moving parts to add weight, service or build in the first place.

Here, we’ve put together our pick of the best hardtail mountain bikes as ridden, rated and reviewed by the BikeRadar team.

Best hardtail mountain bikes in 2024, as rated by our expert testers

We’ve organised the list by price, use the links below to skip to the relevant section:

Best hardtail mountain bikes over £2,000 / $2,300

Lapierre Prorace CF 9.9

This is Lapierre’s XC-focused hardtail, the ProRace. – Russell Burton / Our Media
  • £5,999 / €6,799 as tested
  • Pros: Good value for money; all-round capability; compliance adds speed
  • Cons: Press-fit bottom bracket

The Lapierre Prorace CF 9.9 is the French brand’s top-end hardtail designed for cross-country racing.

A compliant carbon fibre frame, which uses a triple-triangle design to give lateral flex to the bike’s rear end, aids vibration damping over chattery trails, while adding traction on technical climbs.

The geometry makes the bike agile and engaging on the trail, with the Prorace inspiring confidence on descents where others feel twitchy.

While it’s not cheap, the addition of SRAM’s X01 AXS groupset, RockShox SID SL Ultimate fork and Lapierre’s own XC SL carbon wheelset make this a good value proposition.

Mason Raw Deore XT + Hope upgrade pack

Pack shot Mason Raw Deore XT hardtail mountain bike
The Mason Raw is a versatile hardtail ready to do it all. – Andy Lloyd / Our Media
  • £4,800 as tested
  • Pros: High levels of versatility thanks to mounting points; steel feel; nice details
  • Cons: Saddle shuffling

Mason excellently balances versatility and capability with the Raw, with plenty of mounts opening up bikepacking and the geometry welcoming technical trails.

The bike feels great when munching up trails, with the steel frame soaking up imperfections with incredible smoothness.

We found we had to adjust our position on the saddle quite a bit when climbing steeper sections of trail.

Cannondale Scalpel HT Carbon 4

Cannondale Scalpel HT Carbon 4
The Scalpel offers a good blend of decent spec and affordable pricing. – Finlay Anderson / Our Media
  • £2,600 / $2,300 / €2,699 as tested
  • Pros: Good value for money; fun and capable on technical trails; strong spec choices
  • Cons: Some chain slap; bottle bosses on seat tube limit post insertion

The Scalpel HT Carbon 4 takes a break from traditional XC race bike design, with the slack head angle making the bike feel incredibly capable when pointed down a trail.

Cannondale has given the bike a top spec for the money, with a RockShox SID SL fork supporting the front end and a Shimano Deore 12-speed groupset used for shifting.

The flex zone suspension in the rear triangle gives a controlled feel, with the bike remaining composed and grip plentiful on ascents and descents.

Fairlight Holt XT

Fairlight Holt XT hardtail mountain bike
The Holt has been designed as an ultra-endurance race machine. – Andy Lloyd / Our Media
  • £3,709 as tested
  • Pros: Impressive ride quality; all-day comfort; tidy fixtures and fittings; custom build options
  • Cons: Nervous on technical trails

The Holt doesn’t thrive on technical trails, with the steep head angle making it feel more awkward than other downcountry hardtails.

We found the bike covered the ground well, with the steel frame adding a smooth ride quality that makes it a lot of fun.

Plenty of mounts make the bike well-suited to bikepacking, which is where the brand’s heritage lies.

Merida Big.Nine TR 8000

Merida Big.Nine TR 8000 hardtail mountain bike
The Merida Big.Nine TR 8000 still has an XC focus. – Andy Lloyd / Our Media
  • £5,000 as tested
  • Pros: Direct and fast-reacting frame; well-specced
  • Cons: Wheels aren’t the most compliant; two-piston brakes and wider tyres are desired

The Big.Nine TR 8000 is a trail version of Merida’s hardtail cross-country bike, which sees beefier suspension and components.

We found the bike to be nimble and fast on the trails, easily picking up speed and carrying it up the hills.

The brakes and tyres held it back on the descents, but for those looking for something a notch more capable than a cross-country bike, the Big.Nine TR 8000 is well suited.

Pivot LES SL 29 Pro XT/XTR

Pivot LES SL 29 Pro XT:XTR hardtail mountain bike
The Pivot LES is fast, fun and ready to race. – Russell Burton / Our Media
  • £6,750 / $6,199 as tested
  • Pros: Confidence-inspiring geometry; good grip without sacrificing speed; excellent fork
  • Cons: Pricey; press-fit BB isn’t ideal for home mechanics

Pivot’s LES SL 29 Pro XT/XTR is the brand’s carbon fibre cross-country race hardtail, which is hinted at in the pun-based name of the bike.

The lateral compliance in the frame enables you to maintain a high speed over chattery terrain, while the geometry makes the bike nimble through the trees and efficient on hills.

While it’s expensive, the bike comes well specced with a combination of Shimano XT and XTR parts used in the groupset, alongside a 100mm Fox 32 Factory StepCast fork, though we’d have liked to have seen carbon wheels featuring at this price point.

Best hardtail mountain bikes under £2,000 / $2,300

Sonder Signal ST NX

Pack shot of the Sonder Signal ST NX hardtail mountain bike
The Signal presents a subtle yet purposeful profile. – Andy Lloyd / Immediate Media
  • £1,599 / $2,297 / €1,799 / AU$2,914
  • Pros: Great geometry; decent tyres
  • Cons: Short-travel dropper and small discs hold it back

The Sonder Signal ST NX is a steel hardtail that’s made to the British company’s principles of value for money and hard-charging, descent-focused bikes.

The Signal ticks all the modern aggressive trail bike boxes with a large reach, 66-degree head tube and 74-degree seat tube. Heading downhill, the bike pulls at the leash and rides across roots with ease.

This bike was never intended to be a fast climber, but it does spin comfortably uphill and is confident over technical inclines.

WTB tyres help the Signal find grip wherever possible and the 130mm RockShox Revelation RC fork is good in most circumstances. It would be nice to have a slightly longer dropper to create enough space to move your weight around in the sketchiest of situations.

Overall, the Signal has a great chassis that wouldn’t look out of place on a much pricier bike, and there is a good level of kit for the money without too much compromise.

Best hardtail mountain bikes under £1,500 / $1,700

Giant Fathom 29 2

Pack shot of the Giant Fathom 29 2 hardtail mountain bike
The Fathom 29 2 is a well-specced and capable hardtail. – Ian Linton / Our Media
  • £1,399 / $1,500 / €1,299 as tested
  • Pros: Good spec for the money; up-to-date geometry; dropper seatpost
  • Cons: Modern geometry may see some riders needing to size down

The Fathom 29 2 impressed us with its well-considered component choices and Giant’s suspension fork.

This leads to a bike that feels comfortable and capable, even on trail-centre black routes, with the Maxxis tyres offering plenty of grip.

We found the sizing to be a little bigger than expected, so small riders may want to look into this before purchasing.

Kona Kahuna

Pack shot of the Kona Kahuna hardtail mountain bike
The Kona Kahuna has a curvy silhouette. – Mick Kirkman / Our Media
  • £1,199 as tested
  • Pros: Superb ride quality; well-specced Shimano groupset and brakes
  • Cons: No dropper post

Kona’s endearing Kahuna offers a commendable ride quality in its latest guise. With a curvy shape and low-slung top tube, the cross-country frame offers a lively ride with instantaneous acceleration when you crank up the power on the pedals.

The Kahuna features a Shimano Deore 12-speed groupset, which is the best you can get for the asking price, as well as reliable Shimano MT410 hydraulic disc brakes.

What holds the bike back from a full 5-star rating is its more traditional geometry and its quick-release rear axle, which limits wheel-upgrade potential. The Kahuna also lacks a dropper seatpost, although the frame has the possible routing for one, should you wish to upgrade.

Merida Big.Trail 600

Merida Big.Trail 600 hardtail mountain bike
The Merida Big.Trail 600 provides a direct feel on all trail types. – Russell Burton / Our Media
  • £2,000 / €2,350 as tested
  • Pros: Good versatility; reach-based sizing thanks to short seatstays
  • Cons: Tyre could be wider; early models have long cranks

Merida’s Big.Trail 600 has a progressive frame with a short seat tube enabling you to pick a size that best suits your reach measurement.

We found the bike to be an efficient climber, with the seating position offering good comfort and the tyre choice adding good grip without sacrificing rolling resistance.

We would have liked wider rubber for added grip on the descents, but that’s not to say the tyres aren’t capable enough.

RockShox’s Pike fork impresses, and the Shimano gears and XT brakes make for a good all-round spec.

Whyte 529

Pack shot of the Whyte 529 hardtail mountain bike
The 529 is happiest going downhill. – Ian Linton / Our Media
  • £1,250 as tested
  • Pros: Fun ride quality; good components; four-piston brakes
  • Cons: Quite stretched-out when climbing

The 529 is a fun-loving hardtail with decent-focused geometry and components.

We found the bike performed well on a variety of trails, with trail-centre black trails within its remit.

A low bottom bracket makes the bike quick to turn, while a slack head angle adds confidence when going down steep shoots.

This hinders climbing performance, with our tester experiencing a stretched-out feeling when going uphill.