Over the last year, our writers have tested a bucketful of bikes, a barn load of clothing and gear, and attended a bookcase full of cycling events. Which of these, though, have tickled their fancies enough to warrant the bestowing of a coveted Singletrack Editors’ Choice Award?

I came into 2019 on a rare wave of bike fitness, and have tried maintaining it over the year, taking every chance to ride bikes, whether trail bikes, gravel, cross-country, a touch of racing and everything in between. I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy that secret valley of fun that you get into on a great bike when you’re feeling fit and invincible – and it’s something I’m going to try to maintain through the winter months.

Evil Following MB

This carbon, 29in, 130mm trail bike came in as a frame at the beginning of the year as a testbed for our Shimano XTR groupset. Due to the production delays with XTR, I put a mishmash of components on to get it up and running anyway, eventually getting everything we needed for the full XTR-makeover by the summer.