VOODOO HOODOO

£440 VooDoo regain the half-grand high ground

Halfords’ VooDoo bikes have always been leading players in the £400-£750 price bracket and other brands will be cursing because the frame features, handling and overall kit level of the Hoodoo put it back into pole position.

The frame

With slight curves and kinks on every hydroformed main tube, this isn’t just a basic frame. The 450mm reach and 1,185mm wheelbase of the large size confirm a reassuringly stable base geometry, and the ring-reinforced 44mm head tube can take a tapered fork (though it doesn’t here). There’s routing for a stealth dropper, which is a good job, because the kinked seat tube stops the stock fixed post sliding all the way down, unless you cut off the bottom (we fitted a dropper to get around this for our photoshoot). VooDoo have adopted the latest 141mm-wide Boost QR standard to give extra tyre space. The back end also gets four-point rack mounts, so you can load up for commuting or exploring. You even get a lifetime frame warranty.

The kit

The Suntour XCR-32 fork is reasonably stiff, with an adjustable air spring and rebound damping, and the 45mm stem on top gives fast traction-catching reactions. Like on the Vitus, we’d prefer a wider bar to make the most of the Hoodoo’s handling, but we can see that the 740mm one fitted is more traffic-friendly on a bike that’s also well-equipped for urban utility work. While the Maxxis Ardent tyres look fast rather than grippy, the rubber compound makes them a lot more trustworthy off-road than you’d think. The Shimano M395 brakes are the most expensive on test, but it’s the 1x10 transmission that’s the undoubted spec highlight, with its narrow-wide chainring, FSA cranks, clutch-equipped Shimano Deore rear mech and wide-range cassette.

The ride

Despite losing excess chainrings and a front mech, the bigger cassette and clutch mech contribute to the Hoodoo being the heaviest bike here. The intuitive shifting with no overlapping gears and the slap/ rattle-free chain security are well worth the slight weight penalty though, when you’re charging about off-road. That transmission quietness amplifies the calming effect of an already impressively smooth frame feel. With their tall carcass and easyrolling performance, the Ardent tyres also do a lot to elevate the overall ride quality of the Hoodoo well above its price category, keeping it playful and encouragingly efficient rather than

punishing on longer days, rougher trails or both.

While cheaper forks are inevitably less smooth and subtly controlled than more expensive units, the Suntour XCT on the VooDoo is better than most at this price. If you charge hard enough, it actually gets full travel from its 120mm air spring, and both the compression adjuster/ lockout lever on top of the right leg and the red rebound damping knob at the bottom end offer basic but obvious tuning effect. The Shimano brakes are richer in feel than the other stoppers on test, and you get a 180mm front rotor for more power.

The Hoodoo’s well-balanced trail riding geometry is stable enough that it self-corrects out of trouble in sketchy tech situations without feeling like a barge to riders used to steeper bikes. Its low BB boosts stability through fast turns, but you’ll need to be careful not to clobber your pedals in ruts or up ledges. The occasional crank tap or wandering front wheel on really steep climbs is more than repaid by the braveryboosting confidence of the geometry.

VooDoo have just dropped the price from £550 to £440, which sits the bike comfortably within the price bracket for our test and makes its quality stop/go kit look even better value. That discount’s going to hold for the next few months, but we wouldn’t put off getting yourself one, because the five out of five score it thoroughly deserves is likely to make the Hoodoo fly as fast out of stores as it does along technical trails.

Excellent frame, handling and kit make the Hoodoo the one to beat for less than £500