SHOULD I BUY A BIKE ONLINE?

Your decision comes down to three things: which bike you want, whether you know which size fits you best, and how good you are with bike assembly. If you can install wheels, adjust bars, and tweak brakes and derailleurs, you can put together a bike you bought online. If not, get yours from a shop. Same with sizing. Web-based size calculators are okay for kids’ bikes and some mountain bikes, but less ideal for road bikes, which come in more sizes and are harder to get right. Then factor in which bike you want. For a brand like Canyon, your only choice is to shop online. And it might be easier to find a specific model from some boutique brands such as Evil or Colnago from internet retailers. Want a Specialized or Trek? You have to go to the affiliate store, even if you pay online. For everything else, do what feels right, whether that’s based on price, convenience, some inexplicable but understandable desire to touch the bike before you buy, or loyalty to your local shop.

on the 34 Rhythm fork make the front end nice and stiff, and it’s easy to toggle the switch on the rear shock between locked out, normal and open, depending on the terrain.

The only negative is the brakes. On a bike that can go so fast downhill, you want brakes that can stop you just as swiftly. The bargain-basement Shimano MT400s are simply not up to the task. We would ditch them in favour of a set of XTs, as a matter of urgency.

If you can overlook the brakes, the rest of the bike is the complete package. It’s the lightest in its class, and offers the best value for money. A dropper post is standard, as are wide tyres, and the SRAM GX cassette and rear derailleur offer better range and performance than the NX on the Neuron’s competitors.