Conclusion
In 2023, it feels like there’s more chance of seeing a bunch of bearded dudes cruising around the woods on gravel bikes than on these lean and light, pure cross-country hardtails. And with progressive brands like YT and Nukeproof now offering gravel bikes alongside hard-hitting trail and enduro bikes, gravel is as close as some brands get to tight-fitting riding kit and helmets without peaks.
But much as we hate to break it to the cool kids, they have it all backwards. Yes, gravel is cool and has a buzz about it. It’s also undeniably safer than road riding. Get your wheels on dirt, however, and any of the XC hardtails in this test would easily ride rings around even the best gravel bikes, and probably for a fraction of the cost.
But this isn’t a gravel versus XC hardtail test, we’ll save that for another issue. So let’s get back to the four alloy XC hardtails on test.
With dynamically sorted, wellequipped trail bikes breathing down their necks from lower price points, these four Xc-specific bikes needed to be both faster from A to B and noticeably lighter to hit the mark for us – otherwise why bother?
All four bikes had 12-speed transmissions and good brakes, so it was a fairly level playing field. The test was made even easier by the fact that three of the bikes were running the same Rockshox Judy fork, which really allowed us to focus on the frame fit, geometry and ride performance of each bike, and rapidly identify their highs and lows.
At the low point, the Cube Reaction Pro offered a smooth, quiet and resilient ride that’s equal to any of the bikes here, but just like its frame-sharing sibling, the Attention SL, the geometry and sizing are seriously dated. And while this may go unnoticed by the inexperienced rider who is just happy to be out in nature, when stacked against the three other bikes here, the Cube Reaction Pro does not live up to its name.
Moving up the ranks, Trek’s X-caliber 8 is the best all-rounder of the group. That’s if versatility is the priority. Its 13.5kg weight is in the same ballpark as the best £1k trail hardtails though, and it lacks the instant pick-up under power and natural pace of the Scott or Giant. So an XC race bike it most definitely ain’t. That not to stay it’s a bad bike, it just wouldn’t be our first choice if we had to slap a number board on.
Out of the box, the Scott’s fit was performance-oriented yet comfortable, making the bike exceptionally easy to ride fast. The Scale’s frame feels highly evolved, and although its geometry numbers differ slightly from the carbon models, it isn’t lacking in handling or all-out speed. We’d pick the pricier 960 model though, with a fork that’s a better match for the pedigree of the frame.
We had no such complaints with the Giant Crest fork on the XTC SLR
29 1. It was something of an unknown coming into this test, but combined with the ultra-lightweight alloy frame and modern sizing, the Giant XTC SLR was the real standout bike in this test. Offering a sublime ride quality with an unapologetically classic XC fit, it’s a bike