Hope's HB916 is a completely new design, not an update on the previous 160 mm bike. The key feature to this bike is the mid-high pivot. Compared to a high pivot bike, the rearward axle path is less pronounced and only moves rearward in the first part of the travel.

The Carbon Fibre frame is designed, tested and manufactured in Barnoldswick, UK. Hope have added aluminium inserts to the main pivot bearing houses, but otherwise the front and back triangles are completely carbon fibre and made in-house. The suspension linkage rocker has a flip-chip to allow you to fine tune the geometry or accommodate different wheel sizes. This year's must-have internal storage ("Butty Box") and bottle cage mounts are present.

Hope developed the frame was developed around a coil shock, but kept the progression rates close to perfect for an air shock, and all options are available with a choice of Fox coil or air shocks. The options to customise your HB916 are as close to infinite as you can get, when you place an order, we'll complete a spreadsheet where you can fine tune the spec and colours right down to the linkage hardware colours.

In the flesh, this is a stunning bike in any of the three finishes available. Keeping complete control over manufacturing has allowed Hope to maintain their high standards of finish, and a great deal of effort has gone into the durability of the frame.