Best Mountain Bikes of 2024 to Rip Singletrack or Cruise Big Lines

Fall is here, which means prime mountain bike season is on the horizon. Sure, I’ve been riding all summer, but there’s something about fall that screams “get on your bike.” Maybe it’s the crisp air, the dry trails, or maybe it’s the technicolor leaves popping in the forest, but I believe shoulder season is best time to rip singletrack. Fortunately, there’s a new crop of mountain bikes competing for your hard-earned dollars to help you make the most of the terrain. Some of the most trusted manufacturers in the space have released new bikes boasting the latest in design and tech.

I spent months testing the latest mountain bikes from iconic brands to find the best whips for a variety of riders, whether you like to race fast-and-light speed machines or bomb descents on burly downhill rigs.

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The best overall mountain bike I tested is the new Specialized Stumpjumper 15 Pro, because it’s a do-it-all machine built to handle any terrain you can imagine, whether you find yourself on a day-long backcountry mission or have enduro laps in mind.

But there’s something in this article for every type of rider. Here are our favorite new mountain bikes and what to consider when you’re making the purchase. If you're also thinking about upgrading your gravel bike, check out our latest list of the best for 2024 or hit us up for the newest bike racks to get you to the trail safe and secure.

Related: I Tested the Best Road Bikes of 2024 Worth Your Money

Best Mountain Bikes at a Glance

• Best Mountain Bike Overall: Specialized Stumpjumper 15 Pro

• Best Cross Country Mountain Bike: Cannondale Scalpel 2

• Best Free Ride Mountain Bike: Yeti SB135

• Best Mullet Mountain Bike: Norco S5 Sight

• Best Budget Full-Suspension Mountain Bike: Marin Rift Zone

• Best Budget Hardtail Mountain Bike: Mongoose Switchback Expert

Best Mountain Bikes of 2024

Best Mountain Bike Overall: Specialized Stumpjumper 15 Pro

The Stumpjumper, aka “Stumpy,” is an icon of mountain bikes, and the previous version, the Specialized EVO, helped set the standard for Trail bikes. The new Stumpjumper 15 is even better, hitting the Trail bike category sweet spot, with longer travel than your standard XC bike (140 to 150mm depending on frame size), but a way more responsive ride than a downhill bike. Trail bikes are built to be all-around machines, and the Stumpjumper 15 is the king of all around, with Specialized finding ways to improve upon the performance of their already super popular Specialized EVO.

I spent the last half of summer spinning around Pisgah National Forest on the newly revamped Stumpjumper 15 Pro and was impressed with how well the bike handled some of the most technical trails in the country, but just as pleased with how it ripped through flow and shimmied up climbs.

Overall, Specialized tweaked the geometry, suspension, chassis and components of the Stumpy to offer a bike that handles technical terrain better, while offering more traction when compared to the previous EVO model. Most of that work was done through the introduction of the new Fox GENIE rear suspension, a dual-air-chamber system that increases traction when hammering and evens out chatter of tech thanks to the large volume of air throughout the first 70 percent of the stroke, while decreasing the instance of bottoming out when hitting big features by shutting down into one air chamber at the bottom 30% of the stroke. It’s science and it’s complicated, but every rider will notice how responsive the bike is through the majority of the ride, as well as how plush the landing is when you hit those big drops or jumps.

This bike feels smooth regardless of the chunky terrain beneath your wheels. While I was riding the Stumpjumper 15, I kept coming back to the same word to describe it: juicy.

But that’s not to say the new stumpy is sluggish. It is a plush riding experience for sure, and yet the Stumpjumper proved to be infinitely playful and responsive in lighter technical terrain and during fast moving, tight sections of trail.

It’s a 29-inch wheeled bike, but you can run it as a mullet, with a 27.5-inch in the back, if you want. The version I rode was a straight 29er, which is always a welcome wheel size for the gravel climbs and rocky/rooty descents of Pisgah. The head tube angle is also adjustable. It comes stock as 64.5 degrees (which is how I rode it) but an included eccentric headset cup allows you to adjust it down to 63 degrees or up to 65.5 degrees. You can even adjust the bottom bracket height with another included chip on the chainstay, which I would consider doing if this where my day-to-day bike.

The SRAM Maven brakes are incredibly powerful, to the point where I was worried about putting my 15-year-old son on this bike for fear he’d lock up the brakes on a downhill and soar over the bars. But if you’re smart about your braking, you’ll absolutely love the stopping power they offer. Also, the Stumpjumper runs wireless, electronic drivetrains, which certainly adds expense but pays out dividends with smooth, easy shifting in the wild.

The Stumpjumper 15 is available in five different builds, from $5,500 to $12,000, but there’s no aluminum frame option, so even the lowest-priced build will sport a carbon frame.

• Size range: XS–XXL

• Head tube angle: 64.5 degrees, adjustable

• Seat tube angle: 76.5 degrees

• Weight: 30 pounds, 13.5 ounces

Best Cross Country Mountain Bike: Cannondale Scalpel 2

Does anyone other than pros race XC mountain bikes anymore? Maybe, maybe not. While racing XC might not be the fervent pastime it once was, many mountain bikers are still looking for super light, super fast machines to tackle their favorite trails. Strava is still a thing, after all, and the all new Scalpel is a Strava KOM killer.

The Scalpel is a race bike for sure, but it’s a race bike built for aggressive XC terrain. It has 120mm of travel in the front and back, surprisingly wide 2.4-inch tires, and a progressive geometry that features a pleasantly slack setup thanks to a 66.6-degree head tube angle that boosts confidence and comfort throughout the ride, without sacrificing climbing ability.

And holy crap, does this bike climb well. I spent several weeks riding the Scalpel 2 and felt like I was pedaling an e-bike up a number of climbs that I usually have to slog through. It is a light and efficient machine. When I’m standing and hammering, I don’t feel like I’m losing any energy into the pedal stroke, but point the bike downhill, lower the dropper, and the Scalpel feels stable and capable. I wouldn’t ride this bike at a lift-serve bike park, and there were a couple of gnarly bits in Pisgah’s backcountry that gave me pause on this XC bike, but the Scalpel is going to handle the majority of trails most of us ride on a regular basis. I don’t think you need to be a racer to enjoy the Scalpel. I think it’s a bike built for people who want to move light and fast, no race plate necessary.

Beyond the climbing prowess of the Scalpel, I was really impressed with how this race-minded bike handled the technical terrain of my local Pisgah singletrack. It corners hard and soaks up chatter from the constant barrage of roots and rocks in the mountains in my backyard.

The Scalpel 2 that I rode has SRAM’s GX Eagle T-Type wireless, electronic shifters, which did a hell of a job changing gears under pressure as I searched for the right amount of effort/payoff on tricky climbs. The carbon wheel set rolls fast and smooth. Overall, this bike is built for one thing: speed. And mountain bikers like speed.

• Size range: S–XL

• Head tube angle: 66.6 degrees

• Seat tube angle: 75.5 degrees

• Weight: 25 pounds, 5 ounces

Best Free Ride Mountain Bike: Yeti SB135

Rip or race? If your answer to that question is “rip,” you’ll wonder where this bike has been all your life. Introducing Yeti’s 27.5-inch-wheel, carbon-frame SB135, a bike that will help you fulfill your free ride freestyle dreams.

The bike, which has 135mm of travel in the back and 150mm in front, is balanced, nuanced, and a rock and rolling good time. In designing the bike, Yeti’s engineers strove for a predictable ride. Part of that predictability comes from Yeti’s Switch Infinity suspension setup, a design that makes bike’s suspension feel bottomless. In the SB135, the Switch Infinity and linkage are more compact and lighter. The frame has excellent ground clearance—no need to worry about pedal strikes. The stiffer frame is optimized by size, so smaller riders and larger riders get the same feel. The smallest sizes—S and XS—get a distinct frame layout with space for a water bottle and a long dropper.

It’s a playful, agile bike that inspires you to ride with flair. Like the SB140, it’s also available in a Lunch Ride edition, which gets you 160mm of suspension travel in the fork and 135mm in the rear shock.

• Size range: XS–XL

• Head tube angle: 65.4 degrees

• Seat tube angle: 77 degrees

• Weight: 32 pounds

Related: I Tested the Best Gravel Bikes of 2024 That Are Adventure-Worthy

Best Mullet Mountain Bike: Norco Sight C2 MX

Honesty moment: I expected Norco’s Sight to be a bit of a tank on the trail, mostly because of the specs; it’s an All Mountain rig with 150mm rear travel, 160mm front travel in a package that weighs more than 34 pounds. Those are the sort of numbers that make this bike right at home at a lift-served bike park, and I thought I would be slogging around the forest, suffering through gravel road and technical trail climbs just to get to the fun down-hilly bits, but that wasn’t the case at all. Thanks to a couple of smart design features, the Norco Sight is the rare All Mountain bike that actually pedals efficiently on the climbs, and seems to rip a hole in the space/time continuum when the trail turns downhill.

Much of that pedal efficiency and downhill performance can be attributed to Norco’s VPS HP suspension system, a high pivot design that Norco adopted from their downhill bikes, that not only softens big hits and drops on the descent, but helps increase traction and pedal efficiency on the climbs. The drivetrain also has an “idler” that’s mounted to the chain stay that helps optimize pedaling and eliminates chain drops.

I tested the Sight C2 MX, which is a carbon-framed “mullet” of a bike, with a 29-inch wheel up front and a 27.5 in the back. This configuration also adds to the playfulness of the bike in berms, while giving it a bit more maneuverability than a straight 29er in tight, technical terrain. I was a little disoriented the first time I threw my leg over a mullet. Having that big wagon wheel up front, and then what felt like a tiny unicycle wheel in the back, threw my equilibrium off. But I really like this configuration when the descent gets steep. It’s fun to sink low over that smaller back wheel, pick up speed and push that big 29er into roots, rocks and over jumps.

My setup included wide handlebars (800mm) and a dropper post that essentially eliminated the seat altogether. These two features combined with an oversized front wheel gives you a bike with a low center of gravity in the rear and super stable platform in the front, all of which helps boost confidence for risk averse mountain bikers like myself.

That’s not to say the Sight has training wheels. The Maxis Minion DHF tires seemed to gain traction at higher speeds, and this bike actually might be at its best when the wheels are off the ground entirely.

The Sight has all of the specs you want if you have big descents and bike park laps in your future, but I had no problem pedaling it on long gravel climbs that lesser bikes would need to shuttle. All Mountain indeed.

• Size range: XS–XL

• Head tube angle: 64 degrees

• Seat tube angle: 77.5 degrees

• Weight: 34 pounds, 4 ounces

Best Budget Full-Suspension Mountain Bike: Marin Rift Zone

Marin’s Rift Zone trail bike will help you have a blast on the trail without breaking your budget; it’s also a great pick if you’re dabbling in MTB and wondering if it’s the sport for you. The Rift Zone will be your gateway drug: It has the geometry and specs to help you enjoy whatever your local trail networks have to offer.

The alloy bike, which comes in both 27.5-inch and 29-inch wheel sizes, has been redesigned with more travel, better-than-ever geometry, updated suspension kinematics, and more. The Series 3 aluminum frames use new tubing and forgings that enhance the bike’s good looks. A shorter seat tube and lower standover height make it super user-friendly. Brake, shifter, and dropper cables won’t rattle thanks to new cable guide entry and exit ports. And chainstay and seatstay protectors cut chain slap noise for a quieter ride.

The bike uses SRAM’s UDH rear derailleur hanger, which makes it easier than ever to find a replacement if you take a spill and tweak yours. The alloy Rift Zone 29er has 140mm of suspension travel, and the alloy 27.5 version has 130mm of travel—plenty for soaking up bumps on both flow-y and technical trails. The Rift Zone comes in six models: three with 27.5-inch wheels and three with 29-inch wheels.

• Size range: S–XL

• Head tube angle: 65.5 degrees

• Seat tube angle: 77 degrees

• Weight: 34 pounds, 4 ounces

Best Budget Hardtail Mountain Bike: Mongoose Switchback Expert

Not all of us have thousands of dollars to spare for a new mountain bike. Or, even if we do, a solid sub-$1,000 hardtail can get us up and down the local trails just fine if we just want to have a bit of fun on the weekend. Maybe you need a bike to throw to your kid, who's just learning the mountain ride ropes and a cheap-but-quality mtb is just the ticket...for now. If any of those hypotheticals match your situation, the new Mongoose Switchback Expert is probably the mountain bike for you.

The Switchback Expert is a simple, but solid, aluminum-frame bike. You aren't going to be crushing downhill or out-climbing XCers, but you will have a good time on the trails with it. The cockpit feels just as comfortable and maneuverable as a higher spec-ed bike, with a 720mm aluminum handlebar and decently plush 100mm SR Suntour XCE 28 fork.

Pedaling around on mild trails, it felt like a more expensive hardtail than I was expecting, with crisp shifts facilitated by the Microshift Acolyte 1x8 drivetrain, which is a brand I'd never experienced before—longevity TBD. You also get hydraulic disc brakes (160mm rotors) paired to aluminum double-wall rims and Formula hubs that are shod with good WTB Trail Boss tires. Another nice touch that belied the price tag and made it feel a little more high end was the internal cable routing.

Those looking for a starter mountain bike, or one for a spouse or child to get into the sport, would be hard-pressed to find another deal as good as this one on an entry-level bike. It rides nicely, shifts great, rolls smoothly, and is shockingly cheap.

• Size range: S–XL

• Head tube angle: 66.5 degrees

• Seat tube angle: 75 degrees

• Weight: 33 pounds

Related: We Tested the Best Roof-Mounted Bike Racks of 2024

More Mountain Bikes We Love

What You Should Look for in a Mountain Bike

Mountain bikes are complex machines with a lot of moving parts, but I recommend focusing first on the one part of the bike that doesn’t move: the frame.

Frame Material

If you’re spending more than $5,000, chances are the frame will be carbon fiber, which is lighter than steel or aluminum. Carbon fiber also does a better job at reducing the vibrations from the trail than other materials. But often times you’ll find different models of the same bike in different price points based largely on the frame material of that bike (the component package also determines the price), so you can find the same bike with a carbon or aluminum frame, with a drastic price difference between those two options.

Geometry

In my opinion, the geometry of the frame is more important than the material. The geometry of a bike, which is essentially the shape of the frame, determines that bike’s performance. Bike geometry has evolved over the last 10 years, and can be drastically different based on the style of bike you’re looking to buy. Aspects of the frame, like stack height, head tube angle, and reach all determine how “slack” or “steep” a bike will feel when you’re riding it. In general, cross country bikes are the steepest while downhill bikes are the most slack. Trail, enduro and all-mountain bikes fill in the middle.

But all bike frames are more slack in 2024 than they were in 2020, and that’s a good thing, because a bike that is more slack boosts rider confidence and safety on downhills. A slack frame literally puts more of the bike in front of you, decreasing the chance you’ll go over the handlebars. I have a top of the line carbon fiber cross country race bike from 2012 and the thing feels downright dangerous to ride because it’s so steep compared to bikes in that same category today. Current downhill bikes are so slack, they feel like you’re riding a chopper motorcycle.

Wheels

You need to pay attention to wheel size, too. The once-ubiquitous 26-inch wheel is gone, so now you’re choosing between 27.5- and 29-inch wheels. While 29ers continue to dominate most brands’ mountain bike offerings, don’t dismiss the smaller and more nimble 27.5-inch wheel. 27.5 bikes are playful, fun, and easy to get off the ground and flick around. If you’re hitting jumps or riding the park, a 27.5 bike is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Plus, 27.5-inch wheels spin up to speed faster than larger wheels.

On the other hand, bikes with 29-inch wheels roll over obstacles more easily, and they’re speedy once you get going. Most 29ers feel more planted, and that’s a good thing: Not every rider wants their bike in the air all the time. If you can, try both wheel sizes to see which you prefer.

Which is better? You’ll find diehards in both camps, but I believe it’s a matter of preference, and many bike models come with the option to run either. There’s also the “mullet” category where you have a 29-inch up front and a 27.5-inch in the rear. Wheel set material makes a difference too. If you’re spending more than $5,000, you want light carbon fiber wheels, which roll fast and smooth.

Components

There are myriad options for the components on a mountain bike, which accounts for everything from the brake levers to the derailleur. The level of components will absolutely impact the quality of ride, but these parts are also largely interchangeable, so focus on frame quality first and high end shifters second. One thing to note is that electronic shifters are now standard on high end bikes. This might sound ridiculous at first, but these new systems are easier to shift under pressure, so if you find yourself on a steep hill and need to shift gears, you’re less likely to throw or break a chain. The only downside is you have to charge the electronic shifters occasionally, and if you forget to do so, you’re riding a very expensive single speed. Yes, this has happened to me.

If you’re spending more than $1,500 on a bike it should come with a dropper post, which allows you to lower your seat for downhills on the fly, and 1x drive train, which saves weight and eliminates a derailleur without sacrificing pedal performance. Hydraulic disc brakes are also standard these days.

Choosing Your MTB Build

Every bike comes in a multitude of builds. A “build” refers to the bike’s drivetrain/transmission, brakes, and suspension components. Many bikes also come with different frame options, like carbon or aluminum, or carbon and an even nicer, lighter carbon version. Our advice: Buy the nicest build that fits your budget.

As bikes go up in price, the suspension typically gets plusher, more responsive, and more tunable, which means you can adjust how the bike responds to small and large bumps and jumps, instead of just turning the suspension on or off. You’ll also get lighter, better performing components, and sometimes a lighter frame, too. Check the manufacturer's specs to find your sweet spot. And keep in mind that like an expensive car, an expensive bike needs regular maintenance—factor an annual shock and fork service into your MTB budget when buying.

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XC, All Mountain, and Enduro Mountain Bikes

There are different varieties of mountain bikes, and you want to get one that best matches the terrain you ride (and your riding aspirations). Both how much suspension travel the bike has and the frame design make a bike better suited for smoother or rougher trails. An XC or cross-country bike will have a steeper fork angle than a slack enduro bike. All-mountain bikes, which have absorbed the trail bike category, fall in between.

For bike park riding and traversing steep, gnarly singletrack, an enduro bike is the right tool for the job. It likely won’t climb as efficiently as an XC or all-mountain bike because of its slack geometry and its longer suspension, which typically weighs and bobs more. But that geometry and increased suspension travel make it more comfortable, more stable, and safer when riding down steep, challenging terrain.

On the flip side, an XC bike will pedal efficiently uphill on smooth and steep inclines, and it performs best on flowy downhills—not rooty, rocky singletrack. An XC bike is usually light because it has minimal or no rear suspension. For most riders, all-mountain bikes are the sweet spot, as they combine attributes from both enduro and XC models. Decide where you’re willing to compromise and where you’re not, and then make your choice.

Average Cost of a New Mountain Bike

Ok, mountain bikes aren’t cheap. You can get a serviceable hard tail with entry level components for around $1K, and if you’re only planning riding occasionally on non-technical trails this might be the option for you (the Giant Talon 1 is my pick for best sub $1000, entry level hardtail). But if you want a performance-minded machine, you can expect to pay between $3,000 and $10,000.

The good news is these bikes are built to last. You won’t need to replace it next year, or the year after, so you can consider the hefty price tag an investment that will pay dividends for years to come.

Also, good bikes are more fun to ride. I speak from experience. I’ve bought a series of budget-friendly bikes over the years while also testing the latest, greatest from the best bike companies in the business. The difference between riding a high end mountain bike and a budget mountain bike is palpable. The same trail becomes a completely different experience when you have a great bike between your legs.

Why You Should Trust Us

I have more than 20 years experience as an adventure journalist covering a variety of topics including mountain biking, road and gravel cycling. I was the senior writer at Bike mag for several years and have contributed to Bicycling and Mountain Bike as well as other two-wheeled titles. I ride bikes constantly. I prefer long, low-traffic gravel rides and backcountry mountain bike excursions, but I’ve been known to session the local jump park and pump track on my lunch break. Beyond my obsession with bikes, I’ve been testing gear of all kinds for more than two decades. For this article, I personally spent several weeks riding most of these bikes on the single track in Pisgah National Forest. For the other bikes, we incorporated the first-hand experience of a long-time mountain bike journalist and Men’s Journal Gear Editor, who spent weeks testing their whips in the Green Mountains of Vermont and the singletrack around North Carolina and Virginia.

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