Ragley’s Mmmbop is a burly 150mm hardtail with some serious descending capabilities. The spec is well thought out and attractively priced for the performance on offer. It’s a hoot on the downs although the climbing abilities have been sacrificed somewhat in the pursuit of a lively and playful bike. Read on to see how it rates among the best hardtail mountain bikes.
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Ragley Mmmbop 1.0 – Technical details
Ragley’s Mmmbop is a 27.5-inch aluminium hardtail which Ragley claims is “slack, aggressive and built to hang with your full suspension friends.” With a 150mm fork, the Mmmbop is Ragley’s burliest alloy bike and its descending intentions are clear when you look at the geo numbers on offer. There are two spec levels available with the 1.0 being top of the range (only available in the Parma Violet colourway) and the 2.0 which is more budget-friendly.
> Buy now: Ragley Mmmbop 1.0 Hardtail Bike – Parma Violet from Chain Reaction Cycles for £1499.99
The frame is constructed from industry-standard 6061 aluminium and has all the good technical standards – a boost rear end, tapered headset, threaded bottom bracket and ISCG 05 tabs. There is clearance in the rear for a 2.6in 27.5-inch tyre which is more than enough.
The rear brake hose and derailleur cable are externally routed to keep things simple, with the exception of the dropper cable which is the only thing internally routed. As expected on a hardtail, there is room for a full-size bottle.
Ragley Mmmbop 1.0 – Sizing and geometry
The Mmmbop comes in four sizes ranging from small to XL, which according to the size guide covers people from 5’3” (160cm) up to 6’6” (200cm).
Ragley built the Mmmbop for fun times and describe it using buzzwords such as slack and aggressive. With a 63.75-degree head angle and snappy reach numbers, on paper, it looks like Ragley has delivered on its intentions.
The reach number is where I like to get a real idea of sizing (check out our mountain bike geometry buster if you’re not familiar). Small gets a reach of 420mm, the medium is 440mm, large is 460mm and X-Large tops out at 480mm. These are a little on the conservative side, but with a relatively slack 74-degree seat angle, any larger would compromise the seated position.
425mm chainstays are common across the sizes which are on the snappier side, this suggests the bike will be agile and easy to flick around.
Ragley Mmmbop 1.0 – Specification
RockShox takes care of the fork with its stout Yari RC fork, this is the entry-level enduro fork which shares the same chassis as the Lyrik. Offering 150mm of travel with rebound and low-speed compression control.
Drivetrain duties are handled by Shimano with bang-up-to-date 12-speed SLX shifting which uses a wide range 10-51t cassette and clutch-assisted rear mech.
The Mmmbop 1.0 employs Shimano Deore brakes paired with 203mm front and 180mm rear rotors.
Ragley branded bar and stem are smartly specced with wide bars (780mm for small/medium and 800mm for large/XL) and a 50mm stem.
It’s good to see appropriate length dropper seatposts for the sizes here too – 125mm for the small, 150mm for the medium and 170mm for the large and XL. Finally, the Nukeproof Neutron wheels are wrapped in Maxxis rubber with EXO+ casings and MaxxTerra compound.
Ragley Mmmbop 1.0 – Setup
The setup on a hardtail is about as simple as mountain biking gets. The fork air pressure is set using the guide on the fork leg as a starter, and a quick car park bounce to get the rebound feeling good. A couple of stops to get the brakes to bed in and we’re off to hunt down some trails.
Ragley Mmmbop 1.0 – Performance
Let’s start with the climbing – it’s clear the intentions of the Mmmbop are to descend and have fun. Climbing is dispatched in a fuss-free manner, but I wouldn’t say it’s zippy or particularly efficient. Being a hardtail, the efficiency is arguably better than full suspension counterparts but compared to other hardtails in a similar class, it is on the sluggish side.
The seat angle leaves the seated position quite outstretched, not uncomfortably so, but it does hamper climbing by feeling like you’re sitting behind the pedals rather than on top of them. On the plus side, the 12-speed Shimano drivetrain gives plenty of range to spin up the climbs and the crisp shifting gives the confidence to attack the pedals.
On the downs, this bike comes alive. The 27.5-inch wheels mean this bike is a hoot, the nimble and flickable set-up loves to dart and jive along the trail. The smaller wheels do hang up on lumps and bumps more than their 29er counterparts, but that is the price to pay for this level of manoeuvrability. Being a hardtail, popping off lips and trail features is done with ease and in the air, the bike feels well-balanced.
The slacker head angle benefits you when the going gets steeper making the front wheel feel a little further away. It also improves stability at speed. The short back end makes the bike easy to pop and change direction, however, the downside to this is your weight is more biased to the rear axle and therefore requires a conscious effort to weight the front in corners to get the most grip.
Speaking of grip, the Maxxis tyres are bang on the money. With Exo+ casings and aggressive tread patterns, these are very well suited to the Mmmbop’s intended use. Another honourable mention goes to the Shimano Deore brakes which are impressively sharp and powerful given the price point.
The Yari RC fork is a smartly specced fork, it offers basic control but is built off the well-proven Lyrik chassis. The 35mm stanchions are plenty sturdy enough and 150mm is very confidence-inspiring when things rougher. In comparison, the rear end has a tough job to keep up with the 150mm front end. The forks do lull you into a false sense of security that the bike can handle more than it really should. The frame held up admirably to some serious abuse, but a 27.5-inch hardtail will find its limitations reasonably quickly.
Ragley Mmmbop 1.0 – Verdict
Ragley’s Mmmbop 1.0 comes in at £2,000 which, when compared to the rest of the market, represents good value. The spec delivers a tough and reliable build at a good price point.
The competition comes in the form of the Sonder Transmitter SLX which is £1,800 and has comparable intentions and geometry to the Mmmbop. The steeper head angle will be a little twitchier, and with the RockShox Revelation fork up front, it won’t feel as burly, but the Transmitter is still pretty good value.
Another option is the Ribble HT AL Pro sporting SRAM GX drivetrain for the same money as the Mmmbop. This has a longer reach and will feel more stretched out in the seated position. The Ribble has a Revelation fork which won’t feel quite as stout as the Ragley’s Yari.
The Ragley Mmmbop 1.0 is well-specced and good value. It’s a hoot on the descents and gets you up the climbs with minimal fuss. The lively and poppy nature of this bike means you’ll be having a blast on flowing singletrack and sculpted jumps but don’t expect it to be a whippet on the climbs.
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