This is helped by the faster-rolling Trail Boss rear tyre, which doesn’t suck too much speed. There’s no low-speed compression lever on the shock, which would help temper any bob, but when sitting and spinning it’s fairly efficient. On climbs, it’s fairly stable, unless you’re really hauling on the pedals. It’s no surprise the Bossnut is so popular because it provides the best all-round trail performance of any bike at this price. WTB i29 rims provide a wide base for the Vigilante and Trail Boss tyres from the same stable – a highlight being the High Grip compound used on the heavily-treaded front tyre. SRAM’s new SX Eagle drivetrain provides the drive, with its 11-50t cassette, while its Level T brakes bring it to a halt. Up front there’s a 130mm-travel RockShox Recon RL fork, with adjustable low-speed compression and rebound damping. SRAM features heavily on the Bossnut, taking care of both the drivetrain and the suspension.

The seat tube is fairly long, at 480mm, while the chainstays are relatively short, at 436mm, and the bottom bracket sits 24mm below the axles. On the large, that means a reach of 460mm, a 66-degree head angle and 74.5-degree seat angle. While not revolutionary, the geometry is on the money for an easy-riding trail bike. The Calibre Bossnut is an easy-riding trail bike. External cable routing keeps maintenance simple, and there’s provision for a future dropper post upgrade. There’s a pair of bottle cage bosses under the down tube. The top tube drops a touch on its way towards the seat tube to boost standover height. A (non-Boost) thru-axle helps stiffen up the rear end. The alloy frame delivers 130mm of travel via a single-pivot swingarm and linkage-driven shock.

The latest version has a decent shape, adjustable suspension front and rear, and a 12-speed SRAM Eagle groupset – all for the same cost as the fork on some bikes. At this price there’s not much trail-ready competition for the Bossnut, but that hasn’t stopped Calibre improving the bike.

Bossnut calibre