CARBON WASP TRUFFLE

£2,800 (frame + shock) •29 in • carbonwasp.com

Unless you’ve had a carbon frame repaired or you’re also into time trialling or track racing, you’ve likely not heard of Carbon Wasp. However, it only took a few metres of the brand’s local Leeds trails to put it on my ‘persons of interest’ list. It should be on yours too, especially if you’re after a uniquely individual and impressively well sorted lightweight trail/down-country frame.

By way of background, the Leeds-based duo at Carbon Wasp have been working with carbon-fibre for over 15 years. In that time they’ve brought tons of broken frames back to life, produced some limited edition frames for other brands and when I visited, they were making £800 aero handlebars. And despite