The London Cycle Show is the UK's biggest, but it's typically not one where manufacturers launch new products. That being said, we did find a few cool products for you to take a look at.
First up, X-Bionic. When you have a fully fledged competitive racing Lambo' on your stand, you're always going to draw a crowd.
It isn't for no reason though; X-Bionic manufacture clothing ranges for everything from running and cycling, to casual team wear. They also happen to be the clothing sponsor of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe Series.
Next up, the Canyon Sender, looking good in all black.
There were some big names in media walking around the floor. Pictured are Victor Lucas and John Lawlor, the men responsible for capturing some of mountain biking's most iconic race footage, having a look around the Stanton Bikes stand.
You know that one time you front wheel cased and the downtube was a complete write off? Apparently that's the style.....
If you live in Europe you'll have heard of Karcher. The German manufacturer dominates the pressure washer market, and they have just released their mobile outdoor cleaner.
The 2.5kg unit (empty) holds two liters of water, produces 5 Bar of pressure and has a 2.8 meter long hose. The price tag is 129.99 British pounds. They do not currently have a car charger for it, so don't forget to make sure it's charged before putting it in the car and heading to the trails.
The battery takes three hours to fully charge and lasts for 15 minutes; in that time you can go through 30 litres of water (flow rate= 2 liters/minute).
Orange had their new Alpine and Segment models on display.
British track cycling legend Chris Hoy was in attendance to open the show and conduct a Q&A session.
Ask any photographer, even ones that contribute to Pinkbike on a regular basis - nothing is better than seeing photos printed. Rouleur has you covered. Released every 6 weeks, it's closer to a book than a magazine, something that could sit on a bookshelf or coffee table as a collector's item.
Exposure, the bicycle light manufacturer, have created a nifty little light for action cameras, called Capture. It's 600 lumens at full power. While 600 lumens is not a lot by modern standards, it is perfect for this application.
The Capture emits just enough light for the ISO to remain low and not so much that the shutter speed needs to be drastically increased. Very clever stuff! It's 120 British pounds, weighs 92 grams, is fairly small, runs on a GoPro 4 battery and is water resistant to 40 meters.
Rose Bikes providing the style.
Sometimes, though, you can't account for people's taste.
What would a British bike show be without another few shots of Hope's upcoming HB2.11?
Given the amount of R&D they are putting into it and Hope's propensity for quality over quantity, I would expect the bike to be $$$. And why not? Make a crap product and it's hard to escape the almost never-ending negative stigma associated with multiple failures and warranty returns.
Cheap, strong, light: pick two. 'cause you can't have the third.
while I think the bike is a beautiful piece of design I'm just not sure that we all need another expensive choice. the comments here lead me to think we need more affordable choices. Don't interpret this as anger at Hope. I'm not seeing anything significant that isn't already available from some other company. Maybe I'm missing something, other than a choice for people who are brand loyal. Educate me, internet.
@conv3rt: I see your point but tell intense and Santa Cruz that- the hope bike is genuinely innovative- it has a fully CNC machined rear triangle with a new style of brake mount and a hub spacing that is better- not Being imposed as a new standard. It has a carbon mainframe made in a western countrie- not China and it's £1.5k cheaper than the Chinese made intense.
@Havier: Correction, for the same money you can go on the waiting list for two Canyon bikes to be pressed out of the molds in Taiwan and shipped to you some day...
@conv3rt: Actually Hope is different in that it is designed as a package with its components without regardless to standards and old habits. That sets it apart (for better or worse) from most mountainbikes and makes it comparable to super aero time trial bikes costing 10K+.
@Fix-the-Spade: I keep changing bikes very often and had to wait for Canyon less than for Trek I had previously. Try to order some high spec Trek now and you may have to wait for over 2 months as USA market has higher priority than UK.
@allbiker: I'd pay that much all day long for this rather than a top of the line Santa Cruz, S-Works, Intense etc. Not that I'll ever have £8.5k to spend on a bike!
I can appreciate that Hope is doing cool things as a company and I think as a design exercise it's also very cool. but isn't the hub kind of a Hope one-off though? 130 x 17 symmetrically laced (no dish)? And isn't the rear brake also specific? radially mounted? Who else uses these standards, no one? How is that not imposing? No doubt it sets them apart but I'm not sure that's a good thing for mass appeal. I'm much more likely to spend my money on things that are easy for me to source with lots of pricing options. Like I said, I like Hope tech and am not specifically attacking them. It's important for companies to innovate.
There are a LOT of offerings in the ''premium' category these days, and not all worthy of their price tags either (IMO). If I'm going to open my wallet for one of these big-bucks machines, it better have every feature under the sun, and for me that means full-carbon, internal cable-routing, low-weight, and excellent suspension kinematics. I know there's an argument to be made aluminum provides the same amount of strength/weight in the rear-triangle department, but the anti-vibration properties are worth it in my opinion. And again, if I'm paying the $$$,...
@conv3rt: It's not about what we need. They didn't made the bike for people to have more bike choices, they don't care about us mofos commenting on pinkbike or people that can't afford it. They just made this bike because they can and want, and they made it like how they think is best. Now there's enough demand for the bike to sell it, so they did go for it. That's it. People that would buy the bike, would probly do it for the same reason Hope made them.
@passwordpinkbike: Fair enough but I'm sure they do care about PB comments and all other market feedback they can find. But yeah, I get that at first it was just a design exercise. I personally wouldn't shell out for this bike but I will keep buying their other products.
Well there's no other company that can sell you a full suspension carbon frame, brakes, bars, grips, a stem, top cap, a headset, front and rear hubs, rims, a cassette, pedals, cranks, a chainring, a bb, that are all made in the same manufacturing facility in a nation with legitimate environment a labor regulation that is overseen directly by the other branches of the company in such a package. That HB is just mind-boggling. The issue: it has a reverb on it (mine broke really fast, and its now been fully rebuilt three times and still doesn't work). Also, I wish they'd spec'ed some german-made tires or something.
@conv3rt: the hub and brake caliper will outlast almost anything else on the market, even if they do fail Hope will just walk down to their workshop and make another one! You can still get rebuild kits direct fro them for little cost for stuff they stopped making a decade ago. If it was a company like Shimano with no seal spares available for example then you'd be right to be worried but with Hope they will back these bikes up with spares for as long as they're in business.
@folsomdj151: The technology isn't in the fibre weave and bundling, it's in the selection of the correct grade for the job at different parts of the frame and the quality of the finish overall. That's the best looking raw carbon frame I've seen.
@Havier: yeah but who would pick a canyon over a hope bike... one every other chap riding around has the other you'll almost never see another out on the trails and i'll bet the hope is better quality
Hope guy on the stand estimated £5500-£6000 if sold directly but they may be selling through dealers which will up the price. Hope are still deciding a selling route.
@ibishreddin: Its actually a superficial weave. I've literally bumped into the Hope guys today testing out this prototype and a few of the newer versions ( without the carbon weave look and they said the carbon weave was for looks as opposed to being all the way through. Either way it looks the dogs danglies in real life. Oooft!
Don't worry it doesn't have as much pressure as industrilal washer, it's obious and also I tested one. And second use your brain and do not aim a 1000 psi jet on your bike especially pivots hubs and shit...
Not to be a Nudge but judging by the flow rate and the nozzle and hose, I'd say it was a motorized garden hose.
But yeah it's not good to apply any stream of water on your suspension bearings.
Karcher electric products are complete junk. I had a $300 pressure washer that lasted 10 uses before water flooded out of the unit. Took it to the service centre and the guy said they're all unserviceable plastic parts that can't cope with the water pressures. He had half a skip full going in the landfill.
@jclnv: long time ago i used to fix karcher washers for a living. official line i got of them was expected life/run time of 24hours . and yep plastic parts on the mid to lower models. as far as pressure washers killing bearings.. blah load of bollox just dont point it at the things and your fine. i wasted so much time for years hand washing then got lazy. bearings dont last any diffrent wish id got lazy sooner
Just be sensible with them! Adjust the jet and don't aim at the bearings.
Was interested in that Karcher one until I saw how tiny the reservoir is for the price, wouldn't last a first pass of my bike to just dislodge the big lumps of mud we have here all year round, let alone get the bike reasonably clean!
@markg1150: you're probably right, but 24 hours run time is a lot if you're only using it for bike washing. I've had the absolute cheapest Karcher (AUD$99) for 8 years now without an issue, and use it for cleaning moss off the driveway and footpaths as well as bike washing. Might be getting up to the 24 hours now, so it will probably die the next time I use it, but still reckon this model was at the right end of the value equation for me
Completely agree re the load of bollox, never killed a bearing with the pressure washer despite firing it right at frame pivot bearings. Best tool in the shed for cleaning the chain, cassette & jockey wheels too, just give it a good blast from all directions then re-lube, no need for scrubbing, solvents, degreaser or detergents.
@mik91: Sure, but for someone who only uses it for bike washing a cheapo one may be good enough. Have had my $99 Karcher (not a portable one) for 8 years, how much would I pay for a good quality one with an alloy pump?
I personally think Orange bikes look really cool. Pretty colours too. Much better to me than for instance bikes from Trek. But then again I also read comments from people writing Trek bikes look nice so of course it is a matter of taste.
Then again I don't like these stands. Didn't notice them at first, was distracted by the bikes.
That human centipede is my ticket to ride more! ....buys bike to convince wife to ride, realized mid DH ride, mountain tandem is a horrible idea, wife gets pined on tree in a tight corner, divorce shortly follows.....
@KiwiXC: Having lived in the UK and taking your question seriously, the English need pressure washers because in many places water only comes out of the tap at a dribble - nothing like the pressure in NZ or Oz. _Portable_ pressure washers are an unfortunate necessity for many people because it's impossible to go for a ride without getting filthy, and if you live in a flat you probably don't have access to an outdoor tap. When I lived there I bought my own hose and fittings, and used to disconnect one of the washing machines in the common laundry to hook it up - ran the hose out through the ventilation hole for the tumble dryer because the windows didn't open! FWIW, back home in OZ I bought a pressure washer (cheapo non-portable karcher from bunnings) for cleaning a mossy driveway, and it's the bees knees for cleaning bikes, way faster than hose & bucket. Couple of minutes with the sprayer (keeping clear of bb and hub bearings) re-lube the chain and job done.
2 litres. That has to be a typo!! I'm sure my movi holds 17 litres and that still needs topping up to do a proper 1 bike wash!!
Absolute waste of cash. And the thing doesn't have a cigarette plug socket either wtf!!
Ryobi makes a little sprayer that uses their common 18v battery pack. Cost $60. Probably does about the same thing for half the price plus a changeable battery pack.
Did that first pic show a CLOUDLESS sky in the middle of fricken winter in the U.K? There must be some kind of mix-up, as I think your rain came here to California
Goes to show how perverse the bike industry have been with that lambo! The consumers have been getting ripped off with perverse bike and component pricing!
Wrong website. This is the one where the riders say hi to one another & offer assistance if you see them with a mechanical at the side of the trail. Not the other type of "cycling".
@2bigwheels: in which case, good lad! You're a good breed! There aren't many people over on that continent that understand satire, sarcasm or wit, let alone be able to use it, I was easily fooled, but you're a good one :-)
No matter which photos I include in the count, or which captions I look at, I cant find anything wrong with what has been written.
Either way can I come to your birthday party because I bet it'll be an absolute riot.
Cheap, strong, light: pick two. 'cause you can't have the third.
I can appreciate that Hope is doing cool things as a company and I think as a design exercise it's also very cool. but isn't the hub kind of a Hope one-off though? 130 x 17 symmetrically laced (no dish)? And isn't the rear brake also specific? radially mounted? Who else uses these standards, no one? How is that not imposing? No doubt it sets them apart but I'm not sure that's a good thing for mass appeal. I'm much more likely to spend my money on things that are easy for me to source with lots of pricing options. Like I said, I like Hope tech and am not specifically attacking them. It's important for companies to innovate.
I'd take a handmade in the UK carbon frame over mass produced any day.
long time ago i used to fix karcher washers for a living. official line i got of them was expected life/run time of 24hours . and yep plastic parts on the mid to lower models.
as far as pressure washers killing bearings.. blah load of bollox just dont point it at the things and your fine. i wasted so much time for years hand washing then got lazy. bearings dont last any diffrent wish id got lazy sooner
Completely agree re the load of bollox, never killed a bearing with the pressure washer despite firing it right at frame pivot bearings. Best tool in the shed for cleaning the chain, cassette & jockey wheels too, just give it a good blast from all directions then re-lube, no need for scrubbing, solvents, degreaser or detergents.
Orange marketing department: "we can use these cool stands to distract people..."
FWIW, back home in OZ I bought a pressure washer (cheapo non-portable karcher from bunnings) for cleaning a mossy driveway, and it's the bees knees for cleaning bikes, way faster than hose & bucket. Couple of minutes with the sprayer (keeping clear of bb and hub bearings) re-lube the chain and job done.
www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.2-gallon-sprayer.1000755741.html
There must be some kind of mix-up, as I think your rain came here to California