Day 1 Randoms: Bespoked Show 2023

The European Bike Project is one of our favorite Instagram accounts because the feed is constantly updated with everything from tiny manufacturers to inside looks at European manufacturing. During Bespoked 2023, Alex is tracking down the most interesting mountain bikes for you.


For the first time in its history, Bespoked is taking place outside the UK - in Dresden, Germany. To be precise, it's on the third level of the Dresden International Airport building.

It's difficult to describe Bespoked in a better way than James Smurthwaite did in 2021: "Bespoked is the kind of show where beards outnumber bikes by 10 to 1 and there's barely a lick of carbon to be seen. It's a celebration of handbuilt European bikes and, as you might expect, is populated with some wonderful and weird machines."

With a rather unconventional venue, everything was set for a unique show - and Bespoked 2023 certainly didn't disappoint.

Rheintritt


Phil from Rheintritt had two really interesting bikes at Bespoked. The 176 mm rear travel "Ruffer" is a bike that he originally designed for himself, but now you can order this bike with custom reach, stack, head angle and seat tube length. The CNC parts are made in-house and the frame uses big 32x15x7 bearings. Phil suggests running a 180 mm fork in the front.

The dual toptube is a nice touch, as are the three tool/bottle mounts.




"Ruffy" is a project that Phil worked on together with steel frame enthusiasts from a German mtb forum. They call themselves the "Rudel", which means "pack". Ruffy stands for "Rudel Fully" and it's a 120 mm rear travel steel bike. Phil offers the frame in three different versions: 1. Completely finished with a shock. 2. You can build your own frame in a frame-building course. 3. Phil will also sell you all the tubes and CNC parts for a reasonable price in case you want to build the frame yourself.

The geometry is customisable, you can choose reach, stack, head angle, seat tube length, the tubing and the gussets. The rear travel is either 120 or 130 mm, the fork should be between 130 and 150 mm.





Dlouhy


The team from Leipzig-based workshop Dlouhy had an amazing hardtail at the show. The purple AXS Transmission parts look great on the raw frame, but the perfectly integrated Eightpins dropper post is really interesting too. With 29 x 3.0" tires and a 140 mm fork, the bike should handle pretty well on gnarly trails.








Woodalps


Woodalps is the passion project of Arnaud, who runs this small company out of his garage. He's got a big CNC machine that he uses to create these unique frames, which are hollow and surprisingly light (2.3 kg / 5 lbs for the hardtail). Arnaud tested the frames himself and in his own test lab before he had them tested according to ISO 4210.

The "Yggy" Hardtail is designed around a 110 or 120 mm fork. While he says that the frame handles great, the "Grooty" road bike profits from the vibration-reducing properties of wood even more.








Ingrid


After many years of hard work, the Ingrid team was very proud to show us their new shifter. The shifter completes their drivetrain lineup - you can now get derailleurs, cassettes, cranks, chainrings, spindles, bottom brackets and shifters from the Italian company.

The shifter has only one paddle, which has to be pressed in one direction or the other to shift up or down (see the video). Building a shifter is probably as difficult as watchmaking and the Ingrid team managed to create a shifter with a very crisp feel. The first impressions were really positive.








Actofive


Simon from Actofive brought the latest iteration of his I-Train fully to the show, which helped him to win the "best offroad" award. This new version still has chainstays which are made by Nicolai, but the seat stays are now completely machined - as is the front triangle. The "champagne" colour looks incredibly classy and Simon says that this is how this specific alloy looks after natural anodizing (no colour is added).

The I-Train can be used with different shocks, resulting in 105mm / 115mm / 125mm /135mm rear travel. Simon suggests using forks that have 120 - 140 mm travel.

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Reviews and Tech Randoms Bespoked 2023