After the mega-shows of Eurobike followed by Interbike, the Cycle Show at Birmingham's NEC at the weekend was the chance for companies to present their fresh goods to the UK public. This is the 14th year the Cycle Show has been held in the UK, and it is the biggest and longest running cycling show in the country. In addition to the traditional exhibition, this year's attendees were treated to
Sam Pilgrim's Invitational and the BMX Flatland Championships. Here's what caught Farah's eye as she took to the show floor.
Trek Session 88
Trek's downhill ride for the 2016 season will feature this vibrant Miami Green. It sure was an eye-catcher at the show. Once you've paid £4,000 for the bike, the next challenge will be getting suitably matching attire to accompany it; stealth black or go all-out Hawaiian shirt, a-la Miami Vice perhaps?
Yeti SB5c Beti
Is it pink? Is it red? Am I colour-blind? Probably...it's coral. Yeti's women's-specific Beti trail bike comes in this funky 'coral' colour. Everything about this bike is want-want-want from my perspective; the heritage of Yeti Bikes, coupled with women's-specific components such as a WTB Diva saddle, smaller diameter grips and narrower handlebars, plus reduced crank lengths on the extra small and small bikes. With a price tag of £5,799, this Yeti is certainly on my 'when I win the lottery' wish list.
Vitus Bikes
Vitus have an all-new budget downhill machine called the Dominer. Sharing the suspension platform from their acclaimed Escape and Sommet bikes, the Dominer has 200mm of rear travel, a 63° head angle, with the medium frame having a 425mm reach, 445mm chainstay and 1227mm wheelbase. With a RockShox and Shimano Zee-speced chassis, it's yours for only £2,249.
The carbon framed Sommet CRX is on its way and should be landing in March 2016. The carbon mainframe shaves, or rather hacks, an entire kilogram off its aluminium brethren! £3,799 for this Irish gem.
KTM
I'm a bit of a KTM fan, having owned a Duke motorbike for a few years, so it's been interesting to see how their bicycle division has developed over the years. Their stand was awash with eBikes and road bikes, though there were a few mountain bikes on show too. Their bikes have started to look a lot more refined in recent years, and with their Austrian heritage I can only see things going from strength to strength with their bicycle division. The question on my mind is; will we ever see KTM re-introduce a DH bike for a World Cup team?
The KTM Lycan LT 273. Coming in at £2399, this is KTM's 160mm travel bike for XC/Enduro riding. The bike features Shimano's XT groupset and the new RockShox Yari RC fork and sits on the scales at 14.2kg.
The Kapoho is KTM's new 125mm travel bike. Using the Straight Line Link suspension design, the ride is designed around 27.5+ wheels. At £2999, the Kapoho features the full Shimano XT groupset, with front and rear Boost hubs.
Hope Technology
I took a closer look at the new orange components from the much-respected British brand. The orange colourways will be available from the start of October. Sadly, with one new colour added, another goes, and Hope confirmed they'll be ceasing production on their Gunsmoke colourway components. If you're a fan of the Gunsmoke range, get them whilst you can as it will be phased out by the end of the 2015.
The 70mm stem extends Hope Technology's current all-mountain range and is available in 0°and 20° rise for 31.8mm bars. Hope will have them on sale in late October in all their standard colours.
Hope also introduced a new downhill rim called the Tech SD for riders looking for something more burly than their Tech Enduro rim. The Tech SD will also be available in October.
 | For the past few years, DH riders have been trying to shave every gram they can off their bikes. One major area has been wheels, but it has also meant a compromise on strength. We believe our new Tech SD rim addresses both these issues. The rim profile has been designed to give the maximum strength, without adding additional weight. With a rim width of 33mm and weighing 600g, the Tech DH rim can be punished on multiple practice runs and still run true on the final race run. - Hope Technology |
Whyte
British brand Whyte had a few new bikes at the Cycle Show. From the top, the kids-specific 405 hardtail, which retails at £999 caught my eye as a great looking bike for the younger rider. Moving down, the bright but deep pink T-130 SX is Whyte's entry-level trail bike. On closer inspection the bike looks to be a great starter for those looking to explore more challenging terrain with its proven and dependable four-bar Horst link suspension platform. With a £1,899 price tag, they've even got an extra small size on offer for this model, and all come equipped with Shimano's SLX/XT 2x10spd drivetrain.
Finally, the T-130 C RS is a single ring specific carbon frame, with a full-width main pivot which is said to increase torsional stiffness, extend bearing life and maximise suspension performance. The RS is a lower spec model at £3,599 and there will also be a 'Works' version coming in at £4,599.
Other Show Randoms
Based in Milton Keynes,
Drops produce bespoke wallpaper, in-store graphics and exhibition stands for cycling brands and fans. Their stand at the show featured a pastel-coloured design by Ritch 'Rich Mitch' Mitchelson on one wall and - using the same design - a colour-me-in wall on the other using the same design. My A* in A-Level Art couldn't resist a bit of creativity at the show and with a pink Sharpie pen, I duly marked one of the bikes in the name of the biggest action sports website in the world. Back to business, the Rich Mitch design is available to buy at £65 per roll (each roll is 10.05m x 52cm). It's paste-to-paper based and washable so things should be nice and easy when it comes to applying it and keeping it clean. It was a shame not to see any mountain bikes in the paper design at the show though. However, Drops do bespoke designs too. Something to think about for a spring renovation project then!
The Aaron Gwin Shrine
The guys at Ison Distribution had placed this shrine to the Wizard of Mountain Biking, Aaron Gwin, at centre-stage. Adorned with rare items of Gwin Magic such as 'Merica-themed Renthal handlebars, HT Component pedals and ODI grips, set beside a signed photograph of the wizard himself, the shrine was attracting a lot of attention. I asked Jordan Lunn from Ison if the air in the perspex box was, in fact, full of Gwin's own breath...apparently, it was! And with that, the show for me was complete.
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Trek's downhill ride for the 2016 season will feature this vibrant Miami Green. It sure was an eye-catcher at the show. Once you've paid £4,000 for the bike, the next challenge will be getting suitably matching attire to accompany it; stealth black or go all-out Hawaiian shirt, a-la Miami Vice perhaps?
I'd be interested to know how much of a dent the 'value bikes' are making to the sales of the more established brands?
also how the frick can the yeti beti be almost £6k.