The Final Mega Randoms - Eurobike 2023
This enormous greenhouse was the only place in the entire show that felt air-conditioned.
Omnium Cargo Ti
Allan Shaw will be riding his absolutely wild titanium Omnium Cargo in the legendary Silk Road Mountain race in Kyrgyzstan this year.
He's got his bike set up with Omnium's new carbon rod platform and steering linkage, Trickstuff Maximas, Schwalbe Big Betty tires, Ingrid cranks, Tune bar, Brooks saddle and bags, Burgtec flats, King headset, aero-bars, etc... I don't care how annoying the term "shred-basket-packing" is, this is cool as hell and Allan is a super interesting character.
Steve Jones in full force during an official meeting of the industry media cabal.
The Foot Condom from The Untouchable Legion has both an incredible logo, and incredible website copy.
 | Sat upon my chariot, into a war I rode. The battle's been raging 3 long hours. Attacks coming in continuous waves. Ground has been won, lost and retaken. Many entered this never-ending arena, knowing only one can victor. A name that is to be etched in history. Those who dare challenge that crown have been laid beneath pounding feet... |
A battery-powered figure that still haunts my dreams.
I deliberately avoided all the 3D printing stands the past few days, but coincidentally got connected to the Carbon3D folks during lunch. They are the makers of the latticed rubber 3D printed saddle pads for Specialized, Fizik, Bjorn, and Selle Italia (although I'm not sure that one is released yet?). Their printing tech is very cool, and they've got a bunch of projects in the works with various manufacturers.
I think there could be applications for Carbon3D's tech in bike helmets and pads too.
The most interesting part for me was their flexible materials, especially their energy-damping, strain-rate-sensitive, elastomer EPU45. It behaves a lot like D3o's shear-thickening, non-Newtonian material in that it gets more rigid the harder you hit it, which has been used successfully in a lot of MTB pads. But unlike D3o-style materials, Carbon3D can print lattices of it with gradients of density and size—customizing flexibility and making it significantly more breathable in both directions. I didn't get the sense anyone is launching pads or bike helmets with any of their materials imminently, but I'd be very keen to see development in this direction.
EX900 // 300 USD, 280 EUR
EX500 // 140 USD, 130 EUR
Shimano revealed a new lineup of shoes aimed at the XC/adventure/do-it-all/bikepacking crowd.
The EX900 use a waterproof Gore-Tex liner and a midsole created from up to 18% recycled materials. The closure system uses a dual-dial BOA system. The current price for these shoes is $300.00 USD / €279.95 EUR.
The EX500 uses Shimano's trail-inspired Ultread EX sole and a speed lace system with an additional strap for extra security. The EX500s are made with up to 25% recycled materials, and are available for slightly less than the EX900 at $140.00 USD / €129.95 EUR.
Old news by now, but cool to take another look at this BB forging for Intense's Aaron Gwin prototype by Trumpf. Unlike most of the 3D printed stuff at the show, this is done in aluminum, so it can be welded to the rest of the frame and then heat-treated.
Pinion's Motor Gearbox Unit (MGU) was the talk of Eurobike 2023. This Rotwild R.X1000's 960Wh battery powers the 85Nm MGU which has a 600% range across 12 gears. This €11,999 Ultra model has a 150mm travel carbon frame, mixed wheels, and weighs 24.5kg. Check out Ralf Hauser's in-depth shakedown on the Rotwild R.X1000 and Pinion MGU here.
Funn has some new 'Upturn' slopestyle bars. They're 6061, come in six colours (Black, Gray, Green, Orange, Blue, and Red), 31.8 only, 40mm or 55mm rise, and are available late July. They cost $59 USD.
We showed you an early version of their Equalizer stem at Taipei show, but it's done now and it'll be available in July. 6061 aluminum, zero rise, 35/42/55mm lengths, 31.8 or 35mm clamp, all the colours, 140g (31.8/35mm), and $75 USD.
They've also got longer pins for their new Python flat pedals (Matt Beer is testing a set for review). They're also compatible with their other pedals. Available in black, silver, gold, blue, and red, they cost $19.90 USD and are available in early August.
Is the Topeak Up-Up Stand the most unnecessary piece of bikepacking equipment ever?
Jan from Trickstuff, Ralf from Huhn Cycles, and Yesen from 3DPBS. All folks doing some super interesting stuff in this space.
Yesen's upcoming new breakaway frame forging. Done with additive, and theoretically lighter, stronger, and cheaper than other options currently on the market.
3DPBS does all kinds of solutions for small batch makers.
iXS was showing off a new Trigger X three-quarter shell helmet that looks quite nice. It uses MIPS Air, comes in 3 sizes, four colours, has a magnetic buckle, dial adjust, and will launch officially in early 2024.
A Spank x Rainier beer collab isn't exactly one we were expecting, but I have to say it looks great. The stem upgrades the Split stem with ti hardware, comes in red/gold and silver/gold, and are limited to 100 (might be 200, don't hold me to it). Available July 13th. Matching Spoon 110 pedals also available (not pictured).
An updated classic.
Other colours are available.
ODI is now offering a new version of its Vans waffle grip. The updated grip now features the 2.1 single clamp design (to the chagrin of some) and a smaller flange that is said to not interfere with your shifters or brakes. The pattern has also been adjusted for a claimed improvement to grip and comfort.
BH was showing off its new lightweight eMTB the iLynx+, which came out on top as our "worst product name of Eurobike" this year against some stiff competition. Name and polarizing looks aside, it uses a Shimano EP801 motor paired with an internal 540wh battery that can be expanded up to 720wh using the bottle cage-mounted extender—and unlike most extenders, you can still fit a bottle inside the front triangle. Also noteworthy is that they've managed to get the frame weight down to 2,450 grams. Not quite Dangerholm numbers but there's potential there. The frame can be specced as a 140mm Trail or 160mm Enduro-ish version. Both versions use the same frame with a Split Pivot suspension design.
Headset cable routing and a SuperBoost rear axle to get the comments section onside.
A real blast from the past.
The Axle Pack can add 3-pack mounts to any fork.
Old Man Mountain had two new prototypes on its Eurobike stand that are almost ready for production. The first is the Axle Pack, which Old Man Mountain says will work with "any" suspension fork, attaching to both the fork lower and front axle to avoid spinning or slipping. I don't see how this will work with an upside-down fork, but that's just me nitpicking. They're aiming for this to handle up to 10kg loads, more than other strap-on fork mounts out there. Available later this year.
They also had this Flip Cage, which is a cargo cage with a new quick locking mechanism. Old Man Mountain told us that the goal was to create a bag attachment point that had no rattling and could quickly detach bags. The version we saw was 3D printed but the final production model will be injection molded. The brand also said they don't want to keep this mechanism just for themselves and are interested in sharing this with other bag manufacturers.
I was going to do a "taglines of Eurobike" but there were just too many. For the record, I saw about 12 passion-related taglines. Let's put a moratorium on passion for a few years.
Our Aperol Spritzes are empty, our feet are tired, and our brains are full of questionable marketing buzzwords. We've still got a few more things to post up over the coming days, but for now we've earned some jetlagged sleep. That's it that's all from Frankfurt.
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I think they are just trying to use "forging" to refer to a large net-shape metal part, which is inaccurate, and doesn't capture how amazing the process actually is.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
TL;DR: melt, not sinter.
freakshow called Eurobike highlighting stuff few (if any) of us cares to throw money at. If there is one thing to do to make sure it wasn't in vain, it would be to have those two experts give us their expert view on the whole thing.
So yeah if you don't rely on a bike for transportation or at least don't ever have to flip your bike upside down for emergency repairs, you don't need this (as goes for most of the stuff on such an expo). But I for one wouldn't mind bringing a set of these along on my commuter. As 2/3rd of the time I'm doing a roadside repair, it is not on my own bike anyway
- Brian Park, 2023