The Cycle Show eBikes, bling and stuff!

It’s spring and a young cyclist’s thoughts turn to…looking at cool stuff! The 2023 Cycle Show had plenty for young and old.

The Cycle Show celebrated twenty years of all things bike at London’s Ally Pally; that’s Alexandra Palace for non-Londoners. There were brands galore, experts and personalities from all sides of cycling. I managed a full day taking it all in. Here’s some of my highlights

Jaw Droppers 2.0

The second edition of the the Jaw Droppers competition lived up to expectations. Seventeen brands entered some stunning entrants for us to drool over. There were road bikes, Mtbs and even an eBike. The paint jobs were amazing, from the deep lacquer on the Handsling AiRoevo, Sam Dunn’s hand-drawn artwork on the Spoon Customs bike, to Enigma’s green-gold Eikon.

eBikes

When you first enter the Cycle Show you are met with a bewildering array of eBikes: they are taking over! You can’t avoid it, us analogue riders – that’s a term I heard being used by a couple of eBikers – are on the decline. Soon we’ll all be electrified, which I would have appreciated when carting my kids around in a trailer up a 12% climb! Something like the long wheel-base Synch S-Cargo bike would be great for trips to the supermarket.

Or the Ultima Mulitipath, a bike made in Europe from BMW carbon-fibre waste! They use a carbon/plastic injection-moulding process to make the frame. This can then be customised by adding different front ends, from cargo bike to carbon-fibre leaf-spring front suspension. By sourcing the components from Europe they cut down on long supply chains and reduce the carbo footprint involved in manufacturing.

Another brand that stood out, for their 50s style paintjobs was Beameo. This UK-based family run business has produced a six bike range that looks fun and practical. And with a possible manufacturing facility opening in Wales, you could support a home-grown business

Shoes

Amongst the bikes were shoes from Lake and DMT, you can’t beat a nice pair of racing slippers! Lake’s shoes are a bit of a favourite here, we’ve looked at their CX218, MX175, MXZ30 and the MX331. After looking and handling DMT’s KRO and KMO models though, I may have a new favourite. It looks like there may have to be a review-off soon!

Clothing

And if I have nice shoes, then I’m going to want nice clothes to set them off, aren’t I? Assos have been making quality cycling kit for longer than I care to remember and judging by what was on display, still are. The UMA GTC BIB SHORTS C2 have a clever magnetic closure that makes a “natural break” easier. And the men’s EQUIPE RSR BIB SHORTS S9 TARGA have some clever technical details that will make for a comfortable rides.

A real eye-opener was on the Spatz stand. You’ve probably seen their high-top shoe covers out on the road, but maybe not their clothing. I spoke to their designer about the unusual looking material that they used. This is created by specialist sewing machines in Portugal. Using these, he can create raised waffle-like patterns that trap air close to the body. These keep you warm and transport sweat away from the body. Does it work? I was shown an unsolicited message from a well-known rider and team mates, all wearing Spatz base-layers under their team kit. Pro riders buying your kit to use rather than the team-issue clothing, that’s a pretty good endorsement. I’ll try and get some in for review.

More bikes!

Of course being the Cycle Show, you would expect to see a few bikes and we weren’t disappointed. As well as the Jaw Droppers I got to see some stunning rides and talk to some of their creators. Amongst these were Spoon Customs, who had some beautiful bicycle-shaped-objects on display. All custom built they were made from steel, carbon-fibre and the oft-forgotten, aluminium. With a new studio in Surrey, they can measure you up for a frame that will be hand-built by their partners in Italy. And once built it can be sprayed with any paint job imaginable. I feel a visit is on the cards for these terribly nice people!

Basso were there with their fixed-pivot Tera and sparkly Palta gravel bikes. The Wilier Filante SLR floated above their stand with it’s smoky-blue paint job. The paintjobs and the attention to detail on the Reilly Cycleworks bikes were worth a good old look. Another Sussex-based brand displaying paintjobs to die for were Enigma. They’ve been producing custom titanium bikes that never go out of fashion. And talking of never going out of fashion Condor Cycles, a London stalwart were there, showcasing some of their bikes

From Sussex back to bella Italia and Bianchi, their stand was awash with celeste bikes that caught the eye. But it wasn’t just road bikes, on the Hope stand was their HB916, which I hadn’t seen before. As you would expect from the masters of bike bling it was a standout example of engineering: well worth a look. Atherton Bikes were flying the flag for Wales with their bikes. These Welsh made bikes use carbon tubes bonded to 3D printed titanium lugs. Are they any good? Well they’ve won the odd World Cup, so I’d say yes!

Components

What’s the most important part of a bike, the frame, the wheels, groupset, tyres? Ask a hundred cyclists and get a hundred different answers. Handily there were loads of brands showing everything you could need to answer that question. There was Hope with their anodised engineering eye-candy display: how long before they make a complete groupset? Lezyne with more pumps than…well, I don’t know what. But there were a lot! Schwalbe, Pirelli, Continental, Goodyear and Halo were just some of the tyre brands that you could get up and personal with. Tubolito had their lightweight inner tubes including the PSENS that can tell you what your pressure is and the X-TUBO with a one year warranty against punctures. Too good to be true?

And a whole lot more

Any other items catch my attention? Well yes. Enervit had samples of their energy products and one of them could be the answer to one of my cycling “issues”! Gels, more specifically the sticky fingers and gooey mess in your pockets after using them. Their Carbo Jelly looks like it could be the answer. Instead of the usual viscous sticky fluid, you get a jelly that is easy to swallow and leaves no mess: perfect. And if you’re a fan of indoor training, but bored by the static position and lack of input, Mouv had the answer. Mouv are stationary bikes, that move! Rather than making you ride in one fixed position, the Mouv sways and bobs just like a real bike. This gets you using your core and makes sessions more fun, I enjoyed playing on it. And if like me you have too many bikes piling up, then Dura Garages have a solution

So that’s the Cycle Show done for another year. If you missed it make sure you book a trip for next year’s edition. Maybe you could enter the British Cycling Track Stand competition? When I left this young man was up to twenty-nine minutes and still going!