Day two of the London Bike Show meant more time to stomp the aisles and check out all the new bike and component goodness. With many stands selling to the public – including Madison’s retail area with big discounts – there were plenty of good deals for gear hounds to sniff out. Speaking of gear, here’s a quick round-up from What Mountain Bike’s Matt Skinner of some of the new shiny goodness that was on display.
Yeti
Silverfish were proudly displaying the first Yeti SB-66 Carbon frameset in the country: a 6in/150mm travel (using Yeti’s Switch technology) frame with great detailing. Chief among these details are the removable splined ISCG 05 tabs so you can choose the tranmission setup you wish without any surplus grams to carry around.
The now de rigueur down tube protector wards off rock strikes and there are also chain guards on both the top side of the chainstay and the underside of the seatstay. The rear brake mount is post mount, and different rear axle standards can be accommodated using Yeti’s Chip System of interchangeable dropouts. This allows you to run Shimano and/or DT Swiss axles, as well as 135x9mm or 142x12mm standards. A tapered head tube completes the outfit, as it were.
Yeti SB-66 carbon frameset
Also on show was the alloy Yeti SB-95 – the 29er version of the SB-66 – with 5in of travel and many of the same features as its smaller wheeled sibling but rendered in metal. The SB-66 Carbon costs £2,599 while the SB-95 is £1,999.
Yeti SB-95
Rose
Rose were showing their new 7005-alloy-framed play bike that the German company say is “a bit of a departure: playtime meets race time – take it to the park, track or dirt jumps”. Its name? The Jester. It’s a sorted looking four-bar design delivering 120mm of Fox-sprung rear travel mated with a 130mm Fox 831 QR15 fork. It also boasts a well thought out kit selection, with Formula The One brakes being among the highlights and an ‘are you sure that’s not a typo’ price of just £1,279 complete. Yes, complete. The whole bike. It’s available in two frame sizes – long and short.
Rose The Jester
Evoc
Filling a hole in Evoc’s hydration pack range is the CC 6L pack with – yep, you guessed it – six litres of carrying capacity. Frill-lite, with just the main pocket and two small organiser pockets, and sans the integrated back protector that Evoc’s larger packs get, it’s stripped back and simple, and costs £59.
Endura
UK clothing brand Endura used the show to launch their ‘Endura Urban’ range of casual ‘doesn’t look like cycling gear’ cycling gear. Ranging from trousers to shorts (with matching belts), Coolmax jerseys, shells and softshells jackets, and even a cycling cap, socks and leather gloves, the pieces are big on subtle detailing and well, erm, subtlety.
The Urban Softshell jacket uses a lightweight waterproof/breathable softshell fabric backed up with a DWR finish. Features include a microfleece inner, a fixed hood with helmet compatible adjustment, a Napoleon pocket with media port and lanyarded glasses wipe, fleece lined zipped hand warmer pockets and a rear stash pocket, a retractable key leash, dark reflective trims and a set-in sleeve for shoulder comfort.
There are also whispers of a whole new mountain bike range in the offing that multiple Olympian and What Mountain Bike columnist Oli Beckingsale has been working on with Endura. Details are scant but we expect the range to be performance orientated with a casual feel. Sounds good to us.
Stoats
Here’s something we happily stumbled upon in a hunger haze. Do you like wholesome, hearty food and have a penchant for some good oats? If so, you’ll be glad to hear that Scotland's Stoats make a range of oat-based bars and flapjack things made only from natural ingredients, just like your ma used to make. Ranging from iced bars to figs and dates they’re available to help keep you going at more than a few Scottish trail centres as well as from www.fine-adc.co.uk. What’s more they don’t taste like cardboard either.
London Bike Show ticket offer
The London Bike Show runs until Sunday, 15 January. You can buy discounted tickets by entering the code 'radar' at checkout. Entry with the code costs £15 compared to an on-the-door price of £20. While you're there, why not check out the BikeRadar Training Hub?