After pounding Eurobike 2013’s 12 aircraft hangar-sized halls in search of the latest, greatest bikes and gear on the planet, BikeRadar’s editors and contributors have selected their favourite pieces of kit from the show. Here are our selections…
Oli Woodman – staff writer, BikeRadar
I’ve chosen the all-new Spectral AL from Canyon as it looks set to be a sorted competitive enduro bike straight out of the box. Available with 650b or 29in wheels, it has good quality Fox suspension at each end, plus a drivetrain and finishing kit built to take abuse. What’s not to like?
Oh, and, being a Canyon, it should be solid value to boot.
Sam Dansie – news writer, BikeRadar
I’ve gone for the Exposure Equinox – a 2,000 lumen helmet/bar light with a wireless remote thumb switch. The luminosity on top-end lights from a number of manufacturers is incredible now, so it’s refreshing to see battle lines starting to be redrawn. Lupine have similar remote technology on their Betty R lights, but the Exposure is a great deal cheaper.
Exposure's powerful Equinox light
Ben Delaney – US editor, BikeRadar
Shimano have expanded their existing bikeftting.com programme to include pedalling analysis, and the system offers a wealth of information. Not only does it measure how much power is going in left and right, but also the negative forces being generated by each foot. It can even tell where on the pedal power is being put down.
So, while Eurobike is filled with thousands of bikes and products promising to make you go faster and clothes, what really matters is the engine. The new addition to bikefitting.com appears to offer an objective way to improve what’s driving the bike.
Jon Woodhouse – technical editor, mountain bike titles
The Manitou Mattoc gets my vote. It’s the company’s first suspension fork for quite a while, which is significant because it marks their return to the fray with a credible enduro offering. Now they’ve got a fully featured, sealed cartridge in a 650b and 26in chassis with high- and low-speed compression.
The impressive Manitou Mattoc
The Mattoc’s damper has basically been borrowed from the Dorado downhill fork. It’s been a very long time since Manitou have competed with the likes of Fox and RockShox, and it’s a welcome return.
Rob Spedding – editor, Cycling Plus
While there’s a lot of focus on thoroughbred disc brake road bikes this year, what’s intrigued me more is the Giant Anyroad. The options it provides to go off-road on something fast and comfortable that’s not a full-on cyclocross bike are pretty exciting. I’m not convinced by its looks, though – the Giant is ugly/beautiful, if you know what I mean.
Warren Rossiter – technical editor, Cycling Plus
For me it’s a toss-up between the aero Felt FRD AR frameset and the Bianchi Oltre Disc. I’ll go with the Felt, though. Aerodynamically it’s a massive step forward from the old bike. More than that, though, is the way it rides – on most aero bikes there’s some compromise between ride quality and stiffness, but with the Felt there’s none at all.
The Felt FRD AR
Jamie Wilkins – editor, Urban Cyclist
From an urban bike perspective, the Bellitanner Cab New York gets my vote. It uses some clever tubing arrangements to get the wheelbase ultra-tight at 92cm. They’ve got a regular build at €1,300, but it’s got really nice stuff on it.
Then they’ve got a crazy version by AX Lightness that has carbon tubular deep-section wheels, a carbon stem and handlebar and a full raw carbon saddle and seatpost. It weighs 5kg (11lb) and costs €5,000. It just looks super cool.
Tom Marvin – technical writer, BikeRadar, MBUK, What Mountain Bike, Cycling Plus
My choice is the Orange Strange prototype – a long travel 29er enduro bike with a specially modified RockShox Pike fork. Even Orange don’t know what RockShox did to give it 160mm of travel with a 29in wheel.
There aren’t many 160mm 29ers out there and the fact that the Strange has a modified Pike fork means it’s completely different – no one else is going to have that. The bike’s not been ridden properly yet, but it’s being sent to Morzine next week with one of their test riders to see how it goes.
The Orange Strange prototype
Jamie Wilkins – deputy editor, Procycling
From a pro cycling view we’ve seen a lot of aero evolutions around the show, such as the ENVE TT handlebar (claimed to be market leading in terms of its performance) and Castelli’s new aero gloves, jerseys and skinsuits.
But my choice piece is the new Selle Italia Iron saddle. It’s got clever stuff going on around the nose, with the twin-prong design and a supportive section in the middle that allows breathability as well as draining for triathletes who have just gone for a swim.
The two most interesting features are in the composites, though. The rails use ceramics in the weave and Selle Italia have halved their weight. The Iron also has a faring at the back designed to be aerodynamic and contribute some control over the way the air comes off a rider.
