After scouring the stands at the London Bike Show today, we are reporting to you here with the highlights. We found action cameras developed for ice hockey players, faux-fixie machines with hidden high-tech-ery, and steel-looking bikes that are actually carbon. Read on and scroll through the gallery to see it all.
UHWK action camera
If you’ve been enjoying the ice hockey at the Winter Olympics, and who hasn’t, then the UHWK camera might tickle your fancy.
It was developed to help ice hockey players capture the ‘rough and tumble’ action, but is now available to cyclists. The UHWK is attached to a headband, not unlike one you’ll find on a head torch, and will fit around a lid.
It shoots 1080p video at 30fps, offers 150-degree POV filming and will — probably — withstand an attack with a puck whilst you ride.
Tomir XC
Jan-Willem Santnicolaas is the Dutch master who made his name with Van Nicholas titanium bikes. He moved on in 2012 to form J.Guillem but continued to make stunning titanium machines. More usually associated with road bikes, we’re rather taken with this lovely looking Tomir XC.
Hackney GT bobble hat
Alright, I’ll admit I was still feeling chilly as I wandered around the show so I was drawn to Hackney GT’s bike-themed bobble hat. What’s not to like?
Rose Edelrose Metrea
The Rose Edelrose Metrea is a funky looking urban machine. Its cowhorn bars mean it’s got a fixie vibe, but they actually house Shimano Metrea shifters. And it’s got a leather Brooks B17 saddle, which is a good thing.
Favorit
If Favorit is making you think of old Skodas then you’re actually on the right path. The brand is, like the pro peloton’s favourite estate car supplier, a Czech company.
It’s been building bikes since 1922, but is new to the UK. The rather lovely looking F1 Classic appears to be steel, but it’s actually a full carbon machine. We like it.
The chunky stem on Favorit’s urban models contain a dynamo-powered light.
GT Pro Performer 26 BMX
GT’s Pro Performer 26 is a BMX for grown up kids… Inspired by GT’s 1980s freestyle machines and boasting bits that have been lovingly recreated to ape the original bikes we guarantee that many a middle-aged-man-or-woman in Lycra will get their trick nuts in a twist when they see this.
Presca
Looking for the “world’s most sustainable” cycling kit? Look no further! British brand Presca, based on Teeside, uses recycled plastic bottles for its jerseys and recycled fishing nets for the bottoms. There’s probably a rubbish joke in here somewhere, but it’s late and I’ve got a train to catch.
Find out more at GRN Sportswear
Mach7
There were a few new British brands at the show including Mach7. The company’s Gravello and Aeroblade bikes use Taiwanese carbon frames but are rather beautifully hand painted using 14 coats of paints. The work is done in the Silverstone Technology Cluster F1 fans! And the bikes also have an embedded NFC chipset carrying the serial number and bike number for added security.
For more info head over to Mach7
Stanton
Another Brit brand, Stanton’s Switch 9er FS is an eye-catching number. Especially to a roadie like me… It’s a 29in Enduro bike made from Reynolds 631 steel and it’s built in Matlock, Derbyshire. That’s good enough for me.
Factor
In 2010 I rode the, then, super techy Beru F1systems Factor001. It was a super-integrated, mind-bogglingly expensive and really bloody stiff machine. Eight years on Factor, as they’re now known, are well established in the provpeloton under AG2R. Sure the bikes are less tech-laden, although the swoony Factor 01 still has a split downtube like the original and lovely TRP direct mount brakes, but along with the Factor 02 we think they’re lovely looking things.
Calibre
The Triple B is an up-specced version of Calibre’s well regarded Bossnut. It’s got a thru-axle rear end, a 140 RockShox Reba RL fork, a dropper post, i29 rims and a 1x chainset. And, of course, if ye head to your nearest Go Outdoors store armed with your discount card you’ll get money off the RRP. Boom!
For more info head over to Calibre
Tresca
You’re a young engineer who loves cycling and wants, but can’t find, a bike that you believe offers the optimum blend of stiffness and comfort so what do you do? You design and build your perfect aluminium machine! That’s what the team behind Tresca have done; this UK-based start-up has so far built just the one bike and was showing it off at the London Bike Show. The initial Tresca model will sell for around £1,500.
Kona
If the minty blue paint job, WTB 650b x 47mm tyres and Reynolds 853 steel tubes of the Kona LTD adventure bike don’t make you even just little bit tingly then I feel for you. There’s just something about this bike that’s calling us.
