We're busy blowing up the inflatable sofas on our stand at the Cycle Show. If you're coming to Earl's Court this weekend don't forget to come and say hello: we're on stand D5. We've got T shirts for sale and stickers to give away, come and fill your boots!
So what's new at Cycle 2009? Well, it's a bit to early to have seen everything but here's a few quick peeks. A few products are picked out below, keep checking back for more pics...
Cooper bikes
We've covered the launch of Cooper Bikes on road.cc, but this is the first time we've seen them in the flesh and they're very nice looking machines. There's a choice of four models: The singlespeed Monza and Sebring are Reynolds 520 steel framed bikes in flat and drop bar guise respectively; they'll set you back £595 each. A bit further up the range the frames are made of legendary Reynolds 531. The Championship 50 celebrates Cooper's long motorsport heritage and features Sturmey Archer running gear and Brooks contact points. The Reims has a Sturmey Archer five speed hub and a specially engineered down tube shifter, and Brooks again take care of saddle and bar tape.
Blue Bikes
Heard of them? They're new to us too, at least in the flesh, although the company has been running since 2004. They've been available in the UK since the summer and there's a wide range of bikes available. The RD and AC ranges take care of the road side (the AC is an aero frameset) and there's some Cyclo-cross bikes in the range too as well as the Triad, a very slippery looking TT machine
The world's most expensive bike?
Maybe. The world's most pointless bike? Possibly. If you want a low-rider encrusted with 100,000 jewels then the Cycle Show is the place to come. You'll need very deep pockets if you want to ride it home though. Very deep pockets indeed...
Hope Hoops
Hope are well known for their MTB kit but the hubs are well-liked in the road market too; we've ridden plenty of bikes with custom wheels built up around the XC hubs. Full-on road wheels are a fairly new diversion for Hope but they've invested £200,000 in the latest wheelbuilding kit to make it a reality, and the range is extended this year. Top dog is the PRO3 RS-SP5.0 Carbon, a bit of a mouthful but a very nice-looking tubular wheelset with a 50mm aero section full Carbon rim. They do a clincher version too with an alloy braking surface. PRO3 wheels are the next rung down the ladder, a 30mm alloy rim laced by hand to Hope's hubs with Sapim CX-Ray spokes. The PRO3 RS-MONO is the entry level hoop, utilising Mavic's Open Pro rims
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Here's my 2011 Fuji track bike. Had it repainted and use it for all my commutes in San Francisco.