Last weekend, the bike industry and riders alike descended upon the Malvern Hills for the Malverns Classic, a key event on the mountain bike calendar. As well as top-level races, grass-roots jaunts between the tapes and evenings filled with live music, the event welcomes bikes of all types for spectators and riders to ogle, including its famous retro bike show. I wandered the event expo to spot the coolest bikes I could find.
Singular Cycles Albatross
Belonging to industry legend Rory Hitchens, a man who’s always keen to jump on the latest wheel-size trend, is this rather fetching, and appropriately-named Albatross from Singular Cycles. This is a titanium-framed 32-inch wheeled bike that’s very smartly colour-matched with wheels from Boyd, a silver finishing kit from PNW Components and matching silver SRAM Motive brakes.
The Albatross is designed to be a real do-it-all machine that’s claimed to cover cross-country riding and bikepacking, but if you’re feeling a bit of gravel action, Singular Cycles says that this bike will happily accommodate a drop handlebar.
Regardless of whether you’re keen for big wheels, there’s no two ways about it, this bike is one smart-looking machine.
Sour Bicycles Pasta Party 32
I’ve rarely seen 32-inch wheels outside of trade shows, so it came as a bit of a surprise to see Sour Bikes’ Pasta Party 32 on show. This bike takes the brand’s fast and efficient hardtail but slings a pair of 32-inch hoops into its dropouts in a bid to ‘preserve’ the original bike’s ride at a larger scale, says the brand. But while I say that the brand has swapped its wheel size, the bike’s geometry has seen a welcome tweak in order to wring the most out of the big wheels, without them ‘overpowering’ the handling, says Sour.
Unlike the Singular Cycles Albatross, the Pasta Party 32 is an out-and-out cross-country bike, so much so that it uses specially chosen steel tubes to balance lightweight and efficiency with just the right level of compliance.
Sour Bikes’ frames are hand-built and painted in Dresden, and I’m a huge fan of this blue, purple, pink fade.
Kona Unity
The Unity is Kona’s answer to the progression and evolution of bikepacking, as the brand claims that it “might be the ultimate utilitarian bike”. Interestingly, this is a mixed-wheel bike as it utilises a 29-inch wheel up front with a 650b, or 27.5″ wheel at the back. This move has happened because Kona reckons that it brings the bike’s centre of gravity to where it’s wanted, while opening up space for more clearance for racks and bags. A bonus result is that the smaller wheel is a stronger wheel, which is important when loaded up with kit.
Its geometry is then optimised to carry heavy loads, with special attention paid to the fork offset to produce natural handling when weighed down. There’s an integrated front rack and a huge front triangle, so you can pack the kitchen sink, too, if you really want.
Gee Milner’s Dream Build Revel Ritual
Earlier this year, Revel returned to UK shores, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down, especially with this special build put together by none other than Gee Milner of Dream Builds, and what a way to make a mark? This is a custom-painted, custom-built Ritual that really leans into its enduro intentions with a big ol’ Fox Podium fork and coil shock.
In fact, nearly every bit of this bike is rather posh, from that one-off colour to the neat carbon Crankbrothers wheels and Fox Transfer Live Valve Neo dropper post, which certainly isn’t cheap.
Amping up the high-end build is a set of Trickstuff brakes, Shimano’s XTR Di2 shifting and that rather fitting gold chain.
Cube Fritzz
A couple of weeks ago, Cube really shook up its mountain bike range and announced the return of the Fritzz. However, this time around it gets a massively different look as the brand’s enduro bike is a high pivot and seamless-looking machine. The build you see here is the priciest of the range, featuring RockShox’s Ultimate-level suspension, SRAM XO T-Type AXS shifting and some quality Continental rubber.
But the best bit is that you can get all of this for £5,000. That’s a build kit that you’ll usually see on bikes costing well above this. Hopefully we can get one of these on test so we can see if the value is as good as it seems.
Nukeproof Dissent
Nukeproof is another brand that faded and has made a mighty comeback, and its Dissent downhill bike has garnered a lot of attention over the past few months, being ridden by the Joe Breeden-headed Nukeproof Axess Racing Team. But the interesting thing here remains around its rear end, as it’s taken many forms over the months as the brand and team have been testing tons of options in the hunt for exceptional performance between the tapes.
If the CNC-machined aluminium rear end doesn’t look cool enough, the custom colourway is definitely one to catch an eye or two.
Nukeproof Reactor
That downhill bike leads me perfectly onto this. While it’s easy to get caught up in all of the newer mountain bikes, Malverns Classic is home to a huge range of the BMX and MTB Retro Show n Shine, so there’s loads of old school bikes if you’re one for a touch of nostalgia, or keen to find out just how far mountain bike tech has come.
But this is the very first Nukeproof Reactor, launched in 1997. Of course, it looks incredibly different to the modern Reactor, and yes, that is a linkage fork. I reckon some gravel riders might even find themselves envious of the deep section rims here. What’s impressive here though, is the condition it’s been kept in. It looks brand-spanking new, especially for a bike that’s nearly 30 years old now.
Giant ATX One DH
Mountain bikes don’t get as iconic as this, and it’s one of many that Myles Rockwell rode to great success (well, not this one). Compared to modern downhill bikes, it’s tiny, apart from its chunky, chunky stem, but in this honest and battle-scarred state, it’s an excellent look at how downhill tech and the riding have progressed in 25-odd years.
The little sign says that it’s too nice for a wall ornament, but I beg to differ; it makes an awesome wall ornament.
Yeti Lawwill DH6
The Yeti Lawwill DH6 is one of those early examples of brands pushing conventional boundaries in pursuit of speed. Made using Easton tubes, it uses a quadrilateral rear suspension design that’s composed of a four-bar and parallel link designed by Mert Lawwill. But what really catches the eye is the pull-shock, a technology that even came on bikes later than this Yeti, such as Cannondale’s Trigger 2. Since then, pull shocks are far from commonplace.
Aside from the shock, the huge chainring and mile-long stem also stand out as some pretty kooky features by today’s standards.
Klein Attitude
Back in its day, Klein was known for some absolutely mental colourways, which I reckon will still hold up pretty well today. However, this Klein Attitude really takes its stand-out colours up a notch. This one features a similar style to the Mardi Gras patterns, but in this green, almost camo colour, you’re certainly not going to miss it, ironically.
