Rouleur Classic 2017: Stunning bikes and custom finishes

The Rouleur Classic opened its doors last night in London for the third year, and in between drinking free beer and catching up with industry types, I snapped some of the standout bikes on display. And there were some stunning bikes to feast your eyes upon, from legendary race bikes that celebrate the rich history of the sport to ultra-modern race bikes like the 3T Strada, which was officially unveiled in Aqua Blue Sport livery at the show.

I've been to a lot of cycling shows but this was the nicest one I've been to. It was a beautifully curated show with the Monuments theme seeing brands celebrating iconic races like Paris-Roubaix and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and if ogling new bikes wasn't enough, there were talks with some of the stars of the sport that you could attend as well. And where else can you bump into Fabian Cancellara, Sir Bradley Wiggins and David Millar, to name just a few celebrities that I spotted during the evening? 

If you like the sound of that, the show continues today and tomorrow, there's more info at http://rouleurclassic.cc/

Kinesis showed off this lovely GF_Ti Disc with the company's brand new mudguards and new Praxis Zayante carbon chainset. 

Aren't Challenge tan sidewalls the loveliest match for a titanium frame?  Not the most practical choice for this time of year but damn they look fine.

A bit racier, it's the new Aithein Evo from Kinesis UK. You have to see the pearlescent paint finish with your own eyes, it's custom paint levels of quality on a frame that doesn't' cost the earth. 

The official Aqua Blue Sport team was unveiled today, but yesterday there was this mockup bike on display. 3T distributor Saddleback got Fat Creations to paint this frame up fro them and they decked it out with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and Enve wheels. We now know the team will actually use SRAM Force groupsets and 3T wheels.

Still, it's a beautiful bike with a high-quality finish - check those repeated 3T logos. 

Half a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset might keep the cost down. Wonder if the battery life is hugely improved because there's no front mech?

It wasn't all bikes. Castelli was showing off some of its historic race jerseys. A lot of history right there - who can name the star rider from each of these teams?

Sidi is an iconic cycling brand, and this display celebrated some standout shoes from its history. Including its first ever cycling shoe produced in 1973. How shoes have changed, and how much we take easy cleat adjustment and BOA dials for granted these days. 

I mentioned it was a nicely curated show at the top of this article. Well, Saddleback, distributor of brands like Enve, Sidi, Chris King, Castelli and others, took a museum approach to its display, with a hold stripe leading you through its various brands and the history of each brand chronicled with detailed photography and captions. Very nicely done.

To celebrate McLaren's 50 years of Grand Prix racing, Specialized has produced a special edition S-Works Roubaix that echoes the iconic orange livery used on McLaren's earliest F1 cars.

And more tan sidewalls. 

Fat Creations is a small company you might have heard of, you might even follow them on Instagram. If not, they have carved a niche as the place to go to if you want a frame custom painted. They do a lot of carbon, but they also do titanium, like this frame produced for Bespoke Cycling. 

Expect Sarto's presence in the UK to increase over the next year, and not because of mad paint schemes like this, but new distribution from the people that also look after Lightweight. This is the company's aero race bike now available with disc brakes. Fear not, other colours are available; Sarto offers a full custom finish in the price so you could dial it back a few notches.

Fat Creations were getting a LOT of interest, and it's no surprise when you see the quality of their work. 

Factor had a few bikes on display, including this new O2 with disc brakes. 

Here's the new Cervelo R5 decked out with SRAM Red eTap and Zipp 302 wheels. The frame features a new Squoval Max downtube to improve aerodynamics and an integrated seat clamp with a neat collar that when you're taking the bike apart for travelling lets you easily install the post at the correct saddle height.

The geometry has been massively refined. The bottom bracket is lower and the fork rake has been tweaked to improve handling on the smallest and largest frame sizes. 

Own an Aston Martin? Here's a special Storck bike to match it. Just £16,000 of your finest English pounds. 

I tested Mavic's £900 Comete Ultimate shoes some time ago, and they're now offering the internal bootie in a choice of colours. Yellow please Mavic!

Remember Danilo ‘The Killer’ Di Luca, winner of the 2007 Giro d’Italia? Well, he's now making bikes. This is the Killer Aero in a striking chrome finish. Thoughts?

The show was celebrating the Monuments of the sport. Just a small handful of notable winners here. How's your pick?

Custom painted shoes are now a thing, to match your custom painted bike obviously. Feeling patriotic? 

Or how about supporting your favourite football club while pedalling?

I'll take these ones please.

Colnago Concept aero bike meets SRAM eTap disc brakes. 

Want to take a closer look at FSA's Force WE semi-wireless electronic groupset. You can on the Colnago stand. The groupset was attached to...

...this new orange C60 that was just unveiled a few weeks ago. 

Orange meets carbon, it just sort of works. 

A little while ago we told you about the new Laverack R.Jack, which we tested last year, is now available with disc brakes to meet the demand for discs.

This is a new bead blasted finish the company is calling is calling Pave that has been inspired by the granite cobbles of the cobbled classics Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Frame costs £1,850 and builds start from £3,550, this brand new Dura-Ace Di2 build will cost significantly more.

If you're attending the Rouleur Classic let us know what your personal highlights are from the show, we'd love to hear them.