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TECH NEWS

HUGE Cycle Show first look faves: New bikes from Mason, Kinesis, Vielo, Cannondale, Litespeed and more

A new Mason InSearchOf, Cannondale SystemSix and Topstone, Litespeed Ultimate and much more

The doors to the 2018 Cycle Show swung open to the press and trade today, ahead of public days on 28-30th September, and here are some of the highlights from a quick dash around the NEC exhibition centre. We’ve got a new Mason, Kinesis, Vielo, Cannondale, Pinarello and more.

Scroll way and enjoy. We’ll have lots more coverage from the show soon.

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Probably the bike everyone wants to see, Geraint Thomas’s Pinarello Dogma F10 fresh from winning the 2018 Tour de France.

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Lots of yellow, from the frame to the MOST one-piece handlebars and tidy Garmin out-front computer mount.

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It started with the Definition and Resolution, two disc-equipped all-season road bikes, then came the Bokeh for more adventurous riding, and now the young British company has gone a step further with the radical InSearchOf, an evolution of the Bokeh but designed to be able to tackle much more challenging off-road terrain.

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Think of it as a drop bar 29er, drawing inspiration from road and mountain bikes but in reality is neither of those things.

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The new carbon fibre fork is much longer than a regular fork and can be swapped out for a 100mm suspension fork. There’s an integrated Shutter mudguard that also doubles up as a load carrying rack.

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Or you can have this rack instead, with a neat dynamo light fixed to the front. 

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The Dedacciai Zero steel frame has a curved down tube to provide clearance for said suspension fork, the seat tube accommodates a dropper post, and there’s clearance for 29x2.4in and 27.5x2.8in mountain bike tyres.

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It can be built with a 1x or 2x groupset and all cables are internally routed. The frameset will cost £1,495 and complete bikes from £3,035 with a SRAM Rival 1 groupset.

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Also new is the Aspect, a titanium version of the Resolution. It’s said to be lighter and more comfortable, and uses a tubeset loosely based on the Bokeh Ti, and uses the same dropouts.

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The geometry has been tweaked, with a 10-20mm taller stack across the size range and a 5mm longer chainstay, drawing them out to 425mm.

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Here are those 3D printed titanium dropouts, developed with Reynolds who are really pushing into this area. I'm pretty certain Dom Mason pulled a few hairs out.

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Also spotted on this Bokeh is a new X-Fusion dropper post.

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Fits a 27.2mm seat tube and provides 50mm of adjustable saddle height. 

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It is operated by a small lever smartly mounted to the inside of the drop handlebar.

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Vielo has followed up its V+1 allroad/road plus bike that I reviewed back in April (and really liked) with the V+1 Rival, a complete bike costing £3,499, quite a bit cheaper than the £5,299 for the original.

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You’re looking at all the same key frame details but in order to achieve the lower price point the carbon fibre layup has been modified, so a bit more weight, but a significant financial saving. If it rides as well as the original, and no reason to suggest it won’t, it should be a corker. Looks cracking as well with this new Dusk Blue colour.

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We really like the Whyte Wessex, a disc-equipped carbon endurance bike and here it is with a Shimano Ultegra groupset for £2,250, a lot of bike for a pretty decent price. 

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Colnago’s new CLX Evo costs £3,999.95 with an Ultegra groupset and features a carbon fibre frame and fork borrowing features from the V2-r aero road bike, including the option of disc brakes with flat mount interface and 12mm thru-axles.

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Integrated seat clamps are a very common feature on road bikes these days, and the CLX Evo has one.

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Whyte’s Gisburn gravel and adventure bike looks resplendent in this yellow paint job. It costs £1,999 with SRAM Force 1 and WTB Resolute 42mm tyres. And a dropper post. So on-trend.

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Condor Cycles has launched the new Stainless Gravel Disc. It uses the same Columbus XCr stainless steel front triangle as its Super Acciaio road bike, but with a new rear triangle to provide clearance for up to 40mm tyres, combined with a Columbus carbon fork, 12mm thru-axles and flat mount brakes. 

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If this amazing orange isn’t your cup of tea, there are another 49 colours to choose from. It ain’t cheap though, it costs £3,599.99 for the frameset. Externally routed cables for a simplicity and an external threaded bottom bracket for a creak-free life.

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Cannondale’s new Topstone shown for the first time in the UK, pictured with a SRAM Apex 1 groupset and costing £1,799. You can watch a video of the new bike here, and find out more about the company's new gravel machine that's just as willing to turn it's hand to touring, commuting or just being a fatter-tyred all-round road bike - so basically the kind of versatile drop bar machine that's becoming increasingly popular these days.

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It’s got a dropper post for those really steep descents. We're seeing a lot of gravel bikes with dropper posts at the moment, and it's just the latest import from the mountain bike world.

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As you'd also expect, lots of mounts for extra bottles, mudguards, racks and even two bolts on the top tube, not for attaching a bottle but a small bag for stuffing food and essentials inside.

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The Slate is back! It was probably ahead of its time when it first launched a few years ago, so it was pulled out of the UK market last year though was still available in the US. Now though, with the gravel and adventure market maturing, the Slate has been brought back.

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There are no changes to it, so the same Lefty Oliver suspension fork and an aluminium frame with space for 650b wheels and tyres, though this £3,199.99 model is rolling on 700c wheels. We might finally get to review one after a brief first ride at Eurobike waaaaay back in 2015.

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The Kinesis G2, which the company says is their “definition of the ultimate Go TO bike” hence the name.  Really clean aluminium frame and lots of nice details, and a good price, all of £1,500. This will be a hot seller. 

"Building on the huge success of our Tripster AT and ATR models, the G2 offers a well thought out complete bike", says Kinesis. "Sitting as the third model in our Adventure category, the G2 is a bike that delivers versatility in spades coupled with the same DNA of the even more adventurous Tripster models."

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You get a SRAM Apex 1 groupset so simple and wide-range with hydraulic disc brakes. Compared to the AT and the ATR, the G2 is a bit more road-oriented: the head tube has been shortened, as have the chainstays. That means it's a slightly more aggressive position and the bike should feel a bit more nimble on the road. That being said, there's still room for a 700x40c tyre (or a 38mm with mudguards), so you can easily fit some multi-surface rubber for bikepacking, or some cyclocross tyres for winter racing.

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Mathieu Van Der Poel’s spare Canyon Inflite CF SLX carbon cyclocross race bike. While 1x has become hugely popular at all levels of cyclocross racing, the 'cross race star is using a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset.

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Not using the new Ultegra RX rear mech though. Not yet anyway.

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Litespeed is marking its return to the UK with the new Ultimate, a name it last used in the mid-90s and has been given to this sleek new race bike. It was a significant bike, as Litespeed reminds us. 

“The Ultimate was first introduced as Litespeed’s premier 3AL/2.5V race bike. A USPRO National Championship, many professional stage wins and even a World Road Championship, re-badged, were amassed on Litespeed’s then flagship, the Ultimate," explains the company.

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The new Ultimate has an all-new tubeset. There's an aero influence in the shape of the down tube and the rear stays are curved for compliance. We'll have more details on this new bike soon, but for now let us know what you think of the paint job? There are another four colours to choose from, or you can go for a plain titanium finish if you prefer it clean and simple.

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You've no doubt read about Cannondale's new SystemSix aero bike, but you can see it for yourself at the Cycle Show. 

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Key to ensuring optimum aerodynamics is an all-new aero two-piece handlebar and stem. The top-end model, pictured above, has all the cables and brakes hoses (disc brake only remember) hidden inside. Apparently, it's all very easy to work on and make modifications, and you can adjust the stack height with removable aero spacers.

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It's available at a more reasonable price with a mechanical groupset, pictured above, though it doesn't quite look the same with shallow section wheels. Good upgrade potential though. 

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This model uses a Vision handlebar and stem with the cables going from the handlebar to the downtube port. So slightly less aero in theory but does mean you can run a mechanical groupset, which you can't on say the new Specialized Venge which is Di2 only.

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Colnago has launched a new ‘private collection’ of specially built and numbered C64 Disc bikes, with a build kit that is sure to send the price stratospheric. If you need to ask the price, it's that sort of bike.

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Colnago has developed its own aero two-piece handlebar and stem with all the cables and hoses internally routed. Very clean. 

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Carbon fibre chainrings anyone? 

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Gold lug inserts anyone?

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Here’s a Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod Disc Red eTap, not because it’s new but because it looks really smart, I'm liking the colour combo and the panel design.

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It costs £6,499 and you also get HollowGram Si Disc tubeless-ready carbon wheels with Vittoria Corsa Tyres.

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The Cannondale CAAD Optimo is a more affordable CAAD 12, costing £649.99 with a Shimano Claris 8-speed groupset. You’re getting a lot of trickle-down technology, including the carbon fork which is actually the same as the higher-end models.

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The production bikes will have mudguard eyelets making this a great UK year-round bike for the new cyclist, commuter or first race bike.

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It’s not just gravel bikes that are getting the 650b treatment. Whyte has developed the Portobello Plus for urban and commuting duties and treated it to WTB’s 47mm wide Horizon tyres.

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That, along with mountain bike inspired geometry, should give it plenty of stability and comfort for dealing with the typical badly surfaced roads in most UK cities. Add in the fact it costs £799 and you've got a corking looking bike.

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The V2-r is Colnago’s range-topping monocoque carbon fibre frameset and intended to be both lightweight and very stiff or racing demands.

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There’s some aero influence in the shape of the tube profiles as well, but it’s not aero like the company’s Concept, its dedicated aero bike.

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A V2-r frameset will set you back £2,999 with rim brakes or £3,399 for this disc brake version.

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The Kinesis 4S, a classic winter road training bike, but with disc brakes and space for wider tyres and fitments for mudguards.

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Those are some proper flaps, you’ll have everyone clamouring to follow your wheel on a wet club run.

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Here’s the brand new Kinesis GTD, the successor to the GF_Ti with an updated titanium frame designed for the “ultra-endurance” types that would think nothing of sleeping in ditches and bus shelters and carrying all their provisions in bags strapped to the frame, as the bike above demonstrates.

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There’s space for up to 34mm tyres and with mudguards fitted it takes 30mm tyres, and the disc brakes use the now common flat mount interface and 12mm thru-axles, with all cables and hoses internally routed.

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It’s not new, but here’s a SRAM Red eTap-equipped Canyon Ultimate CF SLX for your visual pleasure.

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It’s rolling on very serious looking DT Swiss PRC 1400 carbon fibre wheels and the cockpit is the company’s own one-piece handlebar and stem for reducing the frontal surface area to a minimum.

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Scottish bike brand, Shand, best known for its rugged go-anywhere gravel and mountain bikes, has launched its first proper road bike. It’s called the Rizello and uses classic road bike geometry (so think racy angles) and is made from a Columbus Spirit triple butted tubeset and matching Columbus Futura carbon fork.

There's a T47 treaded bottom bracket, the oversize standard developed by Chris King that hasn’t really been widely adopted but offers appealing benefits, and internal rear brake hose routing and Di2 compatibility. It’s going to cost £1,895 for the frame and fork and will be built-to-order with a custom fitting service included.

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What would a Mason Resolution look like with a full catalogue of SRAM and Zipp components look like? Guess no longer! Pretty darn hot I reckon.

 

Which is your pick of this bunch?

 

Stay tuned for more coverage.

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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