2026 marks the 34th edition of the China Cycle. Held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, the event has grown in size and popularity over the years, showcasing the latest innovations and trends in the cycling industry. Asian manufacturing continues to dominate the cycling world, with Chinese factories now behind some of the most impressive and innovative brands and products on the market.
A key theme at this year’s show was experimental bike design, with seatstay-less frames and plenty of brands pushing more unconventional frame shapes.
> The rise of Chinese cycling brands
We had Andi Sykes out at the show capturing the photography and taking notes, while we took a closer look at the bikes, products and brands that stood out. Here are our top picks…
Li-Ning
> The rise of Chinese cycling brands
Li-Ning is best known as a sportswear brand, but the company has expanded into road cycling with clothing, components and even complete bikes. This aero model resembles bikes such as the Cervélo S5 and Factor One, featuring an aggressive frame design and a distinctive ‘spoiler’ handlebar setup, along with a UCI approval sticker.
According to the brand, the high-performance frames have undergone extensive testing, including in the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub wind tunnel.
Java
2026 Java Bikes J-Air Vittoria Bike (Image Credit: Andi Sykes)
Up next is another radical-looking aero bike, this time from Java Bikes. The J-Air Vittoria features a rear disc and deep-section front from Decaf wheels – though hopefully they deliver a little more kick than the name suggests – and a sculpted frame, with a seat tube that hugs the rear wheel so tightly it almost appears seat tube-less at first glance. While Java does have several UCI-approved frames, the Vittoria is not currently among them.
Despite the bike’s superbike-style appearance, it’s built with Shimano 105 Di2 rather than a higher-tier groupset – a spec choice that helps keep the complete bike priced at under £2,000.
Dragon
Radical aero bikes were a standout at the show, including two more models from Dragon Bikes. The red chrome and white bike pictured above clearly takes design cues from the Colnago Y1Rs, sharing a similar seatpost design intended to improve vertical compliance and comfort. The front end is equally striking, with unconventional-looking forks.
While the first bike takes inspiration from Colnago Y1Rs, the seatstays on the aero bike above more closely resemble those on the Colnago TT1. On the Colnago, this design is said to improve comfort and aerodynamics without compromising rigidity.
Van Rysel
Not everything at the show was from the Far East – in fact, Europe’s largest sporting goods retailer made an appearance via Van Rysel, its performance cycling arm.
Van Rysel unveiled this wild supercharged e-bike concept earlier this year, and it’s again on show in Shanghai. It features an aerodynamic frame but more surprisingly, a Mahle M40 motor packing 850W and 150nm and good for 45km/h. Apart from, you can’t actually experience it because it’s a concept bike that’s technically illegal on most roads.
The FTP2 is never likely to see the light of day outside, but the tech could trickle down to Van Rysel’s growing range of road e-bikes, and it’s not hard to imagine the company releasing a TT bike with similar features but a lower-power motor.
Pardus
Pardus is probably worth paying attention to as it is part of the huge Taishan Sports Industry Group, and the road bikes are used by the Chinese national team. Unlike many Chinese brands chasing value pricing, Pardus positions itself firmly at the performance end of the market, with UCI-approved carbon frames and high-end Shimano components throughout the range.
The Gomera RS TT certainly looks the part and we are told it will be available at the end of May. For context, the Gomera Evo TT bike with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and similarly shaped seatstays, retails at £6,992 – complete with rear disc and front four spoke.
Falco
While the show was packed with production-ready products, it also gave manufacturers the chance to showcase more experimental concept builds and demonstrate what they’re capable of. One example came from the Falco stand, with this Jaguar/Puma inspired machine, with the tail of the cat in the place of a mudguard along with what appear to be chrome eagle details at the dropouts. Eagle-eyed readers may also spot the full gold-chrome version in the background.
Falco did have some more ‘normal’ looking time trial bikes on display too.
And a few more…
Here are some more highlights in gallery form. Which one’s your fave? Do let us know in the comments as always, and be sure to check out our latest edition of Tech of the Week tomorrow with more info on the crazy Incolor TT bike…
6 thoughts on “Chinese bikes are (still) coming for the big Western brands, and the designs are getting wilder: highlights from the 2026 China Cycle show in Shanghai”
It is quite hard, to be honest; what would the market be for an electrically powered TT bike? Too obvious to be used for cheating and not much use for that even if it wasn’t with a 25 kmh cutoff, why would anyone a more uncomfortable and poorer handling bike than an equivalent e-road version?
I suppose once you’ve emptied the legs practicing your time trial you might be quite glad of being able to turn on the assist to get you home.
There’s bound to be an e-triathlon cult soon enough.
Chinese brands are already challenging mainstream companies on the Asia Pacific market, which has vibrant cycling communities and a strong potential for growth. Chinese brands hold two competitve advantages that take them way ahead of the competition – the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement along with efficient door-to-door distribution channels and short time-market lead times. The demand is actually so high they often run out of stock.
The Incolor TT bike and the Acme wheels are already far more interesting than the dull products coming out of the western brands these days.
🤣