After a couple of years off due to the pandemic, The Cycle Show came back for 2022. This time, held at London’s Alexandra Palace (or affectionately known as Ally Pally) the show hosted a number of cycling’s famous faces while showing off some of the freshest kit in the biz. There were also a few bikes that caught our eye…
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Canyon Spectral:ON
Canyon has been cranking out the releases these past couple of weeks most recently announcing the newest iteration of the Strive. We were excited to see what the brand had on show and while there was no sign of the latest enduro ripper, there was Canyon’s heavily updated Spectral:ON.
Making this bike pretty different from the previous year’s model is a new motor position with a slightly different battery arrangement, apparently lowering the centre of gravity. It also gets a whole new frame with an updated geometry and the ability to boost the battery up to a 900Wh unit. For more details, check out our article here.
BMC URS LT 1
There’s a huge argument that gravel bikes are becoming even more like old school mountain bikes, especially with the advances being made in suspension tech. Although the BMC URS LT 1 is definitely a gravel grinder, it hides its front and rear squish rather cleverly. At the rear, 10mm of suspension is provided by an elastomer built neatly into the seat stays, the brand calls this Micro Travel Technology. Then, 20mm of coil-sprung travel is packed stealthily into the fork. It’s tunable too with the twist of a dial that’s sat on top of the steerer.
Scott Patron eRIDE
Litelok’s stand was a bit of a show stopper, exhibiting a range of custom painted gravel, road, and mountain bikes. The one that stopped us in our tracks was the divisive Scott Patron eRIDE. While we’re loving Fatcreations’ craftsmanship that has gone into this paint job, we’re not sure if its shellsuit/gobstopper vibe is darn beautiful, or should have stayed back in the 90s.
Canyon Ride Green Bike
I’ve said that LiteLok’s stand was a show stopper but it also contained the world premiere of Canyon’s Ride Green bike. This was made in collaboration with BIKE magazine and Cradle to Cradle NGO to represent the industry’s ambition to create a sustainable bike. The frame is 3D printed using a selective laser melting method where a laser moves over a basin and welds the powder with super accuracy into hard metal. The frame has been designed with the mindset of prioritising recyclability while reducing the amount of raw material used.
1999 GT LOBO 1000
From space-age back to the 90’s. This year is GT Bicycle’s 50th anniversary and at this stand, the brand celebrated its heritage with a range of historic bikes. My favourite was 1999’s LOBO 1000 simply for the fact that it’s a downhill bike. Compared to what the pros are flinging down hills these days, this one’s geometry is looking rather cross country. Geometry aside, check out that linkage and raw colourway.
Propaine Spindrift CF
German brand Propain is looking to make a rather sizeable mark in the UK. Though, this brand does things a little bit differently. It offers bikes in customisable builds at different price points. For example, a Spindrift in its Start build (as pictured) will set you back just north of 3,800 Euro. Then you can pick is colour, decal colour and head badge type, along with a range of dropper post choices. If that’s not enough, you can go full custom and pick kit exactly to your own specification.
Vitus Substance CRX-1 HT
Suspsenion equipped gravel bikes were rife at The Cycle Show and included in the raft of squishy gravel rigs is Vitus’s Substance CRX-1 HT. This one gets RockShox’s Rudy XPLR fork offering up 30mm of travel. That’s mated to a UD Carbon frame and it’s all priced at £2,500 complete with a dropper post.
Atherton AM.150.2
Baring the name of the mighty speedy Atherton family is Atherton bikes. Like Propain, this brand does things differently, building its frames by bonding carbon tubing into 3D printed titanium lugs. This method of frame manufacturing means that Atherton bikes can build you a completely custom frame, shaped to your desires. However, when talking to the people behind the brand, they told us that people rarely choose to go custom as they find that one of their whopping 22 sizes tends to suit their customers rather well.
Niner WFO 9 RDO
Last year, Niner’s WFO came back with a vengeance, a full 10 years after its original release. As a brand that’s committed to 29″ wheels, that’s exactly what this bike gets, along with 170mm of squish on an interestingly curved frame. After chatting with the brand’s owner, Chris, it was refreshing to hear his take on 29ers as a smaller human, stating that the bigger wheel isn’t just for taller folk.
Privateer 141 (Öhlins)
This is another recent release that we managed to spot in the flesh at Ally Pally. Launched a couple of weeks ago, the Privateer 141 got an Öhlins flavoured makeover after some firm nudges from the brand’s Colorado office. We’re loving the colour matched decals and we spied some neat refinements such as the chain-slap reducing chainstay protector.
Radical All Mountain Chilli Dog
Also found at HUNT’s stand, the Chilli Dog is draped with a paint job that’s almost as radical as the bike’s name. Featuring a full steel frame and a proper aggro geometry with a 495mm reach on a ‘long’ frame, a 63.5° head angle and a 77.5° seat tube.
RG Evans & Co
Finally, nestled within Schwalbe’s fully recyclable cardboard stand was this small batch made gravel bike from RG Evans & Co. It’s single speed, steel-framed and we’re big fans of its classic but refined look.
