Ard Rock needs absolutely no introduction. Throughout its many, many years, it’s become renowned as the greatest mountain bike festival in the UK, as it welcomes riders to the incredibly windy hills of Swaledale to test their mettle against some awesome tracks. But it’s not all about racing, as in tow is one of the most comprehensive event expos on the calendar, exhibiting a proper who’s who of the UK cycling industry. Here’s a quick round-up of the coolest kit we saw throughout the show.
Jonty Williamson’s Yeti Special Projects DH
One of the best things about Ard Rock’s event expo is that brands bring special bikes from exciting names on the race circuit, one of which is Jonty Williamson’s Yeti downhill bike. Now, as it’s part of Yeti’s Special Projects division, you won’t see this bike on the shelves, but it’s always cool to see what Yeti cooks up when it focuses its attention on something a little different.
As for Jonty Williamson himself, he’s setting headlines alight as he’s enjoying a rather successful 2026 season, finding himself on the podium three times this year, and very rarely outside of the top ten. As far as young guns go, Jonty is definitely one to watch.
Back onto the bike, and Yeti has taken a slightly different approach to its downhill bike than it has with its recent LT, and e-MTBs. It’s a high-pivot machine that looks a little more ‘normal’ than the bikes that use its Sixfinity linkage. On the downhill circuit, such layouts are super common now, and I expect that’s to promote a smoother and more composed ride over the rough terrain that lines modern downhill courses.
It’s a tidy-looking bit of kit, coated with Yeti’s famous blue colour and dripping with Fox suspension. It’s cool to see Shimano’s Saint and XTR kit still being used, showing that it’s still got the goods to compete with the likes of SRAM’s mega techy componentry.
Asa Vermette’s Frameworks DH Frame
Right beside the Yeti was Asa Vermette’s Frameworks DH Frame bike. Now, both of these names are rather exciting because Vermette is keeping Jackson Goldstone on his toes, having become the youngest Red Bull Hardline champion in 2025 and winning Hardline Tasmania earlier this year. Of course, his efforts reach beyond Red Bull’s events, where he’s seeing impressive success again.
As for Frameworks, the brand has had a lot of eyes on it, as it’s been crafted by none other than Neko Mulally, who’s certainly no slouch on a bike himself. As a smaller brand, Frameworks does things its own way, prioritising performance and reliability, as the brand claims its simply named DH Frame is the answer to the challenges of modern downhill courses.
But the interesting thing here is that the frame uses both aluminium and carbon, for the front and rear triangles respectively. Unfortunately, the brand doesn’t divulge too many details as to that decision, but I imagine that the carbon rear end allows Frameworks to dial in the flex and stiffness profile it’s after.
Much like Jonty Williamson’s bike, there’s the full suite of Fox suspension, but Asa runs TRP braking and shifting components. An Ochain active spider is present, too, to smooth out any feedback from the pedals.
Merida’s prototype downhill bike
While Ard Rock’s racing is very much of the enduro persuasion, downhill bikes were everywhere throughout the expo, but Merida’s dip of the toe into the pinnacle of the sport really caught some attention because, really, we’ve not seen a downhill bike from Merida… ever, or at least for a long, long while.
You may well have seen this bike floating around on social media, but it’s a very fun experiment from the brand. It’s built up using frame details taken from Merida’s existing bikes, but a small detail that you might have missed is that it doesn’t use a flex stay, like most of its regular and e-mountain bikes. Instead, it’s a more traditional four-bar system.
We all love a raw finish on a mountain bike, and that’s exactly what we’ve got here with this prototype bike, but whoever’s been riding it has added their own artistic flair, covering areas of the bike with Sharpie-scrawled doodles, and I’m a fan.
But does this mean that we’ll see a Merida downhill bike that you can actually buy? I’m not sure, but I’m certain that there are some exciting things on the horizon from Merida.
Canyon’s Lux Gravel
Taking a very firm step away from downhill, there was a surprising show of road and gravel machines dotted around the show. But the most interesting of all is probably Canyon’s mega-controversial Lux Gravel.
Released just a couple of weeks ago, this bike raised eyebrows as it uses the Lux’s cross-country frame, but it’s equipped with a bunch of gravel-specific componentry. And rather than being directed fully towards gravel, it’s more for marathon and huge distances, much like some of the drop-bar mountain bikes we saw at Leadville 100 over the years.
In person, it looks a lot more purposeful than images might suggest, and to be honest, I’m very here for a bike like this.
Craft Bikes Covet
We love raw frames, but raw titanium frames up the game a bit, especially when they’re finished as beautifully as Craft Bikes’ Covet. These bikes are handmade right here in the UK, and it’s built for nothing but trail fun.
While the titanium-ness gets me fizzing a little, this bike is sorted with 3D-printed titanium details, giving it an ultra-special look while its silky-smooth welds make it look absolutely seamless.
This bike specifically dons Industry Nine’s latest Sector Carbon Hydra2 wheelset, which features a fancy rim profile that’s come as a result of the brand’s acquisition of We Are One Composites. The whole bike is then perfectly colour matched, with its Fox Kashima suspension matching the spokes, stem and even the seat post collar. Nice.
Teewing’s Turbo Force in a one-off Porsche colourway
Over at Pembree’s stand was a proper show of some rather incredible-looking bikes. One of which was this custom-painted Teewing Turbo Force. Driven by an Avinox system, this bike is finished with a Rubystar colour, one that’s reserved for Porsche’s GT3 and available for a £16,600 upcharge.
Painted by Black Cat Custom Paint, I doubt it cost quite as much to make this Turbo Force extra special, and the gold logos and details finish off the bike rather well, I reckon.
While the colour is certainly enough to catch some eyes, a neat detail is that the bike rolls on Boyd’s Kanuga wheelset, which we’re told are buttery smooth when rolling. There are some other cool details here too…
Suhr’s R740 Four Piston brakes
The Chinese bike market is posing a serious threat to its western counterparts, and these R740 brakes from Suhr not only look the part, but after a brief carpark squish, they feel pretty darn potent, too.
These brakes use four 16mm pistons per caliper, and run on mineral oil, in a bid to promote consistent but powerful braking. Then, the calipers are cut with a heat-managing design to keep that consistency strong. Elsewhere, all of the brakes’ adjustments are tool-free, so they should be simple to dial in to your tastes.
Wyn Masters’ custom Focus Jam2
Sticking with the Pembree stand for a bit, on the Saturday of Ard Rock, Wyn Masters joined the party with his custom-painted Focus Jam2, painted by none other than Fat Creations.
With its classic flame colourway, this bike looks fast standing still, and I bet it’ll look even quicker once Wyn’s back to riding health. As a Pembree ambassador, Wyn’s running the brand’s cockpit components, including a higher-rise handlebar than we’ve seen from Pembree before.
Everything on the bike is carefully considered, and everything is colour-matched to suit the bike perfectly. The logos on the Silt wheelset feature an orange-to-yellow fade, mimicking the head tube’s flames, and Wyn’s even gone so far as to pick up a set of orange dials for his Fox 38 fork.
Exciting stuff is on the horizon from Pinnd
A few years ago, UK brand Pinnd blasted onto the market with its CS2 pedals, and since then, it’s slowly but very surely been expanding its range to include the recently reviewed Analog Cranks. Of course, it also offers a selection of finishing kit components and mech hangers. But at Ard Rock, Pinnd showed that it’s got its sights set on higher goals.
One of those goals is its brakes. These calipers are still in their prototype stages, but rather than aiming to achieve all-out power, I’m told that these are built to minimise friction throughout the system. So the caliper’s pistons get a special coating to make them extra slippery. My guess is that this should result in an excellent lever feel, with increased power becoming more of a very welcome byproduct.
With new calipers comes a new rotor. I’m told that it’ll be available in two thicknesses to suit different riding styles, and the contact surface is removable, making brake refreshes simple, and hopefully more affordable.
It’s not just braking that Pinnd is expanding into, as the brand was showing a prototype stem. In the hand, it’s light, and against the likes of Renthal’s Apex V2 stem, it’ll be more keenly priced, though still a more premium offering. Apparently, Pinnd will be offering a range of face plate colours, too, and each of its bolts features Torx interfaces, so they may be tougher to destroy.
Revel’s Ranger trail bike
I was definitely pleased to see Revel’s return to the UK market, and the fact that it had most of its range at Ard Rock proves that it means business.
Earlier in the year, Revel announced its Ranger trail bike, and this is that very machine, and wow, does it look good? Employing the CBF suspension platform that Revel has built its name on, this bike delivers 120mm of travel at the rear wheel, and the bike as a whole represents a mighty step forward compared to Ranger models of old. Built around a UD carbon frame, the newest Ranger offers space for long-travel dropper posts, and its geometry is nothing short of modern.
That geometry includes a spot-on 485mm reach on a large frame, as well as a 65.7-degree head tube angle, so expect this bike to be primed for small-travel trail shenanigans.
We’ve been chatting about getting one of these in for review, so watch this space.
Wissco E8 Enduro
Away from the event’s main grounds, I was taken to a tent slightly off-site to ogle another interesting bike from China – the Wissco E8 Enduro, hidden from Swaledale’s impressive winds. This is a high-pivot machine that produces 172.2mm of rear travel, while built to accommodate 180 to 190mm of squish up front.
While the frame itself is very interesting and good-looking, might I add, the built kit is filled with curiosities, such as ExaForm’s inverted fork. I’m told that it’ll be rather affordable, too, so it’ll be merely a matter of time before it’s compared to the Fox Podium. Other neat bits and pieces include a set of brakes from Frog Wake. After another carpark bounce about, they feel pretty solid, too.
