Carbon may be the cutting edge these days, but interesting things are happening in titanium too. The Van Nicholas Astraeus is the world’s first production bike made from hydro-formed 3AL/2.5V titanium and is a very easy on the eye piece of kit indeed. Stiff too, reckons Van Nicholas’s top man, Jan Willem Sintnicolaas – who … Read more
Bianchi’s 928 T Cube is a special bike that is beautiful to ride, but one thing in particular sets it apart – Bianchi claim that this is the first carbon bike from a big manufacturer to be offered with a custom option. So, as well as a custom paint job, if you’ve got the money … Read more
Italian sprinter Allessandro Pettachi stormed back from his 12 month drugs ban in emphatic style to take Stage 1 of the Tour of Britain. Petacchi powered home ahead of Rob Hayles with Magnus Backstedt in third. Daniel Di Luca – who had been first to break for the line – lost out on a podium … Read more
Winner of day two’s WTF! award goes to this rather swift-looking tandem from Carraro. Just in case it’s going so fast that you only catch a glimpse, they’ve made sure that you know it’s a Carraro by getting their name onto the beast a (surely record breaking) 72 times. It’s even written down the inside … Read more
Coming soon*: videos of new Shimano electric Dura-Ace and the Fixie Inc. boys talking about their rusty belt-drive wooden-barrred fixer, new bikes from Specialized, Giant, Bianchi, Storck, Felt, Van Nicholas and more, Electric bikes including the new electric Birdy, Products including Zefal’s clever new locking QR… keep checking back. And don’t forget to hop across … Read more
Colnago can do restraint with the paintbox, but it hasn’t been easy and they certainly haven’t quite been able to kick the habit of writing all over their frames – at least Ernesto Colnago has elegant handwriting. Here’s a few tasty treats from their stand. First up the CLX – not top of he range … Read more
Another acronym light (not) Italian bike, this time from Cinelli. Looks the dogs, in a not knowing when to stop with the crayons kind of way – a bit like the acronyms really. Cinelli top all their countrymen on that score by having so many acronyms and slogans on this bike that there doesn’t seem … Read more
Fancy some adventure touring? Then Salsa have the bike for you, the Fargo – which incidentally gets Day one’s WTF! Award. What we have here is a rigid 29er mountain bike with drop bars, Avid discs, yes, drop bars, five (count ’em) bottle cages – extreme touring being thirsty work apparently – Shimano XT Deore … Read more
Most of the TT bikes on show are curvaceous, sculpted carbon offerings, but it doesn’t have to be this way – Litespeed are showing off this Titanium tubed beauty. It’s just a prototype but looks well-finished, and importantly the main tubes look have the 4:1 ratio that any budding Mike Burrows will tell you is … Read more
The folks at the German Carbon Group, which includes THM Carbones and Schmolke, put together this specimen to show just how light they could make a fully functioning road bike. By ‘fully functioning’, I guess they mean rideable by whippets – lots of carbon gear has load limits a whole medium-sized child under my weight, … Read more
