We know that some (OK, lots) of you step off the skinny path of singletrack and on to the road now and again, so here’s a very loosely curated selection of photos of mostly drop-bar, mostly ‘cross but not always, bikes that caught Chipps’ eye at the show.
Behind this modest doorway lurks 15 halls of madnessOrange was showing the RX-9. The 'cross bike they said they'd never build. Or is it a rugged commuter bike?BIG clearances back there.Tapered ally fork.A Specialized from the Olympics? Oh, OK then...Here's the Specialized Secteur; a disc road bike with Roubaix-inspired geometry.A Crux disc in carbon? Heads are nodding...Genesis showed its Vapour ins a great new green.And the Croix De Fer is now available in non-whiteAn aero (non-UCI legal) faired P5How about this tapered head-tube Rock Lobster with new Easton carbon 'cross fork?It's chunky...It's not a BB7 Ultimate (though we hear that those might be in the works). It's more of a BB7 with Ti Hardware. A BB7+ if you will.
Big Hutchinson Toro CX tyresNick Craig was seen walking the aisles, training hard for the upcoming Three Peaks with ice creamWhen they get the right spoke lengths, Hope will be making carbon clincher and tubular Hope Hoops.No one will miss you on this one.Unapologetically steel frame from Ritchey
Another Olympic bike, this time from Canyon. (And thanks Trev for the emergency T-shirt)Cross hasn't gone 100% disc yet... Just wait until someone wins a race on them though, then it will.A post-box red X-Fire. The first prototypes we saw were more raspberry in colour by accident. We kind of liked them.Here's Kona's no-nonsene Paddy Wagon....with a clear-coat finish to show off the welds and brazing.Surly has this '4am bile' yellow Cross Check complete bike.It's a titanium Fargo!This bike from Salsa has been causing a stir. The Warbird is described as a 'gravel racer'. Seeing as we don't have any gravel races, how about 'Audax/Classics bike'?Scandium frame and Enve carbon fork will be £1000... Ti frame is £1900 f&f.You'll get your Paris Roubaix tubs in there, won't you?
Hard to see, but that's a Wiggins-yellow Dogma.This isn't just a disc road bike Colnago......but it has internal hydraulic brake routing......and reverse-engineered Di2 compatible levers that power the Formula brakes.
You can hear the purists choking....There'll be a carbon and an aluminium disc 'cross bike. But will Sven be riding one?Here's the Charge Bike 'Filter Apex'. It's got 'cross inspired geometry, a SRAM Apex group and BB5 road discsWe're often lapped by one of these at the Yorkshire races...Those lovely printed titanium dropouts...There's something very right about wishbone road bikes.Here's the Saracen 'Hack' bike (geddit?). This model sells for less than £900 complete. On/off road/commute fun.Noooo! Who decided to license out the Ferrari name to a Taiwanese bike company?Kona's new steel Rove looks great.The Jake with discs. Now they can make those seatstays proper-skinnyMany 'crossers were running 140mm discs, with road bikes on 160mm for heat dispersion.There are still plenty of 'trad' cyclocross bikes like this Jake the SnakeMonster front ends abounded.Here's what the Chris King company gets up to in those idle moments. A Cielo 'cross bike.Swiss Cross - possibly one of the most lusted after steel 'cross frames ever.Not ones to miss out. Here's Look's disc 'crosser.Apparently Giro eventually found someone from the defunct 'Z' brand and asked if they could reissue this old Lemond-era Air Attack Z livery. So it has, under the newer Reverb design.The new Giro Empire shoe was developed with Taylor Phinney. Lace-up goodness.Eurobike - land of brands you've never heard of.Cannondale's sexy 'cross machine. Really, these should only come in matched pairs, shouldn't they?It says 'Green Tech' but we were convinced it said 'Greed Tech'.18 speed gearbox system from Pinion was finding a home on many Germanic bikes.Yes? No? Maybe?
With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)
Man, you wait and wait and wait for a nice green disc crosser, and then two turn up at once! (Or four even, if you count the Cannondale and the Saracen.) Decisions decisions…
That’s a Giro Reverb – not Air Attack.
“Many ‘crossers were running 140mm discs, with road bikes on 160mm for head dispersion.”
Head? Heat.
Wow, that Salsa Warbird is gorgeous…
Errors mostly fixed now 🙂
The Warbird certainly seems to be making some waves, despite it definitely not being a ‘cross bike.
Man, you wait and wait and wait for a nice green disc crosser, and then two turn up at once! (Or four even, if you count the Cannondale and the Saracen.) Decisions decisions…
why the thudbuster on the ti fargo ? suggests it doesn’t ride that nicely…
Warbird on order here, it’s an exciting wait…. I’m not sure the price is correct – I think it is $1300 and $1000 frame and fork?
The Warbird W2 Scandium Frame and Enve fork will be £1000, with the complete bike around £2300. The Warbird Ti frame and fork is £1900.
That’s more what I thought….
Ritchey skinny steel frame looks nice, bit mismatched with deep carbon rims tho.
Chuckles at ferrari bike
I want a Pinion gear box in a bakfiets. And I want it now.