Eurobike: The Predictions That Came True

Before we even scanned our press passes through the gates of Eurobike, we’d looked into our crystal balls and brought you some predictions of what we thought the future held. It turns out that some of us should probably consider a career in picking lottery ticket numbers.

Here’s how right (or wrong) we were:

Andi

1. Gearbox gears with an e-bike motor built in

Andi thought he might have found something. He went off into the Hall Of Electric Things to try and find this, but failed. Nil points.

2. No downhill bikes

He was wrong. Admittedly there weren’t many there, but there were some, including this NS Fuzz, which looks like something the military might use.

3. Recycled Clothing

Boom! Andi was on the money with this one. We found this company, Triple2, who make fabrics from either natural materials like merino, or recycled fishing nets.

Amanda

4. Retro paint jobs

Amanda was spot on with this one. There were retro paint fades and suchlike all over the place, and there were clothes to match. She’s going to gather them all together for you in one big gallery of colour trends, but for now here’s a sneak peak of one she spotted, plus some super retro coloured trousers that would surely look amazing (or straight out of your local rave) with the Five Tennies here?

5. Solar powered e-bike charging points

There was e-bike everything else at the show, but we didn’t spot one of these. We’re not 100% it didn’t exist, but if it was there in the great halls of invention, we didn’t find it.

Hannah

6. Unicorns

There was a disappointing lack of unicorns. There were a few, mostly on children’s plastic supermarket bikes and accessories, but not many. Perhaps this guy from Amplifi had killed them all.

7. Things that fold

There were plenty of folding bikes, but no folding accessories. There was a wearable sleeping bag though – for when your house is too small too accommodate both a bed and a wardrobe?

8. Switches and buttons

Having failed at the other predictions, Hannah is going to claim a win for this one. Lapierre and NS had bikes which used the same frame with different chips or mounts to create a selection of different sizes and travel bikes. The Bionicon had a button for switching geometry on the fly, and so will this Kinetic Works prototype.

Wil

9. Titanium e-bikes

We didn’t actually see one in the flesh, but we did find a company that was making a titanium frame into which you could fit either a gearbox or a motor. They were also making a titanium tandem.

10. Actual Fanny Packs

All the packs we saw were definitely designed for carrying on one’s posterior. However, Surly had this sticker which seems appropriate.

There was a grain of truth in most of our predictions, but none of us will be buying lottery tickets later. On second thoughts, we’ve seen an awful lot of stuff we now want, maybe we should go get a scratch card…

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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