Bike Connection Winter 2020: Day 1 Round-Up

The trails are dusty, the sky is blue, the quarantine area for Coronavirus is expanding, and Amanda has been finding out what’s up and coming from a small selection of brands.

As with most Bike Connection events many of the products I’ve seen today are under embargo, but there’s certainly plenty of clues…

Hope Tech

Hope came to Italy armed with E-Bike cranks and chainrings, 35mm carbon bars and some old hubs. Odd that they brought so many hubs to show the progression? Or a big fat hint towards a new one maybe?

We also talked about anodising colours. I was surprised to hear that purple is the least popular, with orange a close second. As with most components and clothing, the bright colours lure us all in but black tends to be the best seller. What colour would you like to see next? [Is that another hint?]

Formula

This meeting was a healthy balance of catching up with Vittorio and learning all about coil shocks. Admittedly, I don’t have a great deal of experience with them so he took the time to show me the inner workings. He then pointed a video camera at me and tested my mechanic skills. I passed the test, and there will be a video out soon.

Yep Components

I was given a Joystick remote assembly in this meeting, which works in two directions – you can push it with your thumb and your index finger. Keep an eye on Fresh Goods Friday for more details. They also had a new product to show off, which aims to solve the problem of them not having servicing or maintenance available in the UK.

Komoot

Komoot, the proud sponsors of our Classic Ride feature, took the time to show us everything the site can do, which is much more than just basic route planning. I’ll be going into more detail on the aspects that will appeal to UK mountain bikers, but as an example; if you plot a route that spans over several days, it cleverly breaks the route down to ensure you are using roughly the same amount of effort per day. For example, if there’s a huge hill to climb one day, that one may be shorter than the following day when the terrain is flatter.

SR Suntour

A brand that try to be accessible for a wide range of budgets without skimping on design, SR Suntour had some new designs on show that aren’t released yet, but we’ll have a story on those as soon as we’re allowed to share it.

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Full stories for all brands will be up in due course, and still on the list to see are:

• Fox
• Nukeproof
• Vee Tire Co.

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Travel and accommodation paid for by Bike Connection Agency

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