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Well I know some of you are a bit sniffy at this show coming to London. However put your hankies down for just a second.
It was bloody good.
I have been surprised more times today than in the last 6mths. Some stunning bikes, but more importantly, some amazing attitudes towards bikes and building bikes.
Lets not be overly angsty about the location, if you can get there to Lee Valley CP then I can highly recommend making the effort.
You may all think it would be full of fixie fakes and wobbly looking right leg jean folding, but it isn't. Some very serious craftsmen adorn the velodrome. Favorites like Condor are there, but hey blokes who've just started out on the fillet brazed eyebrow singeing triangles.
I have two favourites, well to be truthful I have about 7, but 2 really stuck out, Sparrow Cycles form Liverpool. You have to see the etched Sparrows in the tubes and antique finish this guy achieved on a sublime elegant work of art. Then there was the Mawis uber Southern German handcrafted piece of art. He'd managed to combine a simplistic view with ingenious front twist grip disk brake.
But there are so many exceptional bikes, passionate craftsmen and enough to keep the most disinterest, interested.
For a first time in London, I think it's a massive hit. There were so many folks bumbling and meandering ooohing and aaaahing that I truly hope all that made the effort to show their craft have a successful show.
And don't worry sniffy Bristolians, it's returning back there next year (so I was informed)
As for the velodrome, it's really rather good, come see what your taxes paid for.
Nope, London is a nasty dirty smelly ****hole and for that reason alone i'm out.
Oh look, a pointless, chip balancing miserablist.
Really wanted to go, visited all of the last shows but couldn't make it this year as its moved to London - stupid idea on London Marathon weekend any way......
I've never been able to visit the Bristol show but I've got a ticket for tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to revisiting the Velodrome for the first time since the Paralympics. 🙂
I was there today, really enjoyed it and a great venue.
I went today - everyone on the stands looked like Seasick Steve.
Apart from that I thought it was really good. Lots of lovely bike jewellery hanging on some lovely bikes, plus weird stuff to scowl at.
Come and say hi! I'll be manning the doors downstairs, maybe...heads up nip into waitrose or m&s at Westfield on the way if you want food, as the cafe runs out regularly. Some very lovely bikes and the makers are just great. Been having a great time with them.
If I have any energy after the run* I'll head over.
* unlikely 😛
I'm gutted it moved from Bristol as it was one of my favourite events of the year. Glad it's doing well in London.
Great place to stock up on tee shirts (Pauls components, Demon & Shand ones so far..)
Loved the show, it was full of stunning bikes (Automatic cycles pink CX my fab) & there were a lot more MtBs than there has been in Bristol. The velodrome is an amazing place. It just lacked the intimacy of Bristol but it had out grown Templemeads, at least now you can see the exhibits and there is plenty of room. Pain to get to for me but you can't have everything.
£7.50 entry & £3 parking all day is amazing value & even more so for London
If you can get there do it you won't be disappointed.
Oh & I got an amazing free sticker haul 🙂
Went on Friday. It was fantastic and a great venue for it.
Apparently it's going back to Bristol next year.
I'm gonna head over today. Can you buy tickets on the door?
Edit: I know you [i]can[/i], I suppose I'm asking if anybody knows if it's sold out or not...
Nope, London is a nasty dirty smelly ****hole and for that reason alone i'm out.
Oh you poor thing, mummy not let you go up to London on your own. 😥
Tickets?? Well I didn't book before the show and we got in with not problems at all yesterday. There is loads of room there so I suspect you'll be fine.
Nope, London is a nasty dirty smelly ****hole and for that reason alone i'm out.
Not where the show was held it wasn't, was there Friday judging Train to Stratford then 5 minutes walk to the velodrome in glorious sunshine in very pleasant surroundings.
What a brilliant day out, we drove and parked at the swimming pool. Went in there for a look around (its lovely) then walked over to North Park and the Velodrome. Really good event, way better than the big industry ones I've been to.
and I met Chris King!
The whole Olympic Park is quite something, if you have young kids there all kinds of strange macabre looking climbing frames/trees for them to fall off. I really love the landscaping, all the reeds and meadow down by the river, very peaceful.
Some amount of housing gone up and seems they are about to build a bunch more and commercial space.
So we do have a legacy....and the Olympics were great.
I overhead a wonderful exchange in the queue for a coffee. 'what do you reckon about having Bespoked in London,' said one bloke. 'Well, it's alright. Actually, no it's not alright. You've got the wrong sort of people coming in.' Apparently there weren't enough bike geeks through the doors.
I enjoyed the exhibition. Some stunning bikes there (I liked the Sparrows) and it was great to meet and chat to people like Chris Igleheart. Got to disagree about the Olympic Park - all the Travelodge-a-like housing is a travesty. Though no doubt the whole thing is better than what was there before.
corroded - Memberall the Travelodge-a-like housing is a travesty. Though no doubt the whole thing is better than what was there before.
It's not finished yet, give it a chance. And compared to what was there before its a massive transformation with lots more to come.
It's also affordable housing, if its not for you then fine.
I've been to other cities where there is supposed to be a legacy from the Olympics - not so, run down and tumbleweed.
really enjoyed the show. Great to see such fantastic attention to details and finishes on bikes. Good example were the bikes from Feather, Baldwin and (dare I say it ) the trike by Geo. Longstaff - there were loads of other good stuff too. All good except for one clothing company whose stuff was really surprisingly poor quality. A bit of a shame they couldn't put the Paris-Roubaix on the big screen, but all in all really good day out
Any photos? As a fully paid-up bike geek I couldn't come this weekend.
plenty on the News page on this site. bias towards the mbt side, but I think we can understand why!
I went on Saturday and really enjoyed it. I'm probably one of the "wrong un's" though - I got "interesting bike fatigue" after little more than a couple of hours.
Edit: Only a little bit, I pushed on through, but it would have been nice to stop for a bit on some pub benches in some sort of "hand built pies and chewy beers expo" section. limited scop for that inthe current venue, though. And it was cool to see the velodrome.
Might be booking a go on the BMX track at some point.
I went, atmosphere wasn't as good as Bristol but some really nice stuff. Im looking at posh road bikes and was trying to (dream) decide between:
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All with discs as a custom option
Enjoyed the venue as there was enough room to move around and actually have a good look at some of the bikes and stands. Nice atmosphere, bit of track cycling, beer and free stickers in hand. The South Pole expedition fat bike recumbant was pretty special.
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what that ^^^ photo of the Saffron misses is the lovely neon paint job.
It's also affordable housing, if its not for you then fine
I'm all in favour of affordable housing (actually it's around 25% 'affordable housing' I understand) but there's no reason the design has to look hideous. The developers did do a good job cleaning up one of the most polluted waterways in London so it's swings and roundabouts really.
As for the show, I thought a big trend was the all-road, disc-equipped, drop-barred bike - though few were as appealing as the trio of Stoaters on Shand's stand.
there's no reason the design has to look hideous
I kind of agree. I couldn't tell whether the buildings were from the 80s and had been refurbished or whether they were actually new.
We stayed at Lea Valley Youth Hostel and cycled to the Velodrome off road on the canal path about 22km each way .The Velodrome is impressive but the Olympic Park looks like the after pictures of Chernobyl .The venue lacked the atmosphere and bustle of Bristol and more than one food outlet would have been handy .I enjoyed the mix of builders that were there especially the road stuff as I aspire to a Eric Estlund frame one day .I didnt look at much of the mountain bike builds to be honest as I cant see me spending bespoke money on a frame to trash .Spoke to Wildgear and 2 tonne of gravel will happen at some point .Decided that I also need to start saving for some Royce hubs !!
London - not as atmospheric as Bristol.
Thats my bike up there ^^^^^^^ 😀
OMG 😯 London - not as quaint and provincial as Bristol.
Enjoyed the show and good to see the velodrome but as per anything in East London it is pain in the arse to get to. Sat in traffic on the north circular for hours didn't help. Half the entrances to the Olympic park were blocked off even though they said it was fully open. Ended up having to jump fences to get in. Staff at velodrome were useless as well and couldn't tell us how to get to a car park a couple of 100yds away without jumping fences. There stock response was " I am not from around here" anyway moan over.
There were some amazing bikes and the quality of finish was what stood out for me. Paint jobs were just stunning on some frames. Surprised there wasn't any disc road bikes as apposed to cross bikes. Good to see that some of the most impressive stuff was from the small guys and not just the larger companies. All in all great show and pleased it will be back in Bristol next year. I think it needs to be less like a trade show and have a more unique feel, maybe like beer festival.
There were few disc roadies weren't there? At least one - Oak's "The Time Machine"
http://www.oakcycles.com/2014/04/the-time-machine/
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After my moan I should say well done to the organisers as you have to try new things and bringing all these people together made a great show. To be honest where ever it is I will go next year
There's a really cool photo story of the build of that Oak on the page I linked to. Huge amount of work!
I'm gonna buck the trend and say I thought the venue was perfect. Lots of space and no crowds pushing you around, lots of time to talk to the guys on the stands, nice clean loos, decent facilities, easy to get to along the canal. Spot on. But then I loved it last time I was there for the Paralympics. Hey ho 🙂
Most of the disc road bikes seemed to be tourers or cross bikes, well from what I saw.
Slate cross bike was lovely as was the Nerve.
This threads a bit shit, where's all the pictures! Seen a few pics of some road stuff on road.cc, lovely! Shame non of the sites have prices, guess of you've got to ask eh...
One thing I don't understand after looking at a few custom frame builders sites, if you've just spent a shed load of cash on a custom frame why the hell are there any spacers at all under the stem, silly.
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/bespoked-ukhbs-2014-heres-what-caught-our-eye/ ]here you go, monkey fudger! [/url]
My phone ran out of battery, I was sure I'd charged it the night before.. hence no pics from me 😐
I have a brochure here, I could give you a list of all exhibitors, some have websites, some not.
Would you like me to do that?
here's a picture of a hand built bicycle, in Lonn-Donn. note its interesting chainstay bridge, if you can.
Anyone know what these brakes are?
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[url= http://www.bespoked.cc/bespoked2014exhi.html ]This'll save me writing them all down...[/url]
I really enjoyed the show and I loved seeing all those kids getting to ride round the Olympic track. I'd like to think I'll see some of them getting a medal round their necks one day.
Just got home. Last of the Italian frames couriered back this morning. Long 6 days, but fantastic. The place was cleared in under 2 hrs last night! Made lots of friends, got paid, plenty of swag and my custom frame is one step closer!
One of my stand out moments was the Italian guy, Raphiel, from Faggin, doing a track session in his shirt and loafers absolutely smashing it! Also Swarf getting the new builders award, such nice guys and cool bike. Shaggys automatic also sweet. Running the building had it's challenges, but in the main, worked. Roll on next year!