Bikes are bikes, right? Some certainly look better than others, some have exotica bolted to them. Frames might be handmade, or use ultra hi-tech materials. The bike could be a one-off or straight off a production line. At its heart, it’s still just a bike though. A tool to be ridden places and do things.
Exception that proves the rule
Maybe an exception to this is when a specific bike belongs to someone and it has been guided to special things. In my personal collection, I remember certain bikes as “the one I raced my first 24 on”, or “the one I dragged over the Alps for fourteen days in a row”, or even just “the one that I always commuted on”. I’d love to say that there is “the one that I won the World Cyclocross Championships on” in my cellar, but sadly it wasn’t to be. Something to do with not having the skill, fitness, commitment etc, etc. So close, yet so far.
Mathieu’s Canyon
Anyway. Mathieu van der Poel does have that bike in his collection (he’s actually won the big one in 2015 and 2019). He’s also got a posh painted bike to celebrate his most recent victory. He raced it in Bogense after the World Champs and it will now be at the London Bike Show in March. In amongst all the usual show highlights, you’ll be able ogle his rainbow Canyon Inflite: count the number of teeth on his sprockets, check out the tread on his tubs (look closely at the handwritten note on the sidewall of the photo below) and daydream about what it might be like to stand on the top step.
The London Bike Show runs from 29-31 March at Excel London.