As the craziness that is Eurobike has come and gone, you wouldn’t think that Birmingham’s bike show over at the National Exhibition Centre would have anything more to offer. But our UK team ventured over to have a look, sniffing out the overlooked products and peeking behind the scenes of the corporate stands to bring us some stuff we may have all missed!
The Lynskey 2.75 FS-140 Titanium full suspension trail bike is a work of art in itself, eye-catching and unique. The frame retails at around € 2435.
The fantastic looking titanium parts show great attention to detail, even down to the Horst-link Ti linkage.Simplicity is key with it’s 1×11 only drivetrain, keeping things clean and simple around the lower linkage. This frame offers a 67° head angle and 74° seat angle with 2.5 tyre clearance.Now that’s some kind of lump of metal to house the rear bolt-through, we love the name stamped in the stays.There is something special about a titanium headtube.This particular build was sporting the latest wide Ci31 27.5 carbon rims from WTB, beefy and strong looking!We’ve already got our hands on some of WTB’s new 2.5 width Convict tyres and will have a full review up soon. These could be spot-on, a great in-between tyre size, neither standard or plus.The UK’s Isla Bikes had their full range of kids and adult bikes on display. Their kids bikes are specifically made for kids with smaller bars, grips, levers and lighter in weight.You can’t beat a bit of retro vintage when it comes to a bike show, here Yeti displayed their early 90’s race bike, sporting some very bling anodised components from back in the day.After UK enduro racer Pat Campbell Jenner had tested their photo version of the Identiti mettle all 2016, it is about to go into production. Identiti are offering the latest features on this bike with fantastic value for money. Final build space is not quite completed, but frame-sets are.Rear travel on the Mettle is 160 mm. Boost rear hub, a frame set will start at € 1736 with a RockShox Deluxe metric shock.Now coming in as quite a new standard, the use of the metric measurement shocks is a forward move by Identity, offering more air volume and plushness.Some fantastic welding on display on this light grey version, with a crazy pastel purple frame also available.One of the only sets in the world were seen here, This Mettle frame was showcasing MRP’s new Rhythm fork. This features 140 mm to 170 mm in 27.5 (1800 g) and 120 mm to 150 mm in 29er. Also offering Boost fit, 35mm stantions, an air ramp-up adjuster and coming in at € 925. They look pretty weird with their reverse crown, made like this so as not to catch the mud!We look forward to getting our hands on a set of these Rhythm forks for testing sometime soon.With WP having joined forces with Magura to produce these fantastic looking USD forks, it’s only a matter of time before weight is reduced to make a set available for standard mountain bikes. We had word off Magura this will be happening; watch this space!Could WP/Magura be the first manufacturers to be successful in producing a usable USD fork for mountain bikes that is only single-crown?UK firm Early Rider, showcasing their beautifully made selection of high-end kids bikes; now that’s some bling for the rippers!We’re loving this little alloy balance bike, how cool is that!
Finally someone is making kid’s specific DH and enduro race-specific riding gear of a high quality. This kit from Shred XS really looked and felt like it can take all the knocks from those crashing little rippers!
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