Highlights from the trade only CORE and Bike Place Shows

Once a year the UK’s collective mountain bike industry head to Whittlebury Hall Hotel in Northhampton and Silverstone Race Track for the trade only CORE and Bike Place shows. For a few days, Northampton becomes the hub of the UK cycle industry and the UK’s biggest distributors get their chance to show dealers what exciting new products are coming.

UK Editors Trev Worsey, Jim Buchanan and Cat Smith spent their days stalking through the trade stands to sniff out the most exciting highlights from the show that we will be seeing in the UK very soon!

Once a year the entire UK cycle industry descends on Whittlebury Hall Hotel in Northamptionshire

Then over to the rival Bike Place show in the Silverstone Raceway Wing building.

EVIL The Wreckoning

If you spend any time on social media, you will have no doubt seen the viral video of Luke Stroble debunking the “29er’s are for XC” myth aboard the new EVIL Wreckoning. Looking incredible in the flesh the new bike features a D.E.L.T.A suspension link with numbers that defy convention, with 161 mm of travel and 29-inch wheels – no lines are off limits. The new bike will be available in blue and black and are fully Boost’ed. Is it a trail bike, and enduro bike or a downhill bike? Yes! We cannot wait to get our hands on one.

With 29 Inch wheels, 161 mm of travel and a 66.1 - 65.5 degree head angle, the new EVIL Wreckoning's numbers add up to a potent beast. — With 29 Inch wheels, 161 mm of travel and a 66.1 – 65.5 degree head angle, the new EVIL Wreckoning’s numbers add up to a potent beast.

With a Boost rear end and the formidable D.E.L.T.A shock linkage, this is a bike that should throw down with the best of them.

The surprise of the show, the Santa Cruz Hightower

In the traditional Santa Cruz fashion of surprise launches, nobody knew that this bike was coming. Then BOOM! News of the Hightower hit the media yesterday and we quickly located one on the Jungle Distribution stand. With the ability to run 29 or 27.5+ tyres the 135 mm travel Hightower looks to be both versatile and potent and is a bike that many Tallboy owners have been waiting for. We cannot wait to get one on the trails.

The new Santa Cruz Hightower was the bike that everyone was talking about. The 27.5+ looked great fun to us.

We can see this being a popular bike on the trails.

In 29er guise the new Hightower looks fast just standing still.

The new Orange Four, lighter and faster.

At first glance, the new Orange Four looks like a slimmed down Five, but the changes go more than skin deep. The frame is manufactured from thinner 1.4 mm aluminium sheet and the CNC’ed parts have been revised to shed weight; resulting in a 130 / 120 mm trail bike with serious attitude. Frame geometry looks to be hitting the sweet spot for trail bikes, aggressive without being too radical, and if the eagerness and enjoyable ride of the Five have been retained the Four is sure to be a very popular bike.

Orange have a habit of dropping new bikes at The Bike Place, their new Four may be the answer for those looking for a nimble and agile trail bike.

The four is more than just a trimmed down Five, it's a ground up redesign. — The four is more than just a trimmed down Five, it’s a ground up redesign.

We also like the look of this Orange Segment with 27.5+ wheels, not for production but it is possible.

BOS revise their suspension range.

The ever popular BOS Deville fork has received a full overhaul with the new FCV (frequency valve control) that uses an inertia valve in the hydraulic cartridge to balance rider and trail inputs. The new Deville FCV also features new lowers, a new crown and new air spring, we cannot wait to see how they perform on the trail. Full news coming soon!

The BOS range has been entirely reworked with new internals

Easton’s new ARC Plus rims

If you’ve been sitting on the fence about going plus, wheel and finishing kit maestros Easton have just released some new rims that go up to a whopping 45 mm internal width, perfect for the latest generation of Plus tyres. The tubeless ready 32 hole aluminium rims are available in 24, 27, 30, 35, 40 and 45 mm widths and are targetted towards riders who like to build their own wheels, costing between £79.99 to £99.99 each depending on the internal width and weighing between 425 g – 535 g.

The new Easton ARC rims provide an affordable solution for those looking for more width.

Available in 24, 27, 30, 35, 40 and 45 mm internal widths, Easton have a rim for every rider

Custom decals are available to pimp your rims or match to your ride!

Raceface Chester Bar and Stem.

Raceface have brought their 35 mm bar standard down to a lower price point with the 6061 aluminium Chester Bar and Stem. The stem is available in 40 and 60 mm lengths with a 0 rise and costs just £36.99. The matching 35 mm bar is a whopping 780 mm wide and comes in 10, 20 and 35 mm rises with a sensible weight of 400 g; again for £36.99. For those looking to move to the bigger 35 mm standard, Raceface have provided a very affordable solution.

Wickens and Soderstrom

On a stand between the new Santa Cruz bikes we thought we had stumbled onto a new range of luxury cosmetics for the bearded gentleman, but it turns out that the beautifully packaged Wickens and Soderstrom lubes are perfect for well loved bikes. Their new suspension lube has been approved by the gurus at TF Tuned and their fully biodegradable bike wash is the first to wear the distinguished EU Ecolabel, so not only is it great for your bike, but great for the planet too! Check out the full range here.

We were not sure whether to lube our chains, or oil our beards with this fine range of cycle lubes and cleaners

Alchemy Arktos hits the UK

In May, UK distributors Saddleback will be bringing the US made Alchemy Arktos to the UK. Handbuilt in Denver the 150 mm trail bike has been designed with help from suspension guru Dave Earle and the result is something quite beautiful. For full details on this bike, you can check out our first look, we look forward to getting one for review very soon.

UK distributor Saddleback are now bringing in the Alchemy Arktos.

The Arktos is handbuilt in the USA, offering 150 mm of travel from its carbon frame; aggressive and distinctive.

Buff Single layer Merino Hats

The Scottish team loved this new Buff Merino hat, the ultrathin construction means that it would be great under a helmet to keep the worst of the winter chill at bay. Simple and effective and not too expensive at £20.99!

Perhaps not as sexy as some of the bikes on show but the new Buff Merino hat would be perfect under a helmet in a cold UK winter.

Kinesis Tripster ATR

There is something about the classic lines of a titanium adventure bike, and we all fell in love with the new Tripster ATR. The ‘ATR’ stands for Adventure, Tour and Race and the Tripster can turn its hand to anything from multi-day epics to tough cyclocross races. Classical meets the next generation, but at £1499 titanium frames don’t come cheap.

Bike Park Wales is Europes first ENVE testing centre

Carbon wheels are an extremely expensive purchase, and until now it has been almost impossible to ‘try before you buy’. Bike Park Wales have the solution, setting up Europe’s first ENVE’s testing centre. If you have ever wanted to try ENVE wheels without the huge outlay you can now test any of the range on the challenging and rough tracks of Bike Park Wales, and the small charge is refundable against a set of ENVE’s if you choose to take the plunge after testing.

The UK's favourite trail centre will now be offering an ENVE test centre, when you can put ENVE wheels to the test back to back. — The UK’s favourite trail centre will now be offering an ENVE test centre, when you can put ENVE wheels to the test back to back.

The Crankbrothers Highline dropper post is almost here

It looks like Crankbrothers are focussing on reliability and minimal maintenance with their new Highline dropper post. The sealed hydraulic cartridge inside the post requires zero maintenance and is guaranteed for 3 years. The quick release connector makes installation a quick and easy affair and the ball jointed remote lever allows you to choose the perfect orientation on the bars. Availability is expected this summer and we should have a model on test very soon!

The new Crankbrothers Highline dropper post has reliability as its selling point.

With a sealed hydraulic cartridge, Crankbrothers offer a three year trouble free guarantee.

iSSi Pedals break into the UK market.

American company iSSi will be bringing their 407g Trail pedals to the UK, and are targeting them directly at the competitive Shimano XT price bracket. Available in a range of colours and uniquely three spindle lengths for customised length their new trail pedals look like an interesting choice for those wanting a dash more colour on their bikes.

The iSSi pedals are new to the UK market and are priced to take on the mighty XT

Ibis Ripley LS

If we are honest with ourselves, the new Ripley LS is the bike we always wanted the Ripley to be. Blending the Ripleys already legendary handling in a new more aggressive, longer and slacker geometry with subtle design tweaks, the new LS is a bike that wants to go fast, everywhere!

The X-Fusion Revel is one step closer

With all the new tyre configurations, upside down forks now make more sense than ever and the eagerly anticipated X-Fusion Revel looks one step closer to hitting the shelves. With 160 mm of travel and the new Rough Cut Damper this will be exciting news for many. For those who love bling, fear not, they will also be available in gold!

Hope technology take it up a gear

Hope were showing off their new 11-speed cassette with a massive 10-44 tooth range, weighing in at 284g. The cassette comes in two clusters, a 7-speed stainless steel lower block with an additional 3 or 4 aluminium sprockets depending on your choice of 10 or 11 speed (10-speed range is 10-40). These ranges keep within the 20% ratio change between gears. We also saw some neat shocks on Hope Team rider Woody Hole’s bike.

Hope's new cassette can be adapted for use in 10 or 11 speed drivetrains. — Hope’s new cassette can be adapted for use in 10 or 11 speed drivetrains.

..but they will only be compatible with Hope hubs.

Woody Hole from Hope testing the 29er Öhlins forks in the 650b frame, could these one day be game changers?

Definitely the trend of the moment, coil sprung rear shocks, great to see Öhlins making tracks into the enduro bike market.

Bikemongers Happy Bottom Bum Butter

If there were a prize for marketing, the star of the show was this unique product from Bikemonger. Tested on arseholes – not animals – amazing.

Its amazing what you can find if you look hard enough! Anti saddle-sore cream, expertly marketed!

Identiti Prototype

Still very much a prototype the new Identiti looks not far off a finished product. Will we see this 160 mm bike on the trails soon?

Two years in the making but still a prototype, the new Identiti is almost ready

The Silverfish Zombie Truck

We have seen this Silverfish van in the CORE bike show car park every year, it’s high time this amazing paint job got some airtime!

Words: Trev Worsey Photos: Trev Worsey and Jim Buchanan

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