We’ve collated our top favourite bikes of the 2018 Cycle Show from over the weekend, and come away with a list of 10 bikes that grabbed our attention for some reason or another. We’ve got race bikes, new bikes, retro bikes, custom bikes and weird bikes. Enjoy!
Tahnee Seagraves’s Transition TR11 World Champs Bike
Windwave, the distributors of Transition Bikes in the UK had Tahnee Seagrave’s World Champs bike on display at the NEC. The custom painted bike has metallic red splashes on a white background and made up of mostly Shimano kit.
Kaos Seagrave’s Transition TR11 Hardline Bike
Schwalbe had Kaos Seagrave’s custom pink Transition TR11 with spatterings of Hardline dirt still on it. The carbon downhill bike is kitted out with a full Shimano Saint groupset, Shimano Pro components, and a few choices bits and bobs from Ergon. Oh, and of course it had Schwalbe tyres fitted too.
GT Pro Performer 29
GT has taken one of it’s earliest BMX designs and supersized it for 2019. The GT Pro Performer 29 is loosely based on the bike of the same names from 1986, only the new model rolls on much larger 29in wheels. GT offers the bike in sizes XS, S, M, L, so in theory, you could by a small one for the pump track or a large one for cruising to and from the pub. Or you could buy 2.
Cannondale Jekyll 29
Could this be the bike that Josh “Rat Boy” Bryceland will be riding in 2019? We’re not sure, but the tenuous link here is that Fabric supplies Cannondale with saddles and grips, and sponsors the Rat! Makes you think, doesn’t it? The Jekyll 29-3- boasts SRAM GX Eagle, Fox Float Performance 36 forks and Stand NoTubes Flow S1 Rims on Formula hubs.
Adam Brayton’s Custom Scott Gambler
Custom painted for Adam Brayton, this current generation Scott Gambler was hidden in plain view at the NEC. The bike is fully kitted out with UK made Hope gear including carbon Hope bars, and red, blue, silver Hope disc brakes. Even the Ohlins forks have been treated to a fresh lick of paint too.
Moss Silver Eagle
Moss Bikes are based in Cheshire and are usually known for building simple, elegant gravel, and road bikes. They also made this too! There’s no information about the Moss Silver Eagle on the Moss website, but it looks like what a motorbike would look like if engines hadn’t been invented.
Cyclorise Custom Transition Throttle
Cyclorise had kitted out this custom Transition Throttle with a few of the brands that they distribute, along with a few items that had been custom painted to match the one-off decals. Up front, there’s a DVO Diamond fork painted light blue, and around the back, the SRAM rear mech had been painted to match. Spengle wheels aren’t all that common and were so new that they had only just arrived in time for the show. Cyclorise distributed parts include a Brooks saddle and StemCaptain top cap with a built-in clock!
Matt Jones Marin Attack Trail
We didn’t spot Matt Jones at the NEC but we did come across his Marin Attack Trail bike built up with top-end Fox Suspension and parts from Gusset. We also prodded the chaps at Marin to see if the company plans on launching a downhill bike in the future, and what they thought of rumours that the Athertons might be on Marin bikes for 2019. The long and short of it is Marin don’t plan on launching a DH anytime soon, so it’s unlikely the Athertons will be riding for them, but that’s what they would say, isn’t it?
GT Sensor Pro
The GT Sensor was launched earlier in the year, Chipps has already ridden it but this was the first time for the rest of the Singletrack Team set eyes on it. The carbon framed bike comes with GT’s revised LTS suspension system for 130mm of travel, 29in wheels and SRAM 1×12 drivetrain.
Mondraker F-Podium RR SL
We’ve already featured the Mondraker F-Podium RR SL here, but it’s such a lovely looking bike that we’ve had to include it here too. Mondraker has the F-Podium frames built in Germany by 3C, and this top of the range model comes with German made BikeAhead carbon wheels, carbon bars and carbon seatpost.
There we have our top picks of the show. Did we choose correctly? Which bikes caught your attention? Let us know in the comments section below.
That Moss bike – land speed record attempt? Very similar to the one ridden to 190mph recently?
Pleased I didn’t bother going, seems like bike exhibitions are on their arse, and if this is the pick of the crop I understand why.
Nothing there that appealed to me either, but I suspect that’s more to do with being a SS luddite.
Better not ride that GT Performer to the pub. Needs a front brake.
Loving the GT Performer but disappointed that it isn’t Eddie Fiola yellow. It would be great to finish it off with 29” Skyways… a bit like the shoes that the Mondraker F-Podium is wearing… Now there’s an idea
Moss cycles are made just down the road from me and if I could afford one I’d be straight round as the finish on them is amazing. The Gnaphosa track bike is really worth checking out.
That GT Sensor is an amazing colour too and a nice bike to sit on. Hoping to get hold of one soon (but not the Pro unfortunately).
Wandering around the show not thinking about very much beyond how much my feet were hurting, I did notice a 1990-something Yeti (ummm, I think – memory not what it was) in blue & yellow, complete with caliper brakes, a stem that would’ve had John Holmes green with envy & what looked like an 89.5 degree head angle. Very handsome. Probably not acceptable these days for real world applications, but lovely to look at.