We’re off to the 2018 London Bike Show

Believe it or not, the 2018 London Bike Show marks the 12th year we’ve been going to these things.

12 years! I can’t believe it but, the evidence is right here on Flickr. I sure wish I’d labelled all those damn images of Specialized Epics and Whyte E5s and everything else. Looking back, everything was 26″ I think, and even funky titanium bikes came with Mavic 317 disc wheelsets:

Did tubeless even exist in those days??

So, Friday is the first day of the 2018 London Bike Show at London Excel. I have the day off and my camera charged, ready to capture the current cream of 2018’s crop of bike exotica and keep up our noble mid-February loafing tradition.

More importantly, I have a couple of targets I’d like to see. First off, Bird Bikes, whose Zero AM Boost hardtail looks awesome (and their 145 Aeris too). Second, I want some clipless flat pedals (possibly something like the Funn Ripper) that I can put on my XC Kona Big Unit. Why?

Well, my teenage son is taller than me but not a regular rider – flat pedals would make the bike something he can throw a leg over and ride whenever, without too much trouble. For me of course, clip-in is my default pedalling mode, and a big platform clip-in pedal interests me. It also gives me the chance to experiment with flat pedals myself.

Watch this space – expect 2018 mountain bikes, but also a keen eye for some gravel/adventure bikes and maybe even some road bikes…