BeOne
MTB Distribution is bringing in a load of stuff, including the reinvigorated BeOne brand. This freeride bike is a bit like a beefed-up Giant VT, which is no bad thing.
The range covers all the usual bases, all the way to carbon fibre race hardtails.
Colnago is best known for road bikes, but this is its Ibex carbon MTB frame. We're not sure if an aero seatpost is strictly necessary on a mountain bike, but it's certainly distinctive.
Da Bomb's graphics may not be to all tastes, but it's hard to argue with a four-bar suspension frame with a branded shock (it's a Manitou) for a penny under five hundred quid.
Cotic
Two new frames from Cotic, both sharing geometry (and price) with the popular Soul. The BFe is a heavy-duty hardtail in oversized Reynolds 853 tubing - the back end is particularly meaty-looking.
The Simple is a singlespeed version of the Soul - same shape, same tubing, but with neat cowled track ends, slotted caliper mount and fewer cable stops.
Cotic is also doing complete versions of its Roadrat 700c street bike thing, using lots of Bontrager parts. Full bike as pictured will be £750.
New Garmin eTrex Venture brings colour topo mapping to the compact eTrex range. It's also a little bit shorter and wider than the current eTrex models.
Crank Brothers
Crank Brothers's long-awaited (and very light) Cobalt cranks are now in production and on sale.
All proceeds from this rasta-themed flat pedal go to Hans Rey's Wheels 4 Life charity.
Cube
Cube Bikes have been seen in the UK before, but not for a little while. Judging by the size of the stand, though, its current foray into the British market is a very serious one. The bikes have a good reputation in Europe, and look very smart. This is the AMS125 long-travel trail bike.
The range also includes a wide range of hardtails, women's bikes and road bikes. Finish is impressive on all of them - those aren't decals on this short-travel FS bike, it's a coat of green paint with a masked coat of creamy white over the top.
Element
Somehow the existence of Element had escaped our attention until the London show. It's got some very near stuff, though. Here's a prototype 6in all-mountain/light freeride bike.
XC race FSer looks really rather tidy.
Nitron-Q hardtail not only has the currently de rigeur carbon seatstays but also Scalpel-esque flattened carbon chainstays. Should be quite comfy...
And yet another carbon rigid fork to add to what's suddenly quite a large choice of such things.
Got wonky feet? Head to the show and you can find out just how wonky (and what to do about it) through the medium of magic dry foam stuff that moulds to your feet.
Felt's Equilink suspension design will soon reach burlier applications than the Virtue marathon/enduro bikes. The Redemption has a distinctly stout air about it.
As well as all that lot, we saw a few new (to us) brands that we'd looked at at the international shows and now have UK distributors - Canada's Knolly Bikes can be had from Riding High UK, Germany's Proceed is coming in through MTB Distribution and Danish Rivette bikes will be imported by 2Pure.
Part two coming right up...
Malcolm Richardson
