The Cycle Show 2009

were Merckx and Contador really there? wished I'd been able to go.

were Merckx and Contador really there? wished I'd been able to go.

yup they were. I've got a side shot of Contador from the Friday - he's tiny btw, 5 foot zero.

If you saw the fashion show - hope you enjoyed it? Music and visuals all done by little ol' me!

Yes, great fashion show. Well done! The Demon stand was the best for me. Some lugged works of art there. All in all, well worth a tenner.

looks like it was a successful show.

looks like it was a successful show.

looks like someone trying to get out of nursery...

Anyway yes, the ladies ride was good fun, if a little disjointed - thanks to Jacqui and Cathy for helping to make light of getting lost and riding Miss Daisy. Show was ok, some lovely Colnago bike porn, a cool BMX show, and some other good bits. The new Pashley 3 speed fixed was a highlight for me - even if it did have crazy gearing.. 56x17 ??
Shop was a complete let down as usual, Unipack stand very entertaining, Pickle attempted to let them try and sell her a bike, but we had to leave when he asked if 'we'd seen the bikes around' and couldnt keep a straight face anymore. I did however like the spiderman bike he was selling next door.

I think the kids bikes called "Fellia" we had on the kids test track were made by the same people, all the handlebars were loose, the brakes were binding and the pedal fell off one when I tested it. They sent a "mechanic" along to sort the issues out, nice bloke, but he didn't have a clue.

Deathtraps for children, awesome!

Yes, great fashion show. Well done! The Demon stand was the best for me. Some lugged works of art there. All in all, well worth a tenner.

They were absolutely beautiful weren't they! On the website the builds start at 1200 nicker - but If I could afford that I'd probably have to spend more for those amazing almost art-deco lugs they do!

demon ... they certainly did look good.

loved the enigma stand ... great quality there.

did anyone see the cooper bike with the 5 speed sturmey archer and the downtube shifter. usually I don't really like the poor shots at the vintage fixie look, but that one looked pretty good.

found a link to that:

http://www.cooperbikes.com/T200-Reims.html

For me, it was nice to see Thorn cycles, really good value for money.

Better show than last year, maybe because of meeting up wi people inside and bringing are own beer

Thorn cycles were very nice, one day I will have one of them.
I also loved the folding bike with the baby spok! I can't remember what they were as I was so excited about the baby spok.
spok blindness.

The new Pashley 3 speed fixed was a highlight for me - even if it did have crazy gearing.. 56x17 ??

It was gorgeous and though the gearing looked odd it's fairly sane. If those wheels were 700c with 28 tyres, you get 88 inches from direct drive and 66 & 55 from the hub. A bit high for the city but great on the open road.

ooooh, and I loved all the little bmx race bikes. aahhhhh

I couldn't make my mind up about the thorn ones ... seemed to have limited frame sizes and color choices. But mainly the guy there was just not helpful to me, really. What's so impressive about them in your opinion clefty?

i don't think they are amazing, just a good product for a reasonable amount of money. Most other steel frames are bloomin expensive

colnago frames were sweeeeet, although the pista was a bit of a rip off. Wheels didn't even have sealed cartridge bearings

I couldn't make my mind up about the thorn ones ... seemed to have limited frame sizes

The Sherpa is available in 11 sizes. How many do you need?

Looked for the Audax MK3 though.

Maybe I just got it wrong ... there was an older guy and a younger guy. The older guy from the stall was caught up and the younger guy just didn't explain anything in a way that I could really understand it well enough. Maybe it was his accent. Just left confused for some reason.

Also he didn't give me an indication about the weight, I wasn't able to lift the bike up or anything ... weird experience.

All I can remember is that the Audax MK3 with shimano 105 equipment will set me back 1700 ... pretty much the same I'd pay for a custom built enigma with columbus tubing and nice lugs (which I'm keen on) ...

But I did hear good comments from other people about thorn bikes, and I wanna find out what's so good about them, as compared to roberts, enigma, etc on one end, and condor on the other ... if that makes sense?

maybe he has dwarf legs

Looked for the Audax MK3 though.

Maybe I just got it wrong ... there was an older guy and a younger guy. The older guy from the stall was caught up and the younger guy just didn't explain anything in a way that I could really understand it well enough. Maybe it was his accent. Just left confused for some reason.

Also he didn't give me an indication about the weight, I wasn't able to lift the bike up or anything ... weird experience.

All I can remember is that the Audax MK3 with shimano 105 equipment will set me back 1700 ... pretty much the same I'd pay for a custom built enigma with columbus tubing and nice lugs (which I'm keen on) ...

But I did hear good comments from other people about thorn bikes, and I wanna find out what's so good about them, as compared to roberts, enigma, etc on one end, and condor on the other ... if that makes sense?

yeah, the younger guy didn't know what he was on about. I said "yeah your 852 tube probably weighs the same as real Reynolds" and he blanked me and changed the conversation

LOL ... no, I am pretty bog standard 6ft 2 ... However, I do have a back problem, and want a great fit for the bike to come. Been discussing my Audax bike desires over here for a bit now.

Thing is, they put you on a jig and measure you, then select a pre-existing frame for you, then you choose components and color, right? That's what condor do as well, no?

Just that the difference between a Fratello and a thorn with 105 gear is like 600 quid.

No idea about the ride qualities etc. Can anyone comment on this?

well that's why I'm banging on about Thorn, it's a 600 differnece!

£1700 for a 105 equipped steel frame seems a bit steep indeed. I'd rather go for a Condor Fratello for cheaper or indeed an Enigma.