CORE BIKE 2012

Here’s a report from our cycling Marketing Manager Thomas who visited COREBIKE on 30/1/12 -

Yesterday I visited Core Bike in Northamptonshire, near Silverstone. It’s a trade event showcasing the latest kit from British distributors representing brands from the world over. Unlike public shows, like the London Bike Show, it was a rare opportunity, to spend time drooling over the latest bike kit in an intimate environment that allows you to spend time experiencing the products and talking with those responsible for making them available. I look forward to this event more than all of the other UK shows.

The fibre flare lights are very impressive this year. They’ve got smaller/slimmer and have a small model that could mount to spokes. Nice.

X Fusion shocks seem to be making waves this year. The big news is their fork range. Looking good!

What most of you will find appealing is X-Fusion’s new dropper post. Available at Wiggle, this post is available in 27.2 mm! A rarity in dropper world.

An alternative to Shimano and SRAM is this new brand of derailleurs and shifters from Microshift.

There was a lot to take in too. With Silverfish recently taking on Yeti, I bee-lined to their room to check out the latest range. What struck me the most was not the latest Yeti’s, but the sublime example of John Tomac’s carbon MTB from the early nineties. The C-26 from Yeti was the pioneer of carbon frame manufacture. Complete with dropped handlebars (!?!?) and Tioga‘s Disc Drive rear wheel, this was my bike of the show.

This dream bunch was drawing a crowd. From left to right, the Yeti SB-66 Carbon, ASR-C, 4X, 303WC, DJ and SB-66 Alloy. Lovely.

The 888, 55 and 66 models from Marzocchi. These are the RC3 EVO Ti models. Titanium coil springs give coil plushness in a air-like weight package. These forks won their categories 3 years in a row in the Dirt 100.