As the title suggests, this Saturday I went to the London Bike Show.
I had intended to cycle, but the ‘London Death Snow’ (translation for snow-familiar foreigners: a light dusting) put paid to that idea.
I was therefore unable to bask in the smug glow emanating from those attendees I saw dressed in full on commuting gear. I did however get to read a book in peace whilst travelling in on the train and tube – a rare treat.
So how was it?
Well, a fun diversion. The sort of thing worth doing every once in a while.
There was a selection of expensive bikes to salivate over (if that’s your thing), but there are only so many times you can fawn over a curvy-yet-muscular carbon frame and a Dura ace group set. So what did I like?
Well, the fact that I got to handle the new bike computers from Garmin (the Edge 510 and 810) – the bloke demonstrating had to grapple them back from my grasping, Gollum-like hands.
I also got to enjoy the response that the flustered German Canyon employee gave my sister when she enquired as to the price of the tiny, pink-adorned ‘ladies bike’ enjoying pride of place in the middle of their stand, not realising that it was the bike ridden by Joaquim Rodriguez in the 2012 giro (pink detailed to commemorate his time spent wearing the maglia rosa…).
We (me, my sister and her fiancé) had a second-row seat to the launch of the new Madison Genesis professional road racing team, along with its very attractive steel Genesis team bike. Madison Genesis claim to be the only professional team to use steel rather than carbon for their bikes, although I recall that some Rapha Condor riders, including Dean Downing, now at Madison Genesis, used steel bikes for racing in recent years. Whatever the claims, the bike looked the business. Let’s hope it helps brings this new British team much success in 2013 and beyond.
And yes, okay, I did spend an enjoyable couple of hours salivating over expensive bikes (carbon, steel or titanium; muscular, elegant or strange-looking)…
A selection of photographs follow, providing an inexhaustive, poorly-focused and over-exposed ‘reportage’ of the show:
