Pete made the long journey south to Whittlebury Hall this week to check out all the new and shiny kit that’s on display here at the 20th edition of the Core Bike Show.
The 202th edition of Core Bike Show had the usual spread of current kit, kit launching at the show and some stuff we can’t tell you about yet.
Here’s our pick of the best on show.
Hope Technology
Hope have sacked off Bronze, now officially a collectors’ item. At Core they were taking votes on three new colours to replace it. (Left to Right) Forest, Smoke and Mocha. Our poll indicated a strong preference to Forest with 48% of the vote.
Hope have doubled the rise options on their carbon bars with the introduction of a 35mm rise option. The 35R has the same materials and construction as the 20R, just in a slightly higher rise. Available late April for £180.00.
It’s not all new stuff at Hope. Their latest stand addition is a legacy product stand with every major product the Barnoldswick outfit have made to date. Our man Pete had a set of Mono 6s and Bulbs back in the day. Primo kit.
SDG
SDG expand their line of classic saddles to include some automotive-inspired finishes and signature Cast saddles from the likes of Greg Minnaar, Danny MacAskill and Kriss Kyle. The ones you can buy right now are the collab saddles with Johan Johnston from Hasie & The Robots.
Michelin
Michelin’s DH Mud does exactly what it says on the tin. A downhill tyre for mud. Weighing in at 1230g for the 27.5 x 2.3″, you get Magi-X Compound tuned for colder weather operation, cuttable tread and a 4 x 55tpi casing. Designed as front-only, it’s designed to be used with Michelin’s other DH tyre offerings. Yours for £79.99.
Peaty’s
Available in Knurl or Mushroom flavours, five different colours, two thicknesses with a 20A compound, you’ll be able to find a version of the Peaty’s Monarch Grip to suit. £24.99 a pair.
RaceFace
The RaceFace Era cranks are now available in 160mm for those on ebikes or anyone looking for a shorter pair of cranks. Warrantied for life, these carbon cranks are likely tougher than woodpecker lips. Not far off £1/g for the arms alone.
Magura
Magura reprise the Gustav name with the Gustav Pro. The name of the original hydraulic MTB brake gets a modern twist. This brake is all about heat dissipation for more modern riding and ebikes. Rotor thickness jumps half a mill to 2.5mm, the single piece caliper gets 1mm larger diameter pistons, oil volume doubles to 7ml, pads thickness jumps by 40% with the pads now having cooling tabs, the master cylinder is 2mm larger in diameter and the alloy lever blade is designed to snap rather than wrecking the whole lever assembly. The new Easy Tube reduces bleed time massively and helps negate the issues with Maguras of air in the system. There is now a bleed port on the caliper too. First edition kits will be £599.99 for a full brakeset.
Lapierre
The Lapierre Spicy CF Team in the flesh. A World Championship-winning bike but there’s far more to it than just raw speed. Configurable as either a high or low pivot bike with 180mm travel front and rear, you can switch this bike up to suit your riding. You can also run it as a Mullet or full 29″. Could this be the one bike to rule them all?
Halo
Halo have a lot going on. These purple MantraDrive hubs are their anniversary edition with a claimed 40 sets on offer. The standard coloured hubs will, eventually, swap out the SupaDrive system on Halo wheels that fall under the new moniker of Skelta that covers all wheel sizes and standards. 5 pawls with 7 teeth plus the drive ring offers a whopping 750 engagement points, real world tested by Matt Jones at Red Bull Hardline Tasmania.
