10 off-road tech highlights from the world's biggest bike show
The Eurobike trade event took place last week in Frankfurt, and it’s an enormous circus of everything you can think of from the cycling world. We covered over 100,000 steps between us to find the really interesting stuff that might have otherwise been missed. The big trend across the week was electric everything, but there was still a lot of cool analog off-road stuff to check out too.
While we've already shared news about the top e-MTB drive systems and product launches from brands such as Whyte E-Lyte 140, Husqvarna's latest full-sus e-MTBs, Scott and Dangerholm's super lightweight e-MTB, and the updated DT Swiss F535 One fork, the Eurobike event is much larger than big brand announcements. Here are the top 10 things that caught our attention during the event.
1. Peaty's Hold Fast trail tool wrap
This tool wrap uses a neat double-loop system that looked very secure on the prototype on display, but still offered a degree of adjustability, so if you travel light, you can have it smaller and tighter to keep out of the way. The first loop wraps around your top tube, and the long waterproof velcro strap then wraps around the pouch, mounting it to wherever on the frame you want. The clever arrangement means you can remove the pouch but leave the strap in place, which should mean less movement or scuffs and scratches as a result.
The pouch features taped seams and a neat little zipped compartment, perfect for keeping things like keys safe and dry. It's long enough to fit a CO2 cartridge and valve head in, plus other key essentials like a tire plugger and multitool. The finish is top-notch, it comes in various contemporary colors and has a reflective finish for nighttime visibility.
We look forward to getting one for testing shortly. For more info, check out Peatys.co.uk.
2. Cotic Escapade E collaboration with Reynolds
The Reynolds stand had an interesting take on e-gravel bikes with a prototype version of Cotic's Escapade built with Reynolds' new dropouts that enable steel frame builders to use the popular Mahle X-20 drive E-bike setup.
The system is one of the lightest out there at 3.2kg for the complete setup, but it still packs a 55Nm punch – more than enough for gravel and road use. The Reynolds kit comprises either 3D printed or CNC’d dropouts that fit the Mahle hub, torque sensor, and power plug. The battery is contained in a very cool frame bag from the guys at Restrap that handily still leaves plenty of luggage space once the battery is fitted.
Cotic has built this into a frame using Reynolds' famous 853 tubes for the main frame tubes and 631 on the rear. It has also designed a custom mount for the control unit and a special hose guide to accommodate the cables and keep the build looking clean.
What makes this especially interesting is that you can easily fit or remove the battery from the bike. So, in theory, you could have a standard Escapade that you could convert to battery power when you wished. The perfect weekday electric commuter doubling as a weekend adventurer – sounds like a great idea.
For more info, check out Cotic.co.uk.
3. Intend BC Carbon Samurai fork and heat sink
The Intend suspension made by Cornelius Kapfinger and his small team of engineers based in the Black Forest are often found on high-end bikes across the Eurobike event. This year was no different with Intend forks and shocks appearing on Scott and Dangerholm's lightweight e-MTB, plus builds from Nicolai, Trickstuff, and a host of other innovative brands.
Though launched late last year, Intend had the latest Samurai fork range on display, as well as its Trinity brake system and a very cool carbon-tubed Samurai fork prototype. New for this year is a heat sink the brand has designed to retrofit its range of forks and shocks. It's a two-piece system (you can fit just one if the space is tight) designed to help the suspension keep cool on long descents. The oil in your shock can mix with air when it gets really hot and this can really mess with your damper settings till it cools down. Intend's heat sink looks to be a great idea and should be transferable to other suspension brands.
The carbon-tubed fork is an upgrade on the standard Samurai fork and arose from a chance encounter between Cornelius and the innovative Czech brand Cduro at a bike park. Cduro specializes in high-end composite engineering and has transferred its integrated loop technology from sailing and canoeing to enduro bikes with spectacular results. Cduro made the tubes for Intend, and they are currently undergoing a rigorous testing phase.
For more info, check out Intend-bc.com.
4. Shimano EX5 and EX9 shoes
The Shimano stand is vast, with plenty to see from the latest e-EDR race bikes running the brand's EP8 motor with Autoshift gearing to Tour de France-winning road bikes, but what really caught our attention were the latest EX shoe models. EX shoes are Shimano’s explorer range and look like great gravel and adventure shoes, offering a mix of pedal efficiency and practical walking features.
The EX5 is a low-top shoe similar to an approach walking shoe with a very grippy and supportive sole twinned with laces and a simple velcro strap to keep on-the-bike adjustment simple. Shimano had two colors on display with a women's specific color option too.
There was also a new top-of-the-line shoe, the EX9. This was billed as the ultimate adventure show with its partially recycled mesh and TPU upper, which is said to be highly breathable, twinned with a Gore-Tex membrane to keep your feet dry. It's a high-top design with a double Boa strap adjustment and looks like a great mix of practicality and useful fit features. The EX9 is due for release later this summer.
For more info, check out Shimano.com.
5. GasGas e-EDR race bike
The GasGas e-EDR prototype race bike has already been featured here on Bike Perfect. It looks like it has SRAM's top-secret e-MTB motor fitted, but the bike had plenty of other cool things that might not be immediately noticeable too. Its moto DNA is apparent when you look at the bolt-on bash guards and fairings, and there are also versions for the top tube, which are easily changed, just like on the brand's moto and trials bikes.
The bike has been raced in the current e-EDR series by the GasGas SRAM team. It's a carbon four-bar suspension frame which isn't that unusual. It did, however, have a very interesting coil rear shock and fork if you looked closely enough.
The style of machining and finish looks visually similar to that of DVO, but with a matt black and red anodized finish instead of the brand's usual bright green, and crucially, it had a WP logo on top of the fork. Could we be about to see moto suspension giant WP enter the world of MTB? GasGas is part of the same group as Husqvarna, which uses WP on its moto products, so this could be the start of something big – watch this space.
For more info, check out GasGas.com.
6. Ere Research Tenaci gravel wheels
Ere Research may be a new brand to many, having only been around since 2017. Still, it is a company made up of a lot of combined industry experience and expertise and has quickly established a good-looking range of wheels, tires, saddles, and bar tapes using very clever tech.
The first thing that caught our eye was the Genius range of gravel saddles. They have been developed with input from the University of Stanford and, interestingly, don't have women's and men's specific saddles. Instead, Ere offers its unisex saddle in three widths but with a clever lever called the comfort trigger. This little lever adjusts the tension on the saddle, effectively letting the rider adjust the amount of flex and, therefore, the saddle's comfort whilst riding. It's a three-position lever, and each position alters the amount of movement by 10mm, which is a significant amount.
The brand also had some great-looking carbon wheels on display. The Tenaci GA40 Aero is designed as a no-compromise aero gravel race wheel. They are light at 1,549 grams a pair with a 40mm deep and 26mm internal width hookless rim. Ere uses its own Iona SL hubs ratchet hubs paired with Sapim steel aero spokes, which should be a good mix of performance and reliability. These, paired with Ere’s cotton-casing gravel tires, look like a super fast gravel race setup.
For more info, check out Ere-world.com.
7. Aeroe Spider Rear Rack and bags
Aeroe is a brand from New Zealand that had some innovative bikepacking racks and support on display. The company has been designing and making rack systems for 12 years and was the first to bring a quick-release rack that could be used on an MTB to the market called the Freeload rack (now sold as the Tour rack by Thule).
Its latest product is the Spider Rear Rack. It's a quick-release model designed to fit all bikes with silicon-coated nylon contact points to prevent damage to your bike. It looked very easy to take on and off and was super secure, and it could be the thing if you wanted to take your MTB or e-MTB for a spot of bikepacking.
For more info, check out Aeroe.com.
8. Xentis High X 5-spoke gravel wheels
Eurobike always has a few crazy-looking wheel designs, but the Xentis range isn't just a show one-off. The Austrian brand has been hand-building a wide range of carbon wheels for a considerable time for road, MTB, and gravel.
The latest offering is the High X, which uses a five-spoke monocoque construction to create a striking wheelset. They are a race product, so they emphasize stiffness, strength, and aerodynamics over comfort. To increase the strength, each spoke has an external ridge which Xentis says increases stiffness considerably over the standard road versions.
The rim is 35mm deep, has an internal width of 26mm, and weighs an impressive 1,390 grams. The crazy styling may not be for everyone, but they certainly garner plenty of attention.
For more information, check out Xentis.com.
9. Abbey Bike Tools wheel stand
Abbey Bike Tools has been a firm favorite amongst pro mechanics for some time with its high-quality, precise, and durable tools, and its latest wheel truing stand was a real show-stopper for a serious tool nerd such as myself.
Of course, such a high-end workshop tool isn't for everyone, and really not necessary for the home mechanic to true their wheels, but for the right person, this really is an incredible piece of engineering. A wheel stand has the relatively simple task of holding a wheel and having a guide so you can see or measure how out of true or alignment the wheel is. Of course, this stand does that, but unlike most setups, it uses very precise dials for measuring radial and lateral deflection, and it's all machined in-house and built to an incredible level of precision like the rest of the Abbey range.
For more info, check out Abbeybiketools.com.
10. Deda fork and tape
Deda is predominately a road brand but, in recent years, has started to branch out into gravel product. The Italian brand has a long heritage in making tubing used in frames, building its own frames and bars, stems, and forks.
The item that really stood out was the Gera Curvy carbon fork. It's a gravel and bikepacking fork with a cage extender that mounts to the side of the fork and gives a broader, more supportive area for strapping things like sleeping bags, bottles, and dry bags.
It has clearance for a tire up to 57mm (29 x 2.25in) and is 12mm bolt-through axle only. It uses a D-shaped steerer, so it is an ideal upgrade for anyone with a gravel bike with fully internal routing and wanting to change a race-focused bike into something more adventure friendly. It also features provisions for internally routing cables from a dynamo front hub.
For more info, check out Dedaelementi.com.
