What an awesome show. Not since the heady days of the mountain bike boom have I witnessed such a sense of positivity and enthusiasm in the bicycle trade. This is just one tiny part of the UK trade of course – The artisans. The craftsfolk. The guys with dirty fingernails and an unhealthy addiction to the smell of hot swarf. This first ever Bespoked was, according to every single exhibitor that I spoke to, a better show than they could have dared imagine. Visitors were queueing up to get in on both days – and for the few hours I was there we were packed shoulder to shoulder.
The show had a slightly different flavour to the US and Euro handmade shows on which it was modelled. As Rob off of Really Useful Bikes pointed out – there were no cargo bikes, no ladies/step-through frames. I didn’t see a kid’s bike or a small wheeled bike either. Nonetheless, this was probably the best bicycle show I have ever attended. And I’ve been to few.
Awesome. Cyclorama will have a stand there next year for sure.
Donhue: Best Of Show!
Detail of Winner; Best Track Frame:
Lee Cooper: Winner; Best Utility:
Velo::er belts on the swrve stand;
Tags: boneshaker magazine, brian rourke, brother bikes, burls, Condor, delta seven, demon frameworks, donhue, downland cycles, eighteen, enigma, feather cycles, freshtripe, gunnar cycles, guru, hammoon, il soigneur, industry nine, just riding along, kcnc, lee cooper, milk bikes, milltag, paper bicycle, paulus quinos, peter's bike, really useful designs, rodford velo, shutt velorapide, strada, swrve, synergy, ted james design, tokyo fixed, velobici, villiers velo, waterford precision cycles
I agree – it was a gorgeous show. The right size, the right people, nobody spinning sales guff and everybody talking the plain truth. I bumped into an importer of bespoke Italian frames and he, too, was waxing lyrical, promising to bring his suppliers next year. All in all there were lovely bikes and dedicated makers. P.S. I hate to differ from Rob but on Saturday there was indeed a front-hopper cargo bike outside the entrance…
Hi Max, It really was a great show wasn’t it? Guess I didn’t explain that very well. Sorry. It was Rob’s own cargo bike under the marquee, he was bemoaning that his was the only one!
Cheers, Mick
Great pictures. Beautifully crafted bikes. The dedication and creativity is very RAD! Wish I was there.
[...] the enormous success of last year’s show I’m looking forward to this year’s event with eager anticipation. It really was an [...]
[...] It may not be as big as the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, but from what I have seen of last year’s event it is definitely worth checking out. Mick from Cyclorama will be there again this year, so check [...]