Andi Sykes highlights a few of the bikes and components that impressed him.
Words and pics by Andi Sykes
What was meant to be a trip back to China to catch up with a couple of old friends for my 44th Birthday quickly changed to a whirlwind tour of China’s booming cycling scene and a first-hand look at how the Chinese MTB scene had changed in the 10 years since I had left.
While my plan was to kick back and relax with friends, the cycle industry had different ideas and as soon as I realised that my trip just so happened to coincide with the 33rd Annual China Cycle Expo, my journalistic spidey senses began to tingle.
After a day of sleep recovery, I flung myself into the 11 halls the China Cycle Expo had to offer…
Teewing Turbo Force
Teewing started as an electronic scooter brand but has branched out into the world of EMTB with the Turbo Force. A 160mm travel all-mountain/trail carbon bike with the latest DJI Avinox motor system.
Foxcat Prototype Park Bike
Foxcat appears to be focusing on the local market and already has various trail and enduro bikes on the market. This prototype park bike was only at the show for 1 day so I was very fortunate to see it.
The 170mm travel bike can be built up with a dual crown fork and has mounts for a water bottle cage to keep you hydrated while shuttling laps.
Velduro Rogue
Velduro is a New Zealand brand, and while relatively new, they’re already making waves. This is a 3D-printed prototype of the Rogue Enduro bike. It uses a mid-pivot design and a suspension system licensed from I-Track in Australia.
It will come with the DJI Avinox system and be available in two builds with pricing from around £6000. Depending on where you’re located, there will be a frame-only option too for around £4000.
Velduro Phantom
The Phantom is already on sale, and like the Rogue uses the DJI motor system to offer plenty of punch for your gravel bike adventures. Again the bike is available in various builds, including a flat bar model, and frame-only versions are available too.
XDS Nakota
Believe it or not, this mid-pivot alloy bike retails at £1300 in China, or if you don’t want SRAM GX AXS you can pick up a model with a mechanical drivetrain for £800.
There is no way this bike would be available at such a low price outside of the domestic market, which is a shame because the smart mix of domestic and international components could open up a whole new world of performance for riders on a budget.
Lewis Titanium Components
Lewis, known for their brakes and sponsoring many big-name riders (Intense Team, Joe Connell, Ben Deakin) is planning to branch out with a range of alloy bars, CNC stems, chainsets, pedals, chainrings and new floating discs. They even have titanium versions of their chainset, chainrings and pedals in the works.
Timetry mid-pivot prototype
Timetry is the brand name for a Tianjin-based factory. This mid-pivot alloy bike caught my eye. The model shown here is a 140mm travel bike, but swapping out the shock mounts and link can take travel up to 170mm.
Smartmotion Xplore
Smartmotion had this rather lovely-looking carbon EMTB on display. What makes this so interesting is the fact that it can be built up to weigh in at just 20kg and has a huge range of battery options. Customers can spec the Bafang equipped Xplore with battery sizes 360wh, 540wh or 720wh, and if that’s not enough there’s even an external range extender available too!
How big is the show?
This wasn’t my first rodeo, I had been here before, many times, but how things have changed. Way back when I would turn up with my cycling buddies, the China Cycle Expo was spread thinly across the massive expo centre with very little footfall, today though, the show is huge. Halls are crammed with factories and brands many of us have never heard of, and thanks to the May National Holiday the first day was heaving with cycling fans from all across China.
I would say around 70-80% off the show was dedicated to road bikes, and the components and equipment which keep our skinny tired cousins happily searching for those minor, but oh so important, gains, but there was more than enough for mountain bikers to dig in and explore. In fact even after spending three days at the show I’m confident I still didn’t see everything.
Will we ever see this stuff in the UK?
As exciting as it is to see these bikes and components at the Shanghai show, it is very easy to get carried away in the fanfare of low prices, but how those prices translate once/if these products ever make it to the UK or the rest of the world remains to be seen. There is also the question of customer service, warranty and spare availability, especially when because many of the new products shown have some element of electronics to them.
While some of the brands I spoke with do have their eyes on European markets, there was a sense from others that they already have enough to keep them busy in their growing domestic market. How this might change in the future will be very interesting to see.
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