While Eurobike feels as much like an industry conference as a tech showcase, and Sea Otter is often the place to go to see new bikes, Rouleur Live is the home to all that is premium in the world of cycling. Within the walls of the Truman Brewery, I spend a good few hours hunting out all the shiny bits; custom paint, hyper-expensive carbon, pink shoes, and a vintage Volvo team car. While other galleries I’ve made have a natural focus on what is new, novel, or noteworthy in terms of tech, this one is primarily on what is beautiful. That’s obviously a subjective judgement, but on the whole, I think you’ll agree with my choices.
Settle in, scroll down, and hopefully, you’ll get a feel for what it was like to attend, and you’ll probably like me spend a good portion of your morning daydreaming about owning some of these bikes.
It wouldn’t be an upmarket bike show without at least one vintage Colnago, This one, a gold-plated Mexico Master, was one of a short run, one of which was given to the Pope following Eddy Merckx beating the hour record.
The new Lotus Type 136, a £20,000 e-bike was on show, surrounded by yellow strip lights. Based on the Team GB track bike the rear stays are set super wide, but the cockpit is extremely similar to that of the Cervelo S5.
More interesting to me was the Type 108 on the floor next to the brand’s new e-bike. This was the machine that took Chris Boardman to the hour record, and the front end is horrendously low.
No foam padding for the forearms here, only embossed leather.
The bars are only just above knee height, truly a position only achievable by the most dedicated pros.
On the Pirelli stand, in addition to tyres of course, was Mads Pederson’s eye catching Project One Trek Madone from his Tour de France campaign.
The paint itself is easily a few thousand pounds in its own right, and impossible to repair should it ever get chipped.
This beautiful, berry-coloured Standert featured on the Fizik stand, with some complimentary coloured shoes beneath.
Not to be outdone in the gold bike competition, the Canyon stand held Annemiek van Vleuten’s Speedmax, with the lower portion covered in gold leaf.
Unlike the mirror polished, electroplated Colnago Master, the use…
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