A couple of weeks ago I headed back to Germany for Eurobike’s second show at Messe Friedrichschaffen. As always there was too much to see form every aspect of the cycle industry, from the immaculate handmade Quirks and Feathers on the Shimano/Pro booth, to amazing and super utilitarian cargo bikes over at Gates, and mountains of low grade OEM bells and extrusions. Eurobike is so big that it’s actually very hard to look around, so I’m sure that I didn’t get to see everything, especially because my windows to look around between meetings were sporadic and easy to fill.
Eurobike did give me the chance to catch up with a few of this year’s exhibitors. SQ labs were there, so i met up with Basti, who showed me round their new products, many of which centered around reducing waste, making saddles more recyclable, more affordable, and bringing manufacturing into europe to reduce the amount their products travel, ensuring fair wages and safe comfortable working environments for the people that manufacture their products. My personal favorite was the new 611 Infinergy saddle, made in Germany with CNC wound carbon rails made in switzerland. I’ve been riding a bunch of SQ labs equipment for over a year now, and i’ve found their active saddles and carbon drop bars exceptionally comfortable. We’re excited to have SQlabs return to the show, to sponsor the BESPOKED X SQ Labs build off, offering exhibitors the opportunity to use any SQ labs equipment they choose, on any of their show bikes FOR FREE! Showing a strong commitment to supporting independent builders and the hand made community. All show bikes equipped with SQ labs components will be in the running to win the prestigious BESPOKED X SQ labs build off award and €1000 !
Exhibitor sign up for FREE parts for the build off will go live soon, so watch this space!
I also caught up with SRAM, who sponsor the BESPOKED x SRAM inclusivity scholarship. This year SRAM have helped to select 4 incredible builders, showcasing a range of builds, who’ll they will support with components and travel expenses to be at the show. Last year scholars won multiple awards from our independent panel of industry leading experts and cycling media, I can’t wait to see what this year’s scholars bring.
Our good friends Schwalbe had a huge booth made entirely from reusable materials, which we’re big advocates of (which is why we introduced our reusable modular staging packages) showing off their global rebrand, and what they’ve been working on in terms of implementing systems through which tyres can be recycled. Schwalbe are back supporting Bespoked again, with an afterparty, with food and drinks for press and exhibitors which will be held in the actual venue this year! There’s only one thing better than ice cold beer and pizza after a busy first day at the show and that’s knowing that the beer and pizzas are on Schwalbe!
We like to be transparent about who sponsors the show and what that means in real terms, because our goal is to bring the best possible show, which means exhibiting some of the finest work in the world, and doing our best to present that work for our exhibitors. That said, it also means having fun, so we’re excited to be linking up with Dresden based fun-mongers BEAST components and Sour Bicycles for an evening of eating, drinking and extra-competitive, fairly silly racing around the BEAST factory on Saturday the 14th of October after the show. Its an excellent opportunity to hang out with Dresden’s amazing community of independent manufacturers and see where the magic happens. If you’re not a night owl or if you hate racing, food and fun, or if you just want to go in extra hard with the nerdery, our partners Cycling Saxony will be running a series of local shop visits and open houses around Dresden on wednesday the 11th and thursday the 12th, which offer a unique chance to visit a number of Saxony’s iconic independent manufacturers and see what makes their cogs turn.
All in all, while eurobike was exhausting and depleting in many ways, it was great to catch up with some old friends and make new ones. It was great to start talking about all the fun stuff coming up, and nailing down plans for making this years BESPOKED one of the most exciting and engaging shows yet!
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For a more extensive write-up of this year’s Eurobike, check out the 2 part write up on The Radavist
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