Showtime!

Friedrichshafen,approximately fifty kilometres from the Austrian border in southern Germany plays host to Eurobike-Europe's largest cycling exhibition.There's something for everyone whether utility/leisure rider, road racer, track ace, tourist, time trialist, trials rider or tandem stoker. Electric bikes were heavily represented as an emergent and ever refining mainstream market. Some of us may well scoff but if they re/introduce a new generation of people to two wheels and bolster cycling then they have my quiet respect.

Elsewhere, retro was definitely the order of the show which heaved under the weight of leather bar wrap, saddles and accessories. Interestingly, high quality faux leather may well steal a march in the coming year given it requires nominal maintenance- dirt/stains simply wiping clean. I found myself particularly drawn to one exhibitor's bar wrap that looked great despite bearing the brunt of several seasons use and surviving a nasty spill into the bargain. Allegedly it changes characteristic according to conditions-cooler in the heat, yet offering tenacious grip in the cold and/or wet. Chrome is cool again and not simply among the Italian marques. Jamis had a couple of very sweet looking fixers with half-chrome stays and fork blades, although I'm underwhelmed by cable clips which scratch paint, trap moisture and ultimately encourage rust. Wood proved a very popular fender material with various larger manufacturers and small scale artisans proudly showing their wares. Fixed remains an established niche however, sub groups are definitely forming in the same sense mountain biking broke into cross country, downhill, trials etc.

The world and their mother appeared to have a fixer in the range from cynically adapted road framesets with track ends still sporting the full compliment of cable guides, carbon fibre track thoroughbreds to those following the road path tradition with sensible clearances and proper rack/fender mounts. Reynolds 525 and 631 cro-molys rubbed shoulders with Tange Prestige as typical, better quality tubing amongst the production builds-principally because their material composition is better suited to high volume production methods. However, there was also a healthy smattering of Columbus and more exotic tubesets mingling amongst 7000 and 6061 series aluminium. Cinelli and a few others presented bikes with traditional, one inch, threaded steerers but I dismiss this as little more than a quirky, promotional stunt rather than a serious indication of their wholesale resurrection by the cycle industry. That said, improved spares availability would be a godsend for those of us with older but very worthy machines in the fleet.

Anyone doubting sex and glamour's capacity to boost sales need only cast a casual eye over the stands adorned with beautiful young women in various stages of undress, the greatest titillation provided courtesy of those wearing only body paint. Being a respectable medium, I can't post those so you'll have to settle for these models on the Kellys stand.

Now, excuse me I've to purge this bag load of festering clothes accumilated from my week away....