Over the last few days, Shanghai was host to China Cycle. Although we often overlook it in the west, it’s a fair that’s been growing in importance. This year, there were 1,600 exhibitors on a total of 160,000 square meters. The 13 different halls in which they were spread cover such as big area, that there’s a special taxi service to bring you from one side of the fair to the other.
However, China Cycle isn’t just only relevant in terms of size. Over the last few years, it has traditionally been a fair that was very much inward-oriented, to the local Chinese market. The Chinese cycling industry holds a share of around 60% in the worldwide supply chain of the bike industry, so it’s no wonder more and more western brands, distributors and media are finding their way to Shanghai. Many exhibitors confirmed that there were significantly more overseas visitors than in previous years.
That’s also a recognition of the growth that the Chinese cycling industry is going through. Not necessarily growth in volume, but rather in quality. More and more Chinese factories are producing products that aren’t only up to western standards, but also align with western design ethos. Many of us have – maybe unknowingly – already been riding with and on Chinese products for a while, but we’re now getting to the point where it’s not just about Chinese products, but also full-on Chinese brands.
Many such brands were exhibiting at China Cycle. Of course, there was also plenty of remarkable, unique or simply weird-looking tech on display. From crazy time trial bikes to super lightweight wheels and from 3D-printed titanium to aero road bike trends, let’s take a look at some of the most interesting tech we spotted at China Cycle show.
Let’s kick things off with Chinese brand Overfast, which specialises in lightweight products. Such as these carbon thru-axles weighing around 30-31 grams a pair. Carbon thru-axles might sound a bit scary, but I’ve heard some positive comments about these.
Overfast also brought a new crankset to the show, the Mono RS, weighing a mouthwatering 249 grams. These aren’t available yet, but a spokesperson for the brand told me they should be soon.
It doesn’t just do lightweight; they also produce cranks that are supposed to offer a slight aerodynamic advantage.
One of the booths I was most impressed by was Elite Wheels’. The wheel brand is one of the few Chinese brands that’s commercially available to some extent in some Western markets. It had a new pair of wheels on display with a one-piece construction.
The Drive Mono 65D features complete integration of the spokes into both the rim and the flange.
They come in at a staggeringly low weight of only 1,245 grams per wheelset. That’s especially impressive given the rims are 65 millimetres deep.
And it’s up with modern standards too, with an internal rim width of 25 millimetres. The wheels should be available later this year, and although the exact price is to be determined, a spokesperson said she expects the RRP to be around 2000 US dollars.
Want to go really lightweight? Elite Wheels had another unreleased pair of wheels on display, the Drive Ultra 40D.
These wheelsets feature regular spoke lacing, although they do use carbon spokes and spoke nipples. According to the brand, the wheels weigh only 990 grams per wheelset.
Another wheel that caught my eye was this one at Komcas. Most of its wheels didn’t look particularly appealing, but this rim pattern looked quite interesting. I figured it might have something to do with aerodynamics, but the brand said this wavy pattern is actually meant to improve stiffness. From the side, the rim did actually feel more sturdy – although that says nothing about its ride quality.
Cybrei has been making moves with ultralight brands. It’s clearly getting some recognition for that, because SRM decided to partner with it on a lightweight crankset with an integrated power meter. It weighs 335 grams according to the Chinese brand.
Another brand producing lightweight cranks is Elilee. I first noticed these cranks at Omloop het Nieuwsblad on Matej Mohoric’s Bianchi Oltre RC – The brand has been a sponsor of Bahrain-Victorious since the beginning of this season.
It doesn’t only make cranks, but also wheels and bike frames. This triathlon frame will appeal to the bare carbon fetishists.
One of the wildest frames of the show was over at the Incolor booth. The Chinese brand has been gaining popularity over the last years, especially with its SSR road bike, which combines top-level aerodynamics and lightweight.
Its TTR time trial bike has some impressive looks, and the chainstays are scarily close to the rear wheel.
Around the rear of the bike, we see some design features that are reminiscent of the Hope HB.T track bike. Something I haven’t seen before, however, is this little extension on the front of the seatstays. The brand told me there’s usually a lot of turbulence in the area around the thighs, and this is supposed to help pull that turbulent air towards the rear by making the wind ‘stick’.
The split seatpost is something we’ve also seen on the second iteration of the Hope HB.T, which the Team GB squad used during the Paris Olympics.
Over to Seka for another crazy time trial bike, which it designed together with World Hour Record holder, Vittoria Bussi.
Bussi, who holds a PhD in mathematics at the University of Oxford, thought that reducing the headtube length would lead to a smaller frontal area of the bike. Seka also added little blades to the inner side of the fork to help reduce turbulence.
It also added an extra tube to connect the seat tube with the chainstays.
Seka definitely isn’t the only brand looking at the area around the seat tube and the chainstays. Actually, alternative designs around this area are something I saw remarkably often at China Cycle.
Winspace is another brand looking for aero gains with this kind of vertical spoiler.
Some more crazy frame shapes over at Java. At first, I thought this was a TT-bike, until I looked at the handlebars.
These handlebars feature regular drops and hoods, but also a sort of mini TT-bar in the middle. I do wonder whether it’s actually long enough to comfortably ride in that position.
The frame had some other interesting design features, such as this opening below the junction of the seattube and seatstays.
There aren’t only Chinese brands on display at China Cycle, there’s also a growing group of European brands that show their products in Shanghai. Such as Selle Italia, which brought its new Opal White capsule collection.
And how about this beautiful Colnago Steelnovo?
I really love how clean this design looks with the seatpost clamp integrated in the seatstays.
Starting to see a trend? It’s no coincidence that many major Italian brands are present. They perform particularly well in (south) Eastern Asia because of their brand image and heritage. Even if they don’t or barely have the latter, being Italian seems to be a stamp of approval around here.
A simple touch I really liked on this Prologo Predator 01TT is the rubber finish on the top. It’s supposed to help you stay in an aero position.
One Italian brand I was particularly surprised to see at the show was Alba Optics. The company is only 10 years old, but co-founder Piergiorgo Catalano told me it was a very popular brand around here. It actually first started growing in Asia before it got a grip on the European market.
Some of the finest bikes of the show were courtesy of Panda Podium. Like this Cannondale CAAD 14 that belonged to its founder, Joe Whittingham. He was inspired by a Cannondale CAAD 3 that Mario Cipollini rode in the 1997 Tour de France, as an homage to the 4th of July.
The cable opening was actually too small for the L-Twoo ERX electronic derailleur cable, so Whittingham drilled the frame to enlarge the hole.
I’m a big fan of this clever but neat little solution for cable management on this ERX derailleur.
Another bike with an interesting story at the Panda Podium booth was this Mentech ARC Sport. Mentech is a Hong Kong-based, exchange-listed company that comes from the magnetics and optical industry. Its founder is a big fan of cycling, so he decided his company needed to start making bikes as well. This is its first aero model.
E-bike brand Troxus is also getting into road bikes, with the Aria.
It’s another bike brand introducing a radical design around the seatstays and seatpost. In this case, it doesn’t have anything to do with aerodynamics, but it’s said to improve stiffness.
Mid-show robot hug, I guess?
We saw two familiar faces over at Factor, those of Chris Froome and David Millar. Froome is an investor in the British-Taiwanese brand. He sadly wasn’t willing to speak to me about his retirement (or non-retirement, who knows).
One fan even brought out an all-yellow Pinarello Dogma F10. It isn’t an original, though. Froome never won a Tour de France on disc brakes.
The brand also had a beautiful custom Factor Monza on display.
Although there are a lot of high-quality goods at China Cycle, there are also a lot of imitators. Such as Jauble, which is clearly trying to tag along on Factor’s success.
I don’t think this needs any more words.
There’s definitely a tonne of brands out there doing great work. I really liked this pointillist-style artwork. Although…
…They might need to think about a slight rebranding if they want to bring their bikes to English-speaking countries.
One of the most absurd bikes on display was this TT-bike from Falco. That jaguar’s actually part of the frame; it’s not just a cosmetic addition. If you really want to go all-out, it’s also available in a shiny gold version.
Li-Ning is a Chinese department store that also has its own bike and accessory brand. It even sponsors a continental racing team.
The Spoiler 1X features this radical handlebar, which looks like… well, a spoiler.
The top and base of the handlebars are actually two separate parts. You can attach the tops in different positions to adjust your reach. That’s helpful, but it actually looks quite ugly and not particularly aerodynamic.
This Laget Aero One is a very impressive feat of engineering. It’s a completely 3D-printed titanium frameset, which comes in at a weight of 2.1 kilograms. In this configuration, the full bike weighs 7.9kg. The frameset isn’t for sale, but the brand aims to have it available at the end of this year, for around 10,000 US dollars.
Almost all the tubes are ridiculously skinny. It gives the bike a unique but very clean look.
Also, the seat tube and top tube were beautifully thin.
Another eye-catcher is the Quick Pro AR:one. This one was custom-painted for 2025 Junior World Champion, Harry Hudson. I think it’s the first true Chinese-brand road bike to claim a road world title.
More interesting, though, is that Quick Pro unveiled a new brand, Assisting Force. It’s going to be a direct-to-consumer brand which currently has two gravel bikes. Prices are reportedly starting from 900 US dollars for a frameset.
One detail that stood out to me was this integrated storage system. I’ve seen many storage solutions (especially magnetic ones) that will jump open on rough roads. This, however, felt super sturdy. That lever might be tough to access once there’s a bottle cage on top, though.
This Evolve Cima Gravel won’t be as cheap, but it only weighs 6.6kg. Evolve is a sister brand of Elite wheels, so it’s no surprise that it knows how to build a lightweight bike. The Cima Gravel is currently not yet available.
Panda Podium had the same model on display, but something else caught my eye over there, this 800 millilitre aerodynamic bottle from Kreuza (also a sister brand of Elite Wheels). I like how they use space efficiently by extending the bottle through the bottle cage.
A slightly more familiar brand that was also present at China Cycle, is Merida. It brought its new Merida Reacto.
Merida was situated next to fellow Taiwanese brand Giant, which also had a recently launched bike on display, the Propel.
A simple design feature, but I think the junction of the seatstays and seattube is quite neat.
Another household brand, although I did not know Ford produced bikes. Produced is probably a big word, because I’m told this is just an open mould frame with Ford branding.
One thing you’re guaranteed to see at Asian bike fairs is crazy folding bike setups. Such as this one with a tri-spoke front wheel and a disc rear wheel.
I guess this is the total opposite of that. Venzo produces these monstrously big 36in wheels.
I’m not sure if this is truly new, but I really like this use of Fidlock’s magnetic buckle as a closure system for bib shorts. This should make it much easier – especially for women – to use the toilet. Then again, I wonder how comfortable the buckle is if it’s constantly pressing on your back.
Fidlock also had a great solution to carry a baguette on your ride… of course.
We’ve seen tyre liners and inserts, but this product by Tannus Armour sits somewhere in between. It’s an insert with an inflatable TPU tube in the middle. The brand said it offers a combination of low rolling resistance and puncture protection. I don’t think this truly does offer low rolling resistance, but I like the idea and wonder whether, with further development, it could actually be quite promising.
Another Asian brand that’s entered the WorldTour is Magene, as a sponsor of XDS Astana. It supplies the team with its C606 Pro cycling computer. The pro part in that is that it has an enhanced screen with better brightness. That way, the screen should also be visible during summer days when the sun shines at its brightest.
Besides bike computers, Magene also produces direct drive indoor trainers. Such as this new T600 ECO Smart Trainer, which offers a maximum resistance of a whopping 2,800 watts.
Although the name might suggest otherwise, Ganna is a completely Chinese brand. It is best known for its AEROFIN seatpost. It’s supposed to reduce drag with a slim design, but it’s also incredibly light. It produces the seatpost for many different bike brands.
Bigrock had a lovely lightweight build on display. This isn’t a production build, but rather a personal project from one of its fans, who is clearly a weight weenie.
The bike featured multiple parts from Darimo, a Spanish brand that specialises in ultralight, handmade carbon fibre components such as this T1 Loop seatpost. It doesn’t have a traditional seat clamp, but instead uses two Dyneema loops to attach the saddle to the seatpost.
The bike only weighs 4.58 kilograms. Yes, I did offset the scale.
Tavelo brought two new bikes to the show. This is its Grow gravel bike in a lush paint scheme. It has 55mm of tyre clearance in the front and 50 mm in the back, and is UDH-compatible.
It also has integrated storage in the downtube, with a magnetic Fidlock closure.
This is the officially unreleased Arden, which is its new all-round race bike. It reportedly allows up to 40mm tyres and is UDH-compatible.
This Spect Mira looks to be all-out aero, but it’s actually quite light too. The frameset weighs 940 grams and this exact build comes in at 6.8 kilograms. The frameset (including handlebar) retails for only 6999 Chinese Yuan, which is about 760 Great British pounds.
Lastly, I’ll leave you with this lovely-looking saddle. Not sponsored by Red Bull, despite the wings.
