London Bike Show 2015 highlights: Enigma, Parlee, Aprire, Scott, Nerve, HOY, Bowman and more

Didn't make it to the London Bike Show 2015? You missed a good show, but in case you couldn't make it, we've picked some of our highlights of the bikes that grabbed our attention as we wondered around the ExCeL Centre.

Custom one-off Cannondale CAAD10

This custom Cannondale CAAD10 belongs to David Devine, the product man at Cannondale. Yes, when you work for a bike company, you have a bit of freedom to create a special build, and this is certainly something a bit special.

There’s the custom paint job to start with. It’s glorious to look at when you get up close, all glittery and distracting. The one-off build comprises a set of Enve SES wheels with SRAM Red derailleurs and hydraulic rim brakes, a rare sight since SRAM launched them alongside their new disc brakes a couple of years ago.

A Cannondale Hollowgram Si chainset and Fabric carbon railed saddle complete the one-off build. Price? There is none, it's a bespoke build. So priceless then.

That's a cool bit of hydraulic hose routing Cannondale.

Enigma Elite HSS

Woah there! Enigma are getting bolder every time I see them at a bike show, clearly making good use of their new paint shop. This bike is a good demonstration of the sort of custom paint work they can offer if you want something a bit special.

This is the Elite HSS, one of the standout bikes I reviewed last year, which uses the Columbus Spiris HSS tubeset.

I though the red Elite I rode last year was a looker, this one takes it to another level. You'd have to be pretty confident to turn up to the clubrun on this bike I reckon. You also might have trouble finding any kit to match it.

Want!

Bowman Pilgrims road disc frame landing soon

Bowman Bikes made a big splash with their first frame, the Palace.

It was one of our framesets of the year for 2014, tester Stu Kerton describing the alloy race frame as "absolutely awesome". They're not resting on their laurels though: there's a disc-equipped, thru-axle 'cross bike in prototype at the moment but the next production frame will be the Pilgrims, a disc- and Di2-ready road bike.

This is a frame that's more aimed at the road end of road disc. It's not super tall at the front, with Bowman's Neil Webb tweaking the geometry and lowering the bottom bracket by 5mm to give a slightly more relaxed fit and a lower centre of gravity for unsurfaced excursions. There's room in the frame and fork for a big tyre: the bike was wearing 30mm Challenge clinchers at the show, with some clearance left over.

Cable routing is Di2-ready with the access plates swapping out for wires, and the bike can run full outers for better weatherproofing; the cables run internally through the down tube and exit via a large slotted port by the bottom bracket. There's removable cable guides to the rear mech; if you're running electronic the wire goes inside the chainstay and you can take them off for a clean look.

The Pilgrims is designed to be able to run mudguards, but there's no brake bridge on the seatstays. To get around this the frame will ship with a 3D-printed bridge that you can attach if you need it. The one on the show bike was a prototype.

The first 100 frames will be available with £100 off at an early bird price of £650, and thereafter the Pilgrims will cost you £750 for the frame, fork, headset and seat collar.

Parlee seeks inspiration from RAF WW2 fighter planes

Chocks away! US carbon frame manufacturer Parlee have been flexing their custom paint muscles in recent years. There was the camo bike at Eurobike last year, and landed in London over the weekend was this RAF WW2 fight plane inspired paint job. 

There have been similar such paint jobs on bikes in years gone by, but I don’t reckon any have been done quite as well as this.

Underneath the paint is an ESX, the aero road bike Parlee added to their range a couple of years ago.

Aprire does metal with new Inverno

The Inverno is a bit of a departure for British brand Aprire, it’s their first aluminium frame. I tested the Vincenza last year, and was hugely impressed with the British designed, Italian made carbon frame.

The new Inverno aims to borrow the geometry of that bike but builds it out of a 6000-series aluminium frame and they’re going to offer full builds from £650. It’s a really smart looking bike, a new paint scheme which spreads across the entire Aprire range for 2015.

There are nice details like external gear cable routing so it’s easy to build and service. It’s a well proportioned and very unfussy frame, nice simple round main tubes, a tapered head tube and curved twin seats stays. Job done.

We'll be getting a much closer look soon, so stay tuned for more details. Oh, they're also working on a disc-equpped 'allroad' frame as well, more on that soon too.

Scott Solace Disc now available

While company brands have wholeheartedly embraced disc brakes (Giant with the new Defy) others, like Scott, are taking a more conservative approach. The Solace, their go-to sportive model, is available with disc brakes this year, but there is just one drop bar bike to choose alongside flat bar model. Here's the former.

The Solace Disc has been a bit delayed after the launch last year, but bikes should be available pretty soon. In fact, we’re hoping to get one in for review soon.

Like the new Boardman SLS Disc we reported on the other day, the Solace Disc has been specced with thru-axles front and rear, borrowing technology from the mountain bike world. Can't wait to ride it.

The bike here will cost £2,599.

Reilly 953 custom winter bike

This Reilly 953 is a custom build and features a Reynolds 953 tubeset with Ritchey Breakaway couplings, so it can be easily transported for travelling, and has fittings for mudguards.

And yes those are carbon wheels, on a mudguard-equipped road bike. And why not?

Traditional lugs and modern Di2 wire combine in elegant beauty on this frame. You don't see this level of detail often.

Nerve does disc brakes

Nerve, a new brand started by ex-Enigma Mark Reilly, showed off this new disc-equipped model at the show, their first such example.

It’s made with titanium tubing, has their own carbon fibre fork and is built here with Avid mechanical disc brakes and a 105 mechanical groupset.

HOY Keirin to go into production?

We've seen the HOY Keirin bike before and at that point, last July, it was a one-off commission. But it seems likely that the bike will be going into limited production.

Six gold rings and one silver for Sir Chris's Olympic medals

Scottish-based Shand Cycles won a £48k development award in July 2014 and their aim is to in crease production to 450 bikes a year in Livingston by 2016, more than twice what they're making now. The original Keirin bike was made by head torch-wielder Steven Shand and production of the frames, if it happens, will happen there. It's still likely to remain a very rare beast though. When we have numbers and prices, we'll let you know.

More from the show soon. Popped along to the show over the weekend? Let's hear you highlights in the comments below.