12 superbikes to see at Bespoked next week

Bespoked, the UK’s only handbuilt cycle show, takes to Brunel’s Old Station in Bristol on 15-17th April and promises to be packed with some of the finest bikes from around the world, a celebration of the vibrant framebuilding scene. 

It’s a show we really enjoy, and as well as the lovely bike on display, is a rare chance to meet the people behind brands like Saffron, Donhou, Shand cycles, Baum, Colorbolt, Condor Cycles, Enigma, to name just a tiny selection of the 100 or so exhibitors that will be there. You can see the full list here, and to whet your appetite, here are 10 stunning bikes that will be on display.

- Six superbikes to see at the Bespoked show

Quirk Cycles is just one-year-old and will be attending Bespoked for the first time. They’ll be bringing along some bikes currently being ridden by Team Quirk, sponsored test team riders that act as ambassadors for the brand. As well as the team bikes, Quirk will be showcasing a brand new bike built for TransContinental Race, the frame is still actually being built. 

Granule Frameworks operates out of a small workshop in Kent and specialises in steel frames made bespoke for each customer. Founded by Shaun who combines a background in engineering with graphic design skills, the bikes are beautifully created and certainly look the part. 

Keim Cycles will be showing off its Honza race bike, which unlike most bikes at Bespoked, is made from wood. The company has developed its own manufacturing process which it calls “oriented veneer layup” and is said to provide a better stiffness to weight ratio than steel. 

Nevi will be showing this titanium disc-equipped road bike. Discs and titanium are proving to be a popular combination with UK customers at the moment. Nevi is an Italian company and this frame is constructed from 3AL-2.5V titanium and stiffness beefed up with a 6AL-4V downtube.

Legend, an Italian manufacturer of steel, titanium and carbon fibre frames, each made to order, will be debuting a brand new frame, pictured above. It’s called the II ’58 and is a new lightweight titanium model and this is the only one of its kind. It’ll also be one of the few SRAM eTap bikes at Bespoked as well.

Baum Cycles is an Australian bike brand and a selection of its bikes will be on display at Bespoked, courtesy of Bureau Fidder, a Netherlands company that represents a number of custom bike brands. One of the number of Baum bikes that will be on display includes this Corretto, a double butted titanium frameset with a special paint job to celebrate Leon van Bon’s many race victories, including the Dutch national championships in 2005. 

Bastion Cycles come from Australia and combines state-of-the-art 3D printed titanium lugs with carbon fibre tubes. The brand has been founded by three R&D specialists at Toyota Australia, who have made used of their access to advanced manufacturing technology. 

Italian rider Giovanni Battaglin, who won the Giro-Vuelta double in 1981, is back to building frames after a 20-year break, with the launch in 2014 of Officina Battaglin. Each frame is constructed from steel and handbuilt in Italy using Columbus tubing. The company will be bringing three framesets to the show, the Power+, Marosticana and Bassanese. The Power+ is fillet brazed and is designed for fast riding while the latter two are made from a more traditional lugged steel process. 

Saffron Frameworks always turn up to Bespoked with some stunning bikes, and this year looks like being no different. Each year Saffron brings along customer bikes, and this year they are displaying a Reynolds 953 frame built for ex-racer George. 

‘Choosing the colour for a new bike is often one of the toughest parts – we knew we wanted to keep it simple, but that didn’t mean it needed to be boring. George browsed the House of Kolor website until he came to just the right shade of blue (Stratto) to compliment the exposed stainless rear end. Great customer, clear brief and cool bike; what more do you want?” says Saffron.

Burls is a titanium specialist and this new Burls Curve bike will be showcased at Bespoked for the first time. Its signature feature is the curved seat tube and profiled top tube, and there is a modern tapered head tube and integrated seatpost. Burls have also produced its own customised carbon fibre clincher wheelset and uses a Columbus Grammy fork. Another bike on the Burls stand will be this Burls Road Disc model.

Swallow Bespoke Frames build only about 20 frames a year, with each being completely bespoke and finished with an individual hallmarked silver number plate showing the date the frame was completed along with the initials of the builders. The company will head to Bristol with a range of bikes including this elegant Columbus XCr frameset, finished with a Campagnolo Super Record groupset and tipping the scales at just over 7kg.

Cloud 9 Cycles are based in Camden, north London, and started with a bike shop specialising in custom bikes which then led to founders Adam and Kris doing a Bicycle Academy framebuilding course, and subsequently building their own frames. The pictured bike is the Street Racer, a bike designed for urban cycling. 

More from Bespoked soon...