By Will Soffe

Published: Wednesday, 31 August 2022 at 12:00 am

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The GT Bicycles Malverns Classic is all about riding, racing and hanging out with other mountain bikers in the beautiful hills that give the event its name.

However, it has a big expo area, too, and in among the stands doing a roaring trade in #OiOi! gear (YouTube favourite Ben Deakin’s signature range) and lairy Pit Viper sunglasses, some intriguing new tech was on display.

From pre-production prototypes to quality kids’ gear for mini trail shredders, here’s what caught our eyes…

1. Starling Pylon eMTB prototype

Never afraid to experiment, Bristol-based Joe McEwan’s first electric mountain bike isn’t just made from Starling Cycles’ customary steel, but sports all-new motor tech from Scotland’s FreeFlow Technologies, as well as an unusual jack-drive transmission.

This test mule was being ridden around the arena by UK MTB legend Dave Hemming (of 1990s Dirt video and Team MBUK fame), the MD of FreeFlow.

Dave’s been helping to develop the FF65 mid-drive motor, which uses a harmonic gearbox design and is claimed to have an unrivalled power-to-weight ratio.

2. Pembree VFS stem

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Phil Law says his premium UK-made flat pedals have proven so popular that he had to delay plans to expand the Pembree range.

Thanks to a new robot-loaded CNC machine, he’s now on top of all the orders, so can launch the Very First Stem.

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As with all Pembree products, it’s been designed with sustainability in mind. It’s made entirely in the UK, including the bolts, from 75 per cent recycled aluminium. From design to delivery, the whole process is said to be carbon neutral, with Pembree’s East Sussex factory being solar/wind-powered.

As for the stem itself, it’s built to precise tolerances for improved strength and stiffness.

Available in several anodised colours, it costs £109.

3. Atherton AM.200M downhill bike

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The mullet-wheeled downhill bike that’s taken Atherton Racing’s Andreas Kolb to four World Cup podiums in a row this season is now available to the public, and one was on display at the Atherton Bikes stand.

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As with all of the brand’s bikes, it’s constructed from carbon fibre tubes joined with 3D-printed titanium lugs, which allows a high degree of geometry/sizing customisation. It also uses a Dave Weagle-designed DW6 suspension linkage.

The geometry is optimised for the smaller rear wheel, which the Athertons have settled on because of the handling benefits of a mullet bike setup. We’d love to give one of these a good thrashing.

The frame costs £4,100, while the full ‘1’ build will set you back £8,200.

4. Kali Child Maya convertible helmet

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The number of kids emulating their heroes or parents by cycling around the Malverns’ main arena in massively oversized downhill helmets shows there’s demand for decent children’s full-faces, so Kali’s Child Maya immediately grabbed our attention.

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Not only is it claimed to be a lot lighter than most, at just over 500g, but, like many of the best enduro helmets, it’s convertible, too – you can remove the chin bar to transform it into an open-face trail lid, giving you two helmets for the price of one.

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It boasts the same safety tech found on Kali’s grown-up lids, including the brand’s MIPS-challenging QuadCore Low Density Layer (soft gel inserts under the padding, designed to compress and shear in all directions, to help protect the wearer from both linear and rotational impacts).

There’s also Kali’s Composite Fusion system (where its latest Contigo 3 EPS foam liner is co-moulded with the polycarbonate shell).

Coming in a single size, to fit 48 to 52cm heads, the helmet costs £99.

5. VPACE FRED265 kids’ freeride bike

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Well-specced full-suspension bikes for younger riders are hard to find, so we were intrigued by 12-year-old Dirt Wars contestant George Keen’s VPACE freeride rig.

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The German brand makes everything from kids’ carbon cross-country hardtails to this mullet-wheeled (27.5in front, 26in rear), 160mm-travel mini downhill bike, and hooked George up after being impressed by his riding on Instagram.

For €2,799, the FRED265 features Fox suspension, SRAM GX Eagle gearing (1×11 stock; 1×7 here), Magura MT5 brakes and triple-compound Maxxis tyres. The company doesn’t have a UK distributor yet, but that could change if there’s enough interest.

6. Schwalbe Aerothan inner tube

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In case you thought inner tubes were old tech, Schwalbe’s ultra-lightweight Aerothan tubes are made from laser-welded thermoplastic.

As a lightweight back-up for tubeless tyres, these look hard to beat, with a 29in tube taking up a tiny amount of space and weighing a claimed 87g.

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They’re also said to be tougher than rubber equivalents, which is good news for those who still prefer to run tubes.

At £24.99, they will set you back a few quid, though; that much money would buy you nearly five portions of chips at the Malverns Classic…

7. Kellys THEOS F Super-Enduro ebike

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This Slovak manufacturer’s flagship ebike is made from an innovative thermoplastic hybrid steel-carbon composite material, said to be more impact-resistant and durable than carbon fibre, with no weight penalty, while also being European-made and recyclable.

The ‘Think Link’ suspension design is interesting, too – it’s a twin-link, VPP-style system, but with an offset shock, which runs to the non-driveside of the seat tube (instead of through a cut-out in the tube) and connects to the swingarm on that side only.

The bike uses a Shimano EP8 motor, powered by Kellys’ own 725Wh battery. It’s mullet-specific, with a 180mm-travel Fox 38 29er fork up front, and 170mm of travel and a 27.5in wheel out back. RRP for the model seen here is £9,199.

8. TruTune by CarbonAir

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Described as “plug-and-play magic for your air suspension”, this clever little widget clips to the top cap of your fork in place of the usual volume spacer(s) and has the opposite effect, effectively increasing the air-spring volume to give a plusher feel and more linear spring curve.

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It works using activated carbon, which makes the air within the chamber easier to compress, by packing the molecules more tightly.

We reckon lighter riders who struggle to use full suspension travel without running excessive amounts of sag could benefit from this, if it works as claimed. It may also suit those who want a coil-like feel and don’t mind running more pressure or sacrificing a little bottom-out resistance. RRP is £120.

9. Antidote Carbonjack and Woodsprite

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Antidote is a boutique brand from Krakow in Poland that produces everything in-house (apart from the titanium bolts). It CNCs the linkages, makes the moulds, and so on.

The Carbonjack is a 154mm enduro bike with a 160mm fork, and the Woodsprite is a 135mm trail bike with a 140/150mm fork.

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Both have Antidote’s floating damper suspension system, with no shock mounts in the front triangle or swingarm. This, according to Antidote, ensures better stress distribution.

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Two demo bikes have been brought into the UK to see, test and buy through the Swinley Bike Hub. They will be available as complete builds or framesets.

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