Here is the last installment of our coverage from the Philly Bike Expo, and it’s a big one. If you missed the first few, you can click on the links here, here, and here. In this round, we have bars and seat posts from Redshift, some handlebar bags for photographers or anyone else wanting a more structured handlebar bag, titanium masterpieces from No.22 Bicycles, rain gear from Cleverhood, single speed conversions from Wheels Manufacturing, a smart lock and helmet from ABUS, some cool bar tape and cages from Ciclivation, and last, but not least, a really slick bike from Ceepo. I threw in some extra bikes at the end too.
Redshift
Redshift continued to show their gravel focused gear with a new Top shelf handlebar and ShockStop Pro Endurance suspension seat post, that match up with their other ShockStop stems.
For the Top Shelf handlebar, it is a 50mm rise drop bar that uses a lower bar to clamp to the stem, that curves up to the main bar, almost like a BMX bar. The original bar featured a 25-degree flare for gravel, but customers wanted a more road style bar, so they added the new bar in a 10-degree flare.
For seat posts, they added the new Pro Endurance ShockStop suspension post. The original Endurance ShockStop post uses a coil spring dampener inside a parallelogram linkage for 35mm of travel. The Pro Race ShockStop post adds elastomers to the coil spring for a customized “race tuned” ride and 20mm of travel, while also reducing weight by 25% (130g). The new ShockStop Pro Endurance is the best of both worlds, combining the tuned feel and customization of the coil/elastomer suspension from the Pro Race with the 35mm of travel from the Endurance, while still shedding 13% (74g) of weight from the original.
No.22 Bicycles
I love looking at all of the bikes at Philly Bike Expo, but there was one in particular that I was really looking forward to seeing, the No.22 Bicycles Reactor Aero. It’s not brand new, but it’s one of those bike you appreciate even more seeing it in person. Having a chance to catch up with No.22’s co-founder Mike Smith, it was interesting to hear a little more about the backstory of the leap of faith the brand took with it. There was a lot of nervousness about how the bike would be received as it’s very different from their other more traditional round-tubed titanium frames. The Reactor Aero uses Grade 5 titanium powder to 3D print the custom frame components, except for the carbon integrated seat post, a nod to the original Reactor, which is more aero-shaped and designed in collaboration with July Bicycles. The original bike was printed monolithically, but the eventual production bike will be printed in sections that will be welded together. The bike on display was originally shown at the MADE show in August 2024, though No.22 has continued to make advancements in their production process for things like repeatability, alignment, and safety testing. The Reactor Aero is currently available for preorder with the first deliveries planned for late 2025.
No.22 also had a sample of other bikes from their lineup on hand too. The Drifter Adventure is their adventure gravel frame with room for 50mm tires. Like all No.22 frames, it is built to order and can be built with a suspension fork, rigid fork, a variety of bosses, however you want. The example on hand had their in-house designed seamless couplers. To break the frame down, undo the bolts allowing the joints to come apart, and after some other disassembly like taking the bars off, etc, everything including the wheels fits in a regular sized suitcase. They used Zeno hydraulic couplers to run two different forks, or disconnect for travel. They also had the Great Divide, a contemporary road design with rim brakes (but also available in disc). Yes, there are still builders out there making rim brakes to the dismay of pretty much every component brand on the market, but it shows there is still a demand in the market for them. The Aurora is their performance-focused disc brake road bike. It pairs a high level of drivetrain and front-end stiffness from large titanium tubes for an aggressive to ride with the integrated carbon seat tube for compliance to help balance out the ride to the comfort that titanium bikes are known for.
Cleverhood
It has been a few years since we had a chance to connect with Cleverhood, but it was great to hear about their latest updates.
One of the biggest updates is a new fabric called Zipster. It’s a waterproof fabric that adds a subtle reflective print to help improve visibility at night. It is found in a range of colors on the Zipster Jacket, along with a colorful Anorack that mixes and matches colors from the Zipster Jacket, along with some other fabrics.
They also have some new jackets and rain capes coming in the future. One of which is a new, limited run of the Rover Anorak and Cape that uses a doppler radar-inspired print. It has a pixelated heat map type print, and should be available in April or May. I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of the new design.
For bags, Cleverhood continues to work with Braasi from Prague, Czech Republic, who makes some really interesting packs The Mika Pack uses adjustable elastic cords to help items externally or compress the bag down for smaller loads. The Wicker and Georgina bags use what I can only describe as a cargo net-looking outer to help carry additional gear. For the Urbanuat Backpack, Braasi took left over Urbanaut fabric that Cleverhood used on their Urbanaut Cape and Trench, and created a roll-top bag. The Urbanaut fabric has 3M Reflective thread woven into the fabric, adding visibility in low light. It’s a water resistant pack, that also uses Cordura 1100D on the bottom for durability. The 17.5L bag has plenty of cargo space with a small internal pocket and a separate padded laptop/iPad pocket on the back.
I continue to use my original Urbanaut Trench on rainy commutes, and we are working with Cleverhood to see if we can get some updated gear in for review in the future.
Wheels Manufacturing
Wheels Manufacturing are well known for their bottom brackets and derailleur hangers, but have also been their single speed conversion kits we’ve covered during its launch.
The kits use a carrier that mounts onto your hub’s freewheel and allows you to add a single cog for the back. They previously had released the SRAM XD/XDR version, but the Solo-Spline version now adds Shimano’s Microspline. While the cogs are interchangeable, the carriers are specific to work with each freewheel type, and have matching lockrings. They are all aluminum (7075 for the cog and carrier, 6061 for the spacer), and come in a range of colors, including the Colorado Copper we pictured.
We also caught some of the different tools they had on hand, including bearing presses, tools for fitting their thread-together bottom brackets, and a workbench mat to keep it all organized.
Ceepo
Japanese brand, Ceepo, had my personal bike and a handful of frames on hand for the show. They are well known in the triathlon category and are continuing to push further into road and gravel with their aero-focused frames.
The Mamba-R is a bit of a do-it-all bike. It can be set up as a road bike or flip the seat post around for a short course triathlon bike. It can also fit up to 35mm tires, so there is plenty of room for larger tires when you want to take things a little off the beaten path.
The Rindo is the brand’s dedicated gravel bike. It continues the focus on aerodynamics, and includes even wider clearances to fit 45mm for 700c, or 650bx2.1″. There are no rack mounts in a nod to performance, though the Rindo does include fender mounts and additional mounts on the top tube and down tube for extra cargo. You’ll be seeing much more of these bikes in the future as they will be review platforms.
ABUS
It was great to see our friends at ABUS (yes, I really know the rep) and learn more about some of their new locks. The coolest one uses your fingerprint, but they also had a new version of the Gamechanger 2.0 for those that are looking for something different from your standard-looking helmet.
With bike locks, people lose keys and forget combinations, but you should always have your finger. Stores up to 20 prints, when the battery dies, it stays locked and stores prints, so you can easily add a new battery and unlock. The Yardo 7807F comes in 85cm and 110cm, so great as an ebike lock to immobilize the rear wheel.
On the helmet side, the Gamechanger 2.0 has a limited edition called the Pure. The unique thing about the helmet is that the EPS foam is white. It comes with a white or light grey shell, and the webbing and other fittings are all white as well. While they are not the first brand to offer white EPS, it is not something you see often as most are a dark grey color. The update to the original Gamechanger, one of my personal favorite helmets, has some vents built into the top of the helmet to help let heat out at slow speeds, but also allow air through when you drop your head and look down. I had a chance to try on the helmet at the show, and the fit is excellent with ABUS’ floating pad system.
Route Werks
Route Werks wasn’t completely a new brand for us, but the first time we had to actually catch up with them in person. I had a chance to meet Thor Dieringer (yes, he had a solid beard to go with the name) to learn a little more about the brand and their products.
Their original product was The Handlebar Bag. It started as a Kickstarter project in 2020, and was followed by the Out Front Mount in 2021, and The Big Handlebar Bag in Fall of 2023 (available on their site this May). When they created the first Handlebar Bag, there were three main features the bag needed, easy access on the go with an easy open latch, customizable for the tech you use (inside and out), and it needed to be easy to use. Those principles have carried over to the Big Handlebar Bag as well.
The original is 3.2L in size, giving you plenty of room to stash goodies inside, like tools, tubes, food, clothing, your phone, or maybe even a small mirrorless camera. There is a single technology mount on top of the polymer lid, which allows you to mount a computer, light, or phone mount, along with two bungee cords to slide items into, like gels. The body of the bag is 500d PU-coated Nylon on the outside with a 220d gridstop nylon. On the side, there is a single handlebar nub for something like a light or bell. There are two small side pockets, along with a small zippered pocket on the inside of the lid. Max capacity is 9lbs.
The big bag is 6L, and is for those that are looking for more volume and more protection. The outer material is 420d PU-coated ripstop Nylon, with interior fabric made from 210d Gridstop Nylon. The polymer lid has three technology mounts and two handlebar nubs. It has the same bungees and side bags as the original. Route Werks also created a series of inserts, one of which is padded and has dividers, so it can be used to carry a DSLR and up to two lenses. The Pocket insert is a small pocket that can be snapped into either side of the bag (you can run two), and is great for holding smaller items.
Both bags use the same handlebar mount, so you can have a single mount, and easily switch between the two bags, depending on what you want to carry. The bags also easily detach from the mount so you don’t have to leave your gear behind when off the bike.
Ciclovation
Bottle cages and bar wrap are things you can find just about anywhere. Some people don’t put a lot of thought into them, but for some of us, they are ways to customize our bike, both visually and functionally. Enter Ciclovation, a brand that isn’t really all that new, but is making a push into the consumer market here in the US.
Ciclovation was started by a long-time industry vet, the founder of Jagwire, who wanted something better than generic bar tape. He was looking for options that were more interesting, higher quality, and allowed him to customize his bike how he wanted to. With a wide range of textures, finishes, colors, and thicknesses, Ciclovation has about 80 different options to help you achieve the look and performance you are looking for, whether it is thinner and lighter for your road bike, or thicker and more textured for your gravel bike. They even offer a thin foam you can wrap underneath for a little extra cushion and comfort. Unlike some other brands, they do not use a sticky backing, so there is no residue, easy to wrap/rewrap, and has just the right amount of stretch. Some options include finishing rings that cover the finishing tape for a more polished look. The more premium options feature bolt-in bar end caps as well. They also offer a range of flat bar grips too.
For cages, they have Trail and All Road options. The Trail options use an 80/20 Polyamide-Carbon composite material injected into a high-strength matrix, while the All Road uses 3k Carbon. The Trail offers two different shaped cages, one of which is a side-load option, while the All Road has a single option, weighing in at only 16g. Even for the full carbon option, the most expensive option is only $54.99. You can also buy two-packs and save a few bucks. There are plenty of color options as well.
Bonus Bikes
Part of what makes Philly Bike Expo so special is all of the cool bikes from small builders. The designs and details are what make them so special, so enjoy a few extra pics.
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
~Veggie Powered Athlete~
Location – Lancaster, PA
Current Testing Rigs – 2024 Van Dessel Arch65, 2019 Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie, 2018 Van Dessel Motivus Maximus LTD, 2016 Van Dessel Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, 2015 Bianchi Sempre Pro, 1978 Trek TX900
Dream Bike – I’ll tell you when they make it
Discipline – Cyclocross, gravel, road and duathlons (ride/run)
Favorite Rides – Quiet country roads of Amish Country, some of the best roads around.
Food of Choice – Sweet potato roll
Beer of Choice – Unibroue Grand Reserve 17, aged four years
Bourbon of Choice – Widow Jane 10 Year