What am I most looking forward to at Rouleur Live? In a word, everything! It’s going to be hard to narrow it down to just a few things here, because everywhere you look there’s something beautiful, unusual, rare or special – or all of those rolled into one. Also, it’s going to be difficult to make a properly informed choice before I’ve actually seen everything in real life. That element of surprise is another thing I look forward to – even though I work for Rouleur and most of the brands have given us full lists of what they’re bringing, the reality is always so much better. So with that, here goes…
Shimano Independent Bike Builders’ Room
The Independent Bike Builders’ Room is where I found myself doing quite a lot of drooling last year. That was my kid-in-a-sweetshop time. This year I can’t wait to feast my eyes on the creations from Sturdy, Mosaic, Sarto, J.Laverack, Pashley, Jaegher, Stelbel, FiftyOne, Meteor Works, Enigma and Ricky Feather’s new brand WKNDR. I like a super-aero, 6.8kg WorldTour race bike as much as the next rider, but for me the individuals who dream up these wonderful machines are the real soul of cycling.
Passoni also falls into this category even if the Italian brand is not physically in the same room – it has its own stand. It's launching an all-new aero bike made from titanium and carbon that’s handmade in Italy. There’s a special event on the Thursday just before the main show opens where all will be revealed…
Wheel watching with DT Swiss
Exotica aside, cycling is also a professional sport with athletes who demand the best performance possible from their equipment. DT Swiss is a brand that literally underpins bike riding with its wheels for the gnarliest downhilling to the fastest time trialling. I visited DT’s HQ in Biel earlier this year and saw where they produce enough spokes each year to encircle the globe. I was also shown the lab where prototypes are tested and where its sponsored pros’ wheels – such as those destined for the Tudor and Uno-X teams – are built. At the same time I saw DT’s new lightest sub-1,200g pro-level wheel, which will be launched at Rouleur Live. It makes me proud that a company with a heritage that goes all the way back to 1634 unveils its new flagship product at our show – what an honour.
Lake making waves
Rouleur Live is also getting an exclusive launch with Lake, and again it’s something special. Twenty-five years after the US brand launched the MX400, the first mouldable shoe, now it’s bringing back an all-new 400-series race model. I reviewed a pair of Lake CX333s earlier this year and as I ratcheted up the Boa, something else clicked – I understood why they are so loved by bike fitters and pros. So I can’t wait to see what they’ve done with this one. Also, did you know that Lake made the first ever white cycling shoe for Andy Hampsten in 1987 in order to reflect the sun’s heat?
Low stack unpacked
Q36.5 and power meter brand SRM recently put their heads together and came up with a shoe-pedal system that they say reduces pedalling stack height by 8mm compared to existing systems. It hasn’t been fully launched yet – just a few details and images have been teased – but in a world exclusive Q36.5 will have pedals and shoes in all the sizes on its stand at Rouleur Live so that you can test them for yourself. It’s going to be fascinating to get a closer look. I love my Speedplays – can these be even better?
Colnago is colour
Colnago has been grabbing all the headlines this year for its futuristic Y1Rs aero bike, as used by Tadej Pogačar to win everything in sight. But the iconic brand also bridges that gap between exquisite craftsmanship and WorldTour weapon, and it’s asking owners of classic Colnagos to bring them along to the show so that they can be ‘retrofitted’. This is a scheme Colnago rolled out last year, enabling owners to confirm the originality of their frameset, receiving an official certification recorded on the blockchain, ensuring traceability and preserving value over time. Normally this is done online – you send in the frame number, photographs and proof of purchase – but at Rouleur Live Colnago has a pop-up showroom where they will do it in person. Imagine the procession of steel Colnagos lined up!
Learn more: Colnago is colour - A pop-up showroom just a few steps from Rouleur Live
I did the online retrofitting with my own Colnago Master Olympic when the scheme first launched. I’ve only owned it for 10 years out of its 30, so it was fascinating to find out when it was first sold and to get the certificate, which I cherish along with a book Ernesto Colnago signed for me when I interviewed him in 2012.
Bikes that made history
On the subject of classic bikes, Canyon founder Roman Arnold has one of the best collections I’ve ever seen. Recently he bought a house in his hometown of Koblenz to convert into a bike museum and I went there to see it. He has rare machines that belonged to Coppi and Anquetil through Merckx, Moser, LeMond, Obree, Boardman, Indurain and Armstrong plus of course the Canyons that made history such as Cadel Evan’s 2009 Worlds-winning Ultimate CF, Alex Dowsett’s 2015 Hour record Speedmax WHR and Kasia Niewiadoma’s 2024 Tour-winning Aeroad CFR. At Rouleur Live we have some of the best of his collection, especially shipped to London, and Arnold himself will be talking to me on the main stage on Friday, along with Zwift founder Eric Min.
For some of the latest Grand Tour-conquering machines, Cervélo is bringing the bikes used by Simon Yates, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Jonas Vingegaard to win the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and Vuelta a España respectively.
We’ve also got Geraint Thomas’s yellow Tour de France Pinarello Dogma, Mark Cavendish’s Tour stage win record-breaking Wilier Filante SLR, Mathieu van der Poel’s Amstel Gold-winning Canyon Aeroad and more.
Custom paintjobs are not just for pros these days – Trek, Pinarello and Canyon are demonstrating what can be done with their own Project One, MyWay and MyCanyon programmes.
Battle of the big three
If you’ve been following Campagnolo’s latest developments, you’ll know that it recently launched a suite of compatible components that turn Super Record 13 into a gravel groupset – or all-road or road 1x – and for the first time you can see what those different configurations look like on real bikes at Rouleur Live. I’m glad to see Campagnolo innovating again and the new groupset is definitely a return to form.
That’s not to say the other two in the big three – Shimano and SRAM – are resting on their laurels. Shimano is getting artisan with sponsorship of the Independent Bike Builders’ room, while SRAM is getting arty with a gallery-like display that's under embargo until the show opens.
Gravel gallery
Talking of galleries, there’s one dedicated to gravel again, sponsored by Panaracer, where you can see the latest knobby-tyred goodness. And if you fancy hitting the small stones on a new rig, head to Pearson’s stand and enter the competition to win the British brand’s all-new top-spec On&On Race GRX 827 worth over £5,800. Sadly the competition is not open to Rouleur employees.
As I said earlier, there will be loads of things that will surprise me and which I haven’t previewed here. It is the world’s greatest cycling show after all. See you there!
Get your tickets here: Rouleur Live tickets
