Believe it or not, the 2018 London Bike Show marks the 12th year we’ve been going to these things.

12 years! I can’t believe it but, the evidence is right here on Flickr. I sure wish I’d labelled all those damn images of Specialized Epics and Whyte E5s and everything else. Looking back, everything was 26″ I think, and even funky titanium bikes came with Mavic 317 disc wheelsets:

Did tubeless even exist in those days??

So, Friday is the first day of the 2018 London Bike Show at London Excel. I have the day off and my camera charged, ready to capture the current cream of 2018’s crop of bike exotica and keep up our noble mid-February loafing tradition.

More importantly, I have a couple of targets I’d like to see. First off, Bird Bikes, whose Zero AM Boost hardtail looks awesome (and their 145 Aeris too). Second, I want some clipless flat pedals (possibly something like the Funn Ripper) that I can put on my XC Kona Big Unit. Why?

Well, my teenage son is taller than me but not a regular rider – flat pedals would make the bike something he can throw a leg over and ride whenever, without too much trouble. For me of course, clip-in is my default pedalling mode, and a big platform clip-in pedal interests me. It also gives me the chance to experiment with flat pedals myself.

Watch this space – expect 2018 mountain bikes, but also a keen eye for some gravel/adventure bikes and maybe even some road bikes…

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About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.