Heading to Bespoked fully rested is a strange feeling for me. Rested, but not relaxed, for sure – the excitement and anticipation was building as the Cross Country train arrived closer and closer to Bristol. The great responsibilities coming with my mission – to judge the Pannier.cc ‘Touring and Travel’ bike Award – gave me a lot to ponder as the snack trolley repeatedly rolled past me, complete with bar tape around the handles.
What makes a good touring bike? And how could I possibly select the three best ones, without being able to ride any of them, anywhere? Without knowing about the spare bibs drying off on the front pack, the grubby cookware dangling in the rain or the flavour of a snack selection? Wouldn’t I end up simply picking the bikes that just *look* most like good touring bikes? Who knows…
For me, the great irony of the show is that the best vehicle in the world is immobilised – fixed amongst a keen crowd – none of whom can quite get a feel for ride quality. Of all our senses only our eyes can really feast on them, unless, of course, you are a top tube flicker or a tyre squeezer. I am neither, and I set off on my mission not to change that as I stepped in the Old Brunel Station…
The show was full of bikes I’d more than happily swing my leg over and ride out into the sunset on and the choice was kind-of-impossibly hard to make. It is such a luxury, being taken through all these unique bikes and how they came to be, by the individuals who actually built them. When you next find yourself at a bike show, dig for their stories – people with hands this weathered always have more than their share to tell. Stories like Tracey using the residue oil from a tin of mackerel to lube her Ted James bike chain, mid-tour…
Eventually, I narrowed the Pannier.cc Award for Touring and Travel Bikes down to three:
Named after the Pamir Highway, Simon’s new bike is designed for loaded touring on the roughest of stuff. With room for a triple, 27.5 x 2.4” or 700 x 2.2”, enough bosses to carry approximately everything, and sliding dropouts to accommodate a Rohloff as well as gears, the versatility of the Pamira seems limitless….
Fresh back from the highest of Scottish Highlands, Ted’s 29er bike for Tracey was full of great, authentic details from the four-legged Ti fork “4ork”, for that bit more cush without the weight – and the mackerel oil-ed chain. One to remember if you forget or run out of your chain oil on your travels…
As much a touring bike as it is a bike about a tour, Petor (Dear Susan) built this bike inspired by his trip in California around NAHBS, where he presented the infamous PubesMobile. ‘Mike Rotch’ might appear paired back, by Dear Susan’s standards, but look up close and you’ll still find heaps of his character in there. A SRAM AXS drivetrain, for example, plus mixed charity shop bottles and a Paragon 1” threaded tapered to 1/18 steerer, etc…
Examining all of the adventure vessels at Bespoked left me hungry to escape the buzz of the show and feel the fresh air on my face. On Saturday, we eased the pain of ‘celebrations’ with a rag around the woods – something I had wanted to do every time I was exhibiting at the show with Mercredi Bikes, but never could. After an evening of adventure films at Business As Usual, we couldn’t hold back anymore – we left that party as quietly as five giddy, excited riders can – bikes loaded up with snacks and quilts set off to find a camp-spot for the night. In the depth of my bivvy bag, warmed up by two sleeping bags and few gulps of cider, I dozed off thinking that the single-speed-village-bike Katherine lent me for our weekend adventures should receive a special mention in this category…
Words & ‘Pannier.cc Award’ Judging
Adeline O’Moreau
Photos
Ben Broomfield
Alex Turner
Jim Holland