A trip down memory lane with the Bicycles Roadshow
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Technical characteristics
A look at some of the great mountain, road and track rides at the Made Australia side event.
Handmade bike exhibitions are a chance to see some of the world’s most beautiful bikes up close and talk to the people who created them. There’s always plenty to see and do, but Made Australia, in collaboration with Fyxoadded an extra touch for bicycle enthusiasts by inviting collectors and enthusiasts to show off their own pride and joy through the Bicycles Roadshow.
Stretching across the Côte d’Azur (the flat inner section around the track) of the host velodrome, the Bicycles Roadshow featured a 250-metre long promenade featuring one-off creations, retro classics, former race-winning bikes and a touch of bling. Of course, there were countless bikes to browse, so below you’ll get just a taste of what was on display.
Interestingly, I often include all sorts of Easter eggs in my hyperlinks and this article is no exception. There are plenty of rabbit holes waiting for you to go down. Enjoy!
To begin with, the Adelaide-based company Australian Mountain Bike Museum made the trip with some of its exhibits. Pictured is a 1997 Trek Y-22, one of the first examples of a mass-produced (and successful) carbon fiber full-suspension mountain bike.The Trek frame’s distinctive Y-shape was easily visible while riding Pacific Blue TV series. A bit like the Unified rear triangle (URT) suspension design, this TV show has not aged well.The construction on this one isn’t original, but these USA made Spin wheels are period correct and are also heavily featured in Pacific Blue.Once upon a time, and long before online retail giant ChainReactionCycles bought the name, there was Vitus, an innovative French road bike manufacturer. They weren’t known for their mountain bikes, but they did make a couple of models, including this soft tail.Construction is similar to Alan Bikes of the period, with bonded and lugged aluminium construction.Today, Scott is a Swiss-based company, but it started out in the United States. The company began making mountain bikes in the early 1990s, with this American-made Scott Boulder hardtail mountain bike offering an example of what happened a few years later.A true classic from the 90s. This Manitou full suspension designed by Doug Bradbury in 1993 features a design that has not been repeated since.The rear stay was actually a modified suspension fork.The Shimano linkage V-brakes are not stock; this bike should have originally been equipped with cantilever brakes.These Cook Bros Racing cranks should make any bike enthusiast over the age of 40 salivate.Joe Mullan, co-owner of the museum, proudly pointed out that all of the bikes on display were uncracked and unrepaired, which is quite a statement for this generation of mountain bikers.It’s 1991, Moab is very present in the Cannondale catalogand the neon lights of this SE2000 are the stuff of dreams for many aspiring mountain bikers.A little more recent, this is a 2002 British-built Pace RC300. “That was my old race bike back in the day,” said Joe. “It’s the hardest course because of the square tubes. It was hell, but it went like hell in a straight line.”
Also notice the Pace suspension up front. Joe claims this is the last fork Pace made before the suspension division was sold to DT Swiss.
This room, now a museum, is a collection of parts made in the UK. Middleburn still make cranks today, but in the early 2000s they were very popular (I had a pair of RS8s with a 2x one-piece chainring and a Phil Wood Titanium square taper bottom bracket. This box makes no sense, I’m just happy).A custom-made Busyman saddle made for a previous edition of Fyxo’s Melburn Roobaix (the 2024 edition took place the day after Made Australia).Square tubes. These Pace frames are highly sought after, and framebuilder Rob English sought to pay homage to them at last year’s Made Bike show.Pace also made frames with a square seat tube. This round tube is arguably more practical, but it makes this one a little less rare.Long before the doping scandals and revelations in his book “The Secret Race”, American cyclist Tyler Hamilton was one of the key names to follow. In 2004, Hamilton rode this BMC Teammachine SLT01 bike for the Phonak cycling team.This original Teammachine helped put BMC on the international stage. It was actually the heaviest frame in the WorldTour at the time, but its unique aluminum and carbon tubing construction was highly sought after (by some).The owner of this bike found this piece of Canadian racing history through a former team member.A 1997 Mongoose Pro RX 9.7. This design didn’t last long.Can you have a Bike Roadshow without an Allsop Softride? This Powercurve is a real throwback.As Columbus’ Australian importer, Sydney-based Paul Hillbrick remains a familiar face at Australian craft shows. Hillbrick still builds frames, but not quite on the same scale as in previous years. This custom 1996 pursuit bike was ridden by then junior Shaun Hosking, who went on to win numerous medals.For almost two decades the Hillbrick name was synonymous with Australian track racing.Custom handlebars and one-piece stem. Ideas are indeed repeated.Ken Evans is another iconic name in the Australian frame building scene. Ken still builds frames today and they are highly sought after.Like the Hillbrick above, this classic Pista build is superbly finished by local cycling component restoration expert CycloRetro.And you’ll find even more good stuff on the CycloRetro with this Tommasini Super Prestige. Made in 2017, this special edition frameset exists to celebrate Irio Tommasini’s 85th birthday. It’s a true Italian-made beauty.The owner of this bike built it with a 1984 Campagnolo Super Record groupset (with some CycloRetro touches).Tommasini still produces a range of metal frames in the Tuscany region of Italy.Polite kindness on every corner.THE pantographed The details and polished finish are CycloRetro’s signature.Finally we have this rather incredible 1990 Slingshot from Steve White of Melbourne White’s BikesWhite raced mountain bikes for brands like Fat Chance and Sling Shot, and while he sold his old race bikes while they were still relevant, over the past decade he then purchased and built the featured bike to be as true to the era as possible.Although it lacked a rear shock, the Slingshot was theoretically URT’s first full-suspension mountain bike. The seat tube and top tube were connected by a fiberglass leaf spring.In the meantime, the down tube was replaced by a steel cable tensioned by a steel coil spring. The aim was to make the bike supple, smooth and light.From the mid-1980s onwards, the Slingshot crossed many iterations.Designed in 1984, the Hite-Rite was the first dropper post. Sit on the saddle and open the quick release to descend, or stand with the quick release open to ascend. It would take another two decades for the idea of the dropper post to come back.
Grafton Speed Controller cantilever brakes are even better performers in the USA.The beginnings of routing cables through the stem (written with a smirk).Thumbsticks have come back into fashion among bikepackers, but there was a time when they were cutting-edge shifting technology.Used by riders like John Tomac and Greg Herbold, the Tioga Tension Disc rear wheel was an iconic product of 1990s mountain bike racing. The Kevlar-spoked wheel was actually a Sugino design, licensed by Tioga. The surface condition of the rim shows that it had a rough life, but it’s certainly a valuable collectible today. Also note the vintage tires.Another valuable asset is the Yeti/Answer Accu-trax fork that fits the handlebars. Answer would later acquire Manitou.More good stuff for Cook. A real cycling time capsule.
In case you missed it, be sure to catch up on all the Made Australia action in our galleries from parts one and two.
