Now in its 20th year, Core Bike is one of the UK's premier trade shows and comes a few weeks after Ice Bike. Hosted at Whittlebury Hall, just a stone's throw from the Silverstone racing circuit in Northamptonshire, the show attracts a lot of attention from the UK cycle retailer scene. After a long and testing winter, Core Bike's place on the calendar acts as the start of the cycling season for many in the UK with spring (hopefully) just around the corner.
To find out what we can expect to see coming our way in 2025 I took a trip to the show to see what was on offer. Through the maze of small rooms, corridors, and passageways I found one theme rose above the rest. Small-run, limited-edition batches of premium products seem to be on the rise. Both Oakley and Open Cycles, along with other brands launching products coming shortly, have taken this approach.
What was pleasantly surprising was the number of attendees present. Compared to events of recent years, there seemed to be a palpable buzz with the energy across the show a hopeful glimmer of a recovering industry.
2025 looks to be full of new and exciting products across the industry. Here are some of my favourite picks from Core Bike.
Oakley's new helmet collection
Oakley is not new to the helmet game – the brand already has a range of both road and mountain bike helmets. For 2025, the Tudor Pro Cycling team has paired with the brand, turning to Oakley to create the fastest helmets possible.
The exact performance of the helmet has not yet been revealed but interestingly the helmet foregoes a Mips liner, as per the riders' requests, to lower the helmet's weight and increase comfort and cooling. Both the aero and vented helmets look very similar in profile, with the aero helmet adding two small fins at the rear that presumably have a positive aerodynamic effect.
Bliz hits the mid-tier
A recent acquisition to the Oakley portfolio (which itself is owned by Essilor Luxottica) is the Swedish eyewear brand Bliz. Although the brand now falls under a bigger umbrella, it will be keeping its own identity, remaining as an independent brand with no carry-over between product ranges.
This means that Bliz will continue to use its own lens technology and design cues to create a purposeful separation between itself and Oakley. Expect a range of colours, designs, and sizes. In terms of market position, Bliz looks to fill the gap beneath Oakley's range with prices starting at around £70 (approx US$90).
SDG’s boldest saddles to date
SDG is well known for its Bel Air saddle which has been part of the brand's range in one guise or another for over 20 years. For 2025, the brand is returning to some wild old and potentially questionable designs. However, a leopard print saddle may just be what your custom build needs – I won't judge.
Equally, if you wanted something similarly alternative but with more of an armchair-and-smoking-jacket vibe, the Bel Air III has this base covered too. Maybe one best kept for drier café rides.
POC's new helmet looks to be on its way
The sight of this new helmet from Poc can be traced back to last year's Tour de France where a number of riders from EF Pro Cycling were seen using the new lid. Since then, nothing more has come of the helmet, and many (myself included) had largely forgotten about the helmet's existence.
Although no details were disclosed at the event, I did get to see the new heavily vented helmet in the flesh. Much like the Oakley helmet, this looks to go without Mips, potentially to increase the helmet's ventilation. The top cross-section of the helmet uses a carbon fibre construction spanning between the EPS core. Given that the helmet is now being shown at trade shows it is fair to expect an official release sometime soon.
Open Upper Concept
Open is a brand that has been around for over a decade, with its most well-known model the U.P. gravel bike the first of its kind when it launched. The brand was founded by Andy Kessler and Gerard Vroomen, Kessler the former CEO of BMC, and Vroomen, the co-founder of Cervélo.
New for 2025, the brand is launching the U.P.'s successor in the shape of the U.P.PER. Currently, the bike is only available in very small numbers with only 19 coming to the UK in either a medium or large with the ready-to-paint frameset retailing for £4,700. After these have sold the standard model U.P.PER. will become available as a frameset. With clearance for a 46 mm tyre it isn't pushing the boundaries but it is a good-looking bike.
Enduro Bearings press and extraction tools
On the tool front, Enduro Bearings was showing off its latest bearing tool. Enduro has long provided ways to extract bearings cleanly without the need for a hammer, and the new BRT-040 is just a further example of that. When combined with Enduro's own hub presses, it allows for the extraction of bottom bracket bearings, most press-fit bottom bracket cups, and some hub bearings, too.
Elsewhere at the show
Beyond the bigger brands showcasing their latest products, there was plenty of new or interesting tech on display from across the industry. Some of my favourites from the show included Fizik's first wide-fit mountain bike shoe and Ortlieb's custom-design bags.
Both Hope and Industry Nine are keeping multicoloured anodising alive with all the colours you would want to match your bike.
5Dev had its EvoSid skeletal titanium mountain bike cranks and diamond-coated titanium road cranks with aero 1x chainring. The diamond coating used on the brand's cranks is claimed to be incredibly hard-wearing, removing the potential for heel rub scuffing your cranks. At US$1,200 the brand's diamond-coated cranks come with a hefty price tag.
It wasn't just anodised parts Hope had on display. The Hope/Lotus HBT was also being shown with its super wide stance fork and seatstays along with a split seat post. Although the initial HBT was raced at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 the bike still looks futuristic.
Pirelli was showing off its latest P Zero Race tyre with a new sidewall design. The tyre looks to be the same as the existing P Zero Race with the design on the sidewall now matching that of the brand's premium automotive tyres.
A brand steadily gaining attention in the mountain bike world is Gates. The brand has caused a stir by putting a €100,000 prize up for grabs for the first rider to win a UCI Downhill World Cup using a Gates belt drive system. There are some compelling arguments to use belt drives such as their long and largely maintenance-free lifespan, as well as their ability to handle higher torque loads better than a traditional chain. With Fox patenting a gearbox, belt drives could be on the mainstream horizon.
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