China Cycle 2026: Solid advances for the show + robots, innovation & me too

Wednesday, 8 July 2026 CIN correspondent

China Cycle is all things to all men (and women) and if you are thinking of specifying a new bike and want to build from the ground up, everything is here (apart from the ‘big players’ in numbers). While the top end of tech still appears to be at Sea Otter, not Shanghai, there were pockets of innovation where bike tech is moving forward (data integration), as well as plenty of product you’ll never see again (probably for the best). Chris Keller Jackson reports from the show which some say is starting to eclipse Taiwan Bike Week, and examines what the future may hold – including further shifts towards Vietnam…

With over 17,000 exhibitors spread over 13 halls, China Cycle is one massive show. Housed in the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, it’s mind bogglingly huge, bigger than Eurobike, with
more room to expand, about 25% more. Whilst it is not only a trade show, move out of the main halls, such as the International Hall and into the accessory halls and you’ll see more exhibitors than visitors. A good friend in the industry said “the Chinese are coming” – too late, they are already here, anodising everything, integrating everything and seemingly, copying everything. More of that later.

This sceptred isle we live and trade within is a funny old place. When I first visited Eurobike there were brands I’d never heard of that traded well within mainland Europe, and then Interbike
did the same thing with US brands that just don’t darken our shores. Going to Taiwan proved that the UK really is a microcosm of the global industry with more and more brands that sound like
they belong in the UK, but don’t.

China Cycle was like that, on EPO.

More than 16,000 of the brands on display never come near to the UK (or make for brands that we do know – they are just not familiar). A case in point is a whole row of Celeste Bianchi’s within the vast GoldenWheel booth. I’m not saying that GW make Bianchi frames, but they do – at least some of them – and why not, they certainly know what they are doing.

Some of the big UK players you do know are there, Shimano, SRAM, Dahon, Merida, Vittoria, Colnago, Magura, Hope, even an honourable mention to Peaty’s, whom I’d call a very traditional UK brand – I visited the booth where their valves are made (same ones that make another similar brand!). Not all these players have lavish stands, and whilst Shimano did have one of the biggest stands, show casing group sets, apparel and demonstrator bikes, SRAM were on the corner of one much smaller stand, alongside other products (with no Rock Shox suspension to be seen).

I get the feeling that next year, as China Cycle advances in numbers, we’ll see bigger stands from these more Taiwanese and US centric brands. There were mutterings within the press and some traders present at the opening evening that the shift of focus is towards China from Taiwan Bike Week, with a caveat that this might just be a stepping stone towards Vietnam. Time will tell.

I mentioned that 16,000 of those displaying at the show were ‘unknown’ in the UK, and that is certainly true in both ‘International brand’ halls, which were mainly populated with brands that had an ‘aspiration’ to become international, but were not. So full were both international halls that one properly international brand, coming from New Zealand and in the UK market (that has to count as international, right?) were lumped in with DAAO, Ansbern, GMEGC, M&S (not that one) and a whole bunch of brands you really have never heard of. Though they have exhibited here before, and had great international press last year, there was no room for them in ‘International’.

Trickle down trends, more manufacturers enter the wireless market and more

So, what of the big stories? From a trade perspective, what is the future coming out of China Cycle?

You’ve seen the prototype wheels and tyres of the 32-inch MTB and gravel world? The juggernaut that is 32 inch wheels is not about to stop, in fact, the ride will be smoother. Many suspension brands, even the ones you have never heard of, were showcasing 32-inch forks, as were tyre manufacturers and rim makers, there were even some very interesting full bikes on display, the Venzo M36 is particularity nice. This is a ‘trend’ that is not going away, especially now people are proving the winning formula in gravel and MTB races. Taller riders rejoice.

Related to wheels, when Fox launched the Podium UD fork (Upside Down – stanchions where the lowers should be) it was seen as an outlier, UD forks keep reappearing then disappearing. Well, it looks like they are here to stay. There was no Fox in attendance, but both RST and Kind Shock (KS) had production ready ‘Podium alikes’, KS even had a 32er UD on display! I counted over 10 other companies with UD suspension forks in their range, some looking more vintage Dorado ‘triple clamp’ from 2001, and some with more svelte additive manufacturing and optimised single crown aesthetics.

Advancements in shifting tech mean that ‘primitive’ cable shifting has been digitally improved by SRAM, Shimano, Campagnolo and more recently Wheeltop’s electronic shifting. Wheeltop has been getting traction for its low cost and improving quality – it had one of the biggest stands of the whole show, even partnering with Rotor. It seems like China is catching up rapidly with what looks like great quality shifting – with lots of brands showcasing full electronic group-sets. I doubt you’ll find a customer berating you for not stocking an ‘L-TWOO EXT RD ET1002’ rear derailleur any time soon. They are out there.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and China certainly knows a thing or two about imitation, in some instances you might call it copying. The accessory halls were brimming with ‘me too’ products, with some very interesting products as well as a plethora of items that, from a distance, just look like AI. Closer too, you can see that someone has been playing with a 5 axis CNC machine and different coloured anodising baths. The hubs, hydraulic brakes, spokes, stems, rims and accessory bolts available are bewildering. I’d say that some of the copying is perhaps a little over the line, with one brand offering tools identical to Park Tool in everything but name, and another using a logo and font that is too close to the IP of Specialized if you were trying to defend your trademark.

Whilst additive manufacturing (3D printing – mainly Selective Lazer Sintering) has become more popular in parts manufacture, especially with the excellent Lug manufacturing performed by brands, such as Atherton Bikes. One brand, Laget, is taking this further and creating complete titanium frames and other components. Pedals are left in their printed form, with no external machining and whilst this gives a raw, almost unfinished look, I’m told it adds strength and some additional grip.

Velduro, which first exhibited at China Cycle last year, had the new prototype ‘Vandal’ frame on their stand, all in off white ‘printed’ finish. This set of bonded prints allows the team to test kinematics beyond the drawing board and assess fit of the component parts needed to build up their frames, and looked like a winner. I had a good chat with Co-Founder, Dan Wallace, who this time last year could not get an introduction to some of the Kind Shock ExaForm 32 UD, doubly new big manufacturers who, this year, were arranging meetings with them at the booth. They were one of the first non Avinox users to receive their M2S motors, which is a coup for this small company, who championed the M1 last year. Velduro continue to offer ‘frame only’ as an option, and this has proved very popular in a market where eBikes are not normally sold that way, and customers want unique eBikes, and to reuse their existing parts. Touring the halls, I came across a familiar name, that of Aventon which has been in the media recently, partly for its excellent own brand motor, partly the reasonable cost of their bikes, but more important to the UK reader, the now owner of GoCycle, one of the early UK pioneers of electric urban mobility. Back in 2009 when I first reviewed the GoCycle eBike for another magazine, I said that “If Apple built eBikes, this would be one of their creations”, well, now its Aventon’s turn, and I managed to get a sneak picture and to talk with the UK design staff. This should be on the market this year, same external look, updated internals.

As a trade publication, you’d probably ask, “What’s in it for me, going to China, when I have Eurobike on the doorstep?” It depends upon what you are looking for. If you are building a brand, trying to find a frame manufacturer, wheels tyres, drive systems, those elusive green alloy thingymies and electrical connectors, a kickstand or some cat baskets, this is the place! Everything you want under one (sorry 13) roofs is here.

Not everything at China Cycle is totally two wheeled, there were some odd things to see at the show. Eurobike back in the day had painted ladies, and whilst China is far more conservative, many of the apparel and helmet manufacturers had teen girls, live streaming and selling lycra to the world, in very animated fashion, describing a garment (they were wearing) before moving on to something else to quickly sell. The fit of a helmet, extol the virtues of the shape of a visor, the cut of a leg gripper – most odd.

Other weird things I saw included a half size ‘human shaped’ robot being unceremoniously dragged out of the boot of a car like some dystopian cadaver, to be seen later in the day, dancing to Michael Jackson tunes, with a cycling top on, no bottoms, not anatomically correct! There were also a lot of cosplayers, adorning various bikes and brands, with swords, staffs and Manga inspired outfits, sat on eBikes and posing for consumers. Some ‘cat ears’, that’s obviously a thing, hoodies with ears, caps with ears and bike helmets with ears.