Do you speak bike? Of course you do – and so do we. Just like the thousands of passionate enthusiasts who attended Sydney’s SPOKEN bike festival over the weekend.
An evolution of the highly-respected Handmade Bicycle Show held annually in Melbourne for the past six years, the 2025 edition took a bold new step – heading north to Sydney for the first time. Hosted in the expansive Carriageworks event centre, it was a big move in both distance and ambition.
Relocating a well-established show more than 1,000 kilometres north was always going to be a gamble, and I’ll admit, I wasn’t entirely sure how Sydney’s cycling crowd would respond.
But by late Friday afternoon, with the show open for just an hour, any doubts were quickly gone. The halls filled fast as enthusiasts poured in to marvel at the hundreds of stunning bikes on display – from bespoke builds and high-tech innovation to timeless designs and labours of love.
From handcrafted timber bikes made in a back shed in Western Australia, to a fascinating dual chain ‘jack shaft’ MTB from Northern NSW to road, gravel, kids, urban and touring machines – nothing escaped the imagination.
Camaraderie was one of the standout highlights of the show, thousands of like-minded enthusiasts gathering to celebrate the most beautiful creation ever invented, the humble bicycle.
Former professionals such as Phil Anderson, Chloe Hosking and Mitch Docker mingled with the crowd, global leaders such as Josh Poertner from Silca freely shared years of knowledge and wisdom, and attendees ranged from lifelong riders through to fresh-faced beginners.
The common bond was the bike, and SPOKEN Sydney was – without a shadow of a doubt – a standout success.
Gallery – SPOKEN Sydney
Without a doubt, one of the bikes of the show, the Bastion Archangel. This one is valued at around $43,000. More at https://bastioncycles.comThe elegant simplicity of this carbon steed from Palmer.A versatile gravel and all-road machine in timeless titanium.Sydney boutique bike shop Chainsmith had this stunning Sarto on showwww.chainsmith.com.auSome of the bigger brands were also at SPOKEN including Italian Willier.A replica of Simon Yates’ Giro-winning S5.H-Tech is a West Australian brand specialising in timber bikes – this one is 8.2kg! The third of the H-Tech timber bikes – more at https://htechbikes.comA custom Tour de France edition Brompton – more at https://bromptonaustralia.comMelbourne bike brand Simpatico had several very versatile gravel bikes on show. More at https://simpaticobikes.comThis BAUM bike was painted with a unique glow-in-the-dark finish from Smarterlite. No UV light source is required, and it remains illuminated for hours.Chloe Hosking was at SPOKEN with this Hosking HR5 as reviewed by Ride On magazine.A handmade Japanese kieren bike custom-built for commuting.OPEN featured this gravel all-rounder with an adjustable one-piece bat stem.A comfortable and capable gravel steed from NSW-based Chimera Frame Works.https://www.chimeraframeworks.comProva have built up a formidable reputation over the years and their SPOKEN display was super popular. More at www.provacycles.comPenny Farthing Dan had several very cool bikes on show – check out his wares at www.pennyfarthingdan.com.auAnother of Chainsmith’s dream Italian roadies – more atwww.chainsmith.com.auAnother of the H-Tech timber bikes – more at https://htechbikes.comPinarello was another major brand at SPOKEN – this stunning red Dogma F being incredibly popular.NSW manufacturer Woods Cycles had a range of models on show – more at www.woodsbicyclecompany.com.auAussie brand Wondercross had a wide range of beautiful titanium bikes on display – more at www.wondercross.com.auApart from bikes there was new gear on show including SRAM’s latest Force & Rival groupsets.Wondercross had this lovely little titanium balance bike there – more at www.wondercross.com.auAnother of Omnium’s well thought out cargo offerings.Curve had several droolworthy gravel offerings at SPOKEN Sydney. Foldee offer this storable urban transport solution.The father and son H-Tech timber bike team from WA – more at https://htechbikes.comSimpatico also had this all-road machine at SPOKEN – check out those slick 38mm tyres.Groupe Sportif had a stunning stand complete with this dreamy LOOK 795 Blade RSCervelo’s popular new Caledonia 5 race gravel machine was also there.Australian manufacturer Sugarloaf had this eye-catching roadbike on show – it’s worth checking them out at www.sugarloafcycles.com.auA pimped urban cargo machine from www.omniumcargo.comIt wasn’t just road and gravel bikes, some dreamy MTB’s were also on show.From modern bling to classical beauty – this versatile all-rounder.One of the titanium offerings from Sydney-based Bossi bikes. One of the original aero gravel manufacturers, OPEN featured this UP with an adjustable one-piece bar/stem.Another of the Simpatico’s on show – more at https://simpaticobikes.com
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