The annual Core Bike show, held from Sunday to Tuesday of this week,  is a cooperative gathering of some of the UK’s top bike industry wholesalers and importers in the rather nice surroundings of Whittlebury Hall, a country house hotel in Northamptonshire.

Highlights of the show included some innovative women’s bib shorts from Endura, new kit from BBB, bikes from Creme and Avanti and some nifty lifestyle cycling bits and bobs that aren’t female-specific, but that make life easier if you’re one of the many women whose cycling involves lots of round-town riding.

Two of the clothing manufacturers and importers we spoke to at Core Bike told us they had hired specialist clothing designers to work on their women’s ranges. This has to be an acknowledgement that – at last – more companies are taking female customers more seriously.

But a common caveat was that it’s hard to get women’s clothing into bike shops. Some dealers understand that if you want to sell women’s clothing you have to display it as well as John Lewis, and provide spacious clean changing rooms, but far to many don’t get it. Here’s a hint for Bike Shop Guys: go look at how high street retailers display women’s clothing, as outfits, on mannequins and with accompanying accessories. They’re selling the sizzle – this will make you look fabulous – not the sausage.

Okay, soapbox moment over, here’s a photo gallery of the stuff that caught our eye at Core Bike.

Sources & more information

Endura Clothing
BBB clothing via Windwave
a2z accessories via Windwave
SP Dyno via Ison Distribution
Biologic
Hope Technology
Ergon Grips via Extra UK
Fibre Flare via Extra UK
Burley via Extra UK
Brooks England
Creme via Hotlines