A peek at the shiny and exciting things from the biggest bike festival in Europe
Image 1 of 27
This 25th anniversary GT Zaskar will make riders of a certain age go all funny as they remember the good old days when everything was bad(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
Legendary French brand Sunn is back with an all new enduro racing ready 160mm bike, the Kern LT. This particular one has seen a full season of EWS racing under Kilian Bron (Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
Michelin was showing off the brand new Enduro rear tyre that's seen action under EWS stars Jerome Clementz, Remy Absalon and Nico Vouilloz. We've got one to test, so check back for our thoughts soon(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
This 20in wheeled full suspension Commencal Supreme 20 is ideal for My First Huck(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
You only get one gear, but more importantly for parental peace of mind is the hydraulic disc brake. It's a snip at €1,599. Start saving kids! (Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
Germany's Bergamont had its new Encore enduro rig on show (Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
The 165mm of rear wheel travel uses a coaxial pivot that will be very familiar to owners of Trek ABP or any Split Pivot design. European law is much less generous than American when it comes to dishing out patents (Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
The geometry adjusting shock chip is a nice touch, but the numbers look pretty sorted out of the box with a 65-degree head angle (Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
A touch of the good ol' USA now with this Intense M16 in stars and stripes-laden Palmer edition(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
There are just 60 of these hand-painted rigs out there. We wonder if the man himself has got one?(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
Nevi is an Italian framebuilder specialising entirely in titanium. This is its Gobi Desert. It's certainly a trad XC bike, but it's proper weld porn(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
It's not brand spanking new, but Formula's R1 Racing brake has a unique lever that pulls rather than presses. Hopefully this will sort some of the packaging issues with radial style levers(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
Vittoria has a brand new MTB tyre line up and the redesigned Goma looks promising for trail use. We'll get some to test soon(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
The bike is certainly a much less complicated affair than Cube's prevous DH rigs, some of which were overbuilt to put it mildly(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
Happily both the frame and all the shiny bits on this one are bang up to date, like these super lightweight Tune cranks(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
You also get a Tune stem, thankfully much shorter than the period 120mm items seen on the original bike(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
And don't you forget it(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
More Germanic loveliness from Tune, plus retro-hat tips with the RockShox RS-1 fork and fluoro Magura brakes (Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
An overload of fluoro throwback goodness with chunky Oury grips and a Gripshifter to control the SRAM 11spd drivetrain(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
Even the Flite Titanium saddle is a modern update of an old classic. 1990s mountain bikers, you can go and take that cold shower now(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
B'Twin was showing off these rather clever stems. Swapping spacers allows you to adjust the stack height(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
They've got a good drop for anyone who wants to get as low as they can go too (Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
Orbea's Loki was one of the surprisingly few plus-sized bikes on display(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
With a Fox 34 fork, it looks like it's be a load of fun on rough and tumble descents(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
Cube was showing off its new Two15 downhill bike. It's got a full alloy frame giving 215mm of squish at the rear, and the word is that a carbon model is coming soon(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
The Titanio rigid fork is a work of art too, with a tapered steerer and hollow investment-cast crown(Image credit: Jon Woodhouse / Immediate Media)
The Roc d'Azur is one of the biggest mountain bike events on the world, but it's little known outside of Europe. We headed down to the South of France to find out what all the fuss is about.
It's been going for over 30 years and across the continent it's the traditional end of season event, with numerous races and events going on during the five days it runs. Visitor numbers dwarf better known trade shows such as Eurobike or Interbike, helped by a festival-like feel.
The location by the balmy seaside town of Fréjus certainly doesn't hurt how attractive it is either, with sun, sea and singletrack all within easy striking distance. The Roc festival also attracts a serious number of exhibitors, with both big worldwide brands and smaller less well known European offerings.
BikeRadar took a quick look around to see what shiny and new mountain bike tech was hidden amid the tented city by the seaside. Enjoy!
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
