10 Must See Builds from the Philly Bike Expo

The best road and gravel bikes from Philadelphia.

Published
Photo: Will Tracy

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Big trade shows like Eurobike and Sea Otter are a great place to see the latest and greatest tech in the bike world. However, rarely do I leave those shows feeling genuinely surprised at what I’ve seen.

With its abundance of small frame builders and brands showing off fully custom or limited-run frames, usually sporting custom paint, the Philly Bike Expo has surprises around every corner.

Here are some of the best road and gravel bikes I saw at the 2024 show. Be sure to stay tuned this week for more bike galleries from the show!

Also read: SuperGallery: The Best Head Badges of the Philly Bike Expo

Memento gravel bike

Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
Memento’s Éliane Trudeau built this as a personal bike to match her sparkly personality. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
Trudeau says it’s nice to get to build something a little over the top because price limits many customers from doing too many crazy add ons. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
Trudeau won the people’s choice award at the show. (Photo: Will Tracy)

Vicious Cycles Rabbit Fighter

Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
A gravel bike can take you on a lot of adventures. Best to come prepared for all eventualities. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
The head badge logo also makes an appearance on the seatstays. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
External cable routing keeps things simple. (Photo: Will Tracy)

Básica Studio

Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
Básica Studio bikes are handmade in Mexico. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
This bike had the most interesting top tube at the show by far. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
This bike had the most interesting top tube at the show by far. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)

Prova Mostro gravel titanium frameset

Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
VéloColour painted this Prova Mostro titanium gravel frame. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
It includes matching DT Swiss hubs. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)

Artefact Eterna

Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
Artefact had one of the best head badges at the show. (Photo: Will Tracy)

Appleman carbon gravel bike

Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
In a show dominated by steel and titanium, Matt Appleman makes custom carbon frames. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
And he was the only one to incorporate a pair of Wranglers into his bike. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
A denim head badge stood out at the show. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
Denim handlebar tape isn’t very cushy per se, but it looks interesting. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
Appleman is a short crank evangelist and makes his own modular crank system with a variety of crank arm lengths. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
The color pattern extends even to the spokes. (Photo: Will Tracy)

Dogwood Track Bike

Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
The two-face bike. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
The bike is blue on the non-drive side. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
Dogwood Cycleworx’s David Johnson painted the Columbus logo onto the frame. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)

Maiorossé Faster Turtle

Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
In case you were wondering why it’s called the Faster Turtle. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)

Co-Motion Divide

Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
This Co-Motion model was developed for the Tour Divide. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
Belt drive means fewer things that can go wrong on the trail. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
It features a Rohloff hub, (Photo: Will Tracy)

Bilenky gravel bike

Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
(Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
This is the only bike I saw incorporating colorful brake hoods. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
It also had one of the most unique dropouts. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Best Road Gravel Bike Builds Philly Bike Expo
And a camo chainring. (Photo: Will Tracy)

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