Philly Bike Expo 2025: Bikes, Booths, and Builders (Part 1)

Going to any bike expo these days means seeing friends old and new, technology that fits the same description, and invariably a series of days that seems so jam-packed with life you often leave feeling unsure how time bends and contorts to fit. Philly Bike Expo 2025 was no different. Rocking the nine-and-some-hour drive from Asheville alone, I became entwined in a weekend driven by sleep deprivation, hunger pangs, and sheer emanating passion. As much as these kinds of events can seem rife with the consumerism we’ve all grown a bit tired of, what Philly seems particularly suited to spotlight is the care and passion framebuilders and makers of all sorts have to embody in order to make it in this weird, wacky business. For the sake getting to it, dive into the first collection of things I found interesting at Philly Bike Expo 2025 below.

Fine Bicycleslink

Raleigh, North Carolina

Kicking off our coverage is a builder close to my home, Fine Bicycles. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Charles Thompson has been making bikes for about five years. Initially doing so to build himself the kind of cyclocross and cross-country mountain bikes he sought to have, Charles has taken frame building head-on and loves the process of doing something truly unique for each of his customers. A cyclocross racer to boot, Charles said his favorite kind of bikes to make are those that stoke out the customer. When pressed, however, he said fully rigid mountain bikes like the one on display at his booth really get him going. Fine Bikes might largely be Charles, but by their own admission, wouldn’t be much without the efforts and hard work of his parter, Adeline.

Rivendell Bicycle Workslink

Walnut Creek, California

Little-known production bike company Rivendell Bicycle Works was out in force at Philly Bike Expo 2025 with their prototype rear derailleur and a general sense of optimism about the industry. Tongue-in-cheek references aside, it was great to see the Rivendell crew out and about. Speaking to Will Keating, general manager, he said, “We’re mainly here to interact with our customers. It’s a great chance to get to meet the people who support the brand.” That said, they did bring their prototype OM-1 to the show, a Shimano Rapid Rise-inspired shifting system (front and rear) that will be coming out sometime in the near future. From what Will told me, it should be able to run a 36T rear cassette and is, obviously, friction, but has some indexing capabilities. They also had a set of prototype bars from Nitto that will be coming to market sometime in the next year.

Speaking to Will about the state of things since the release of the New Yorker article that introduced a slew of new customers to Rivendell, he said, “We’re busy! We’re selling bikes faster than they can come in, so we’re happy about that. Things look good, and everyone here is a great employee. So, I can’t complain much at all.” It was a refreshing and upbeat insight that differed pretty distinctly from the groans of what has been a rough winter from most of the bicycle industry.

Primos Cycleslink

Portland, Oregon

I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong about Primos Cycles. Having been introduced through various influencers online, I didn’t think much of the new budget-focused gravel bike from what I continually heard pronounced as, “Pree-mahws” bikes. Little did I know, it’s actually, “Pree-mos,” the Spanish word for “cousin.” Started by Carlos and Pasqual, two immigrants from Chile, the duo set out to offer an affordable, do-it-all bike for the riding they’d fallen in love with since moving to Portland, Oregon. With a drop-bar model that has shocked reviewers through its sheer affordability and value to an upcoming flat-bar model that is set to be equally inexpensive, I was glad to put a face to the Primos brand and get an idea of their roots.

While I didn’t get a chance to throw a leg over the sole Primos model, Carlos informed me of their intentions for the future. As stated, the upcoming flat-bar model is set to follow the same idea as that of their current offering regarding pricing and availability but has slightly altered geometry to make it better for bikepacking and commuting. And while Primos currently only offers completes, frameset will be available in the coming months for the rough estimate of around $400 to 500 USD.

Royal H Cycleslink

Boston, Massachusetts

Bryan Hollingsworth is one of the longest-running exhibitors at Philly Bike Expo, and it shows with a very special model. Making bikes since the early 2000s, Ryan is practiced in creating custom offerings that include special details from anyone in his friend group to his co-workers in other aspects of his life. The white model pictured is one particularly close to home, as it’s a bike created for his father. Featuring a six-sided lug motif he machined into the castings, this bike is inspired by decades of scientific research at NYU and represents the color and particle arrangement of colloids that could potentially used as optical transistors for future quantum computers. A real custom bike in every sense, Ryan is indicative of the level of quality and care consistent with the builders who frequent the show.

Ritchey Bikeslink

San Carlos, California

Storied frame builder Tom Ritchey may not have made an appearance, but I’d argue Fergus Tanaka is better value. In typical Fergus fashion, he rode some 400 miles to the show from a friend’s house in Pennsylvania on a new Ritchey prototype we’ll get to in a second. Embodying the kind of swagger only a modern randonneur can muster, Fergus spoke to some minor updates to the Outback as well as the parts he scoured on Facebook Marketplace for to complete the build. Featuring some vintage Ritchey levers, updated chainstays, and dropper routing, the latest iteration of the Ritchey Outback is a minor improvement to an already stellar bike.

The Outback is bike I’ve wanted to take a greater look at since Miles reviewed it in 2020, so perhaps these new changes could catalyze an updated review. The new Outback will come in the pictured color, as well as a black model with tie-dye logos.

Super Secret Septimer

Inspired by a mountain pass in Switzerland Jobst Brandt told Tom to go find, the Septimer is an upcoming model from Ritchey that is sure to pique quite a bit of interest. I won’t go into too much detail as the pictures speak for themselves, but it’s a model I think many people will be excited about. Release and production details are TBD, but it’s carbon, currently fits a 45mm tire, and has packability in mind.

Industry Ninelink

Asheville, North Carolina

Our friends at Industry Nine came out with a host of interesting bikes at this year’s Philly Bike Expo, chief among them was this custom Chumba SLACKR with a Dia De Los Muertos anodizing theme. A tribute to the customer’s mother, it’s a testament to how detailed and specific anodizers are able to get with custom work these days.

That said, Industry Nine are no slouches in the anodizing department themselves, as their color kits are lauded for color matched precision and detail. Though there weren’t a ton of brand-new offerings on display from the Asheville-based manufacturer, the focus of their booth centered on the new Hydra2 hub, a product we reviewed in-depth here.

Route Werkslink

Rhode Island, USA

A small, design-forward company out of Rhode Island, Route Werks’ bags have been making waves for a few years now. Using a clamp system that eliminates any movement at the handlebar, the Route Werks handlebar bag system features a modular design that enables users to fit a variety of common riding accessories to the top or sides of their bar bag. Though the original has been out for a few years, Route Werks is now offering a much larger version of the same bag with even more storage and mounting capabilities. Now equipped with three interchangeable locking system on the “lid” of the bag, the Big Handlebar Bag from Route Werks could be a a great option for commuters and long-distance riders all the same.

I’ve long since seen these bags in-use on Stephen Fitzgerald’s Instagram, so I was intrigued when I passed by their small booth at the show. It seems like an extraordinarily well thought out design, and anyone I’ve asked about it has said good things. The sheer mount-ability is striking given you can mount three electronic units to the top and still manage a bell and a light through the side mounts. The new, larger bar bag retails for $200 USD and includes a small shoulder bag that can sit within the inner divider system.

Wolf Tooth Componentslink

Burnsville, Minnesota

Last but certainly not least in our first installment of Philly Bike Expo 2025 coverage is Wolf Tooth Components. A bit coy about what was coming down the pike, I’m sure the eagle-eyed among you might be able to spot some of the more discreet elements of what could potentially be releasing sometime later this year! Aside from teasers, though, Wolf Tooth released an attachment for their existing pumps to work with the Clik Valve system.

They also had their colored components on a number of great bikes at the show, my favorite of which was this cross bike from Hoff Cycles. Adam Hoff is a local builder based out of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Wolf Tooth’s support of the brand makes their cross team possible. For me, the headbadge is a work of art, as are the uniquely selected colors of the paint scheme.

Okay, that’s all for part one! Be sure to check out part two of our Philly Bike Expo 2025 coverage coming tomorrow, featuring some amazing work from many more exceptional builders and brands…