With a little discussion over lunch time cheese and crackers in the office about the evolution of E-bikes and how we'd fancy a wee E-Road bike ourselves, it got us to thinking what predictions and trends are heading our way in 2018.  From disc brakes and indicators, to off loading our gear into the hollow tubes of the bike - what else is in store for the industry in 2018?  We've had a little look at what to expect and what's already in the pipelines of being launched into the cycling world.

MTB bikes are hitting it off by getting longer, slower and slacker; and next year's trend predict this geometric calculation isn't staying in the enduro community!  Nope, it's sliding in among lightweight XC hardtails!  The expertise behind the manufacturing of these frames is lending more stability and predictability to handle this future trend of more technical cross-country courses.

Integrated Storage; bar end to bar end, a South African brand is already ahead of this 2018 trend - using a tire plug system that mounts inside your bar ends.    There's also the result of the Fork Cork, a good looking solution to hiding a few extra necessities on the bike and ensuring it fits any modern tapered fork on the market.

Any other hollow tubes you see fit for stuffing your extra gear in?  Or is this an impractical approach?

In terms of racing bikes, the idea of disc brakes is increasingly catching on. Racing cyclists saw this years ago with mountain bikers. This crossover idea is taking effect more and more in the cycling scene.

It's the Gravel bike's turn!  To most of our untrained eyes , gravel bikes look pretty similar to cyclo-cross bikes because of their relatively thin studded tires and race bike aesthetics.  But there's so much more to it than that...  The differences lie in the details. The geometry is designed for a not so freeride and more upright posture. Gravel bikes run more smoothly, are more stable, and have spaces to mount a luggage carrier built into the frame.

A bigger, badder ass splash is coming to town!   This little piece of magic is clamped underneath the seat and keeps the majority of the dirt away from the rider in muddy and rainy weather. There are also wider variants in 2018.

Lazer lighting!  Initially designed by a budding student turned entrepreneur, this technological brain has been designed to control a laser, LED lights, Bluetooth and GPS for London’s new fleet of Santander bikes, The Laserlight works like this: as you cycle at night a laser image of a green bicycle is projected onto the ground five metres in front of you.

And lastly, because this one's going to blow up!  Cementing  itself in line among the cycling sector in 2018 is bike leasing. Employees can rent a work bike from their employer. In this case it does not have to be a classic city bike or e-bike.

Racing bikes, gravel bikes and cyclo-cross bikes can also be leased. Even if the employer does not finance the costs themselves, everyone who opts for a leased bike has a financial (fiscal) advantage.

And the future for TCJ?  From design to print, our machinery, software and staff are of the highest quality in the cycling manufacturing business.  With our software holding the capability to almost run itself, we are able to look ahead to future development.