Almost ten years old, TweedLove seems to keep on growing. Held annually in the Scottish Borders’ Tweed Valley, more new events have been added.

>>> Dalby Forest MBR Demo Day 2018

TweedLove event dates

• Whyte BEMBA British Championships – 8th-10th June 2018
• Whyte King and Queen of the Hill – 18th-19th August 2018

Pic: Ian Linton

Taking place over the weekend of June 8-10th, the festival will host over 30 bike, component, and clothing brands, and the Mega Bike Demo will provide one of the biggest bike demos in the UK this year. Set in the town centre of Peebles, it includes MTB, road, gravel, kids and e-bikes, with access to trails and tracks in Glentress and beyond.

For the first time, there is also uplift available for the demo.

Brands that have already signed up to attend include Yeti, Ibis, Fox, Mondraker, Canyon, Geometron, Intense, Lapierre, Bird, Calibre, Bombtrack, Sonder, Alpkit, 3T, Nukeproof, Cube, Pivot, DMR, Marin, Orange, Scott and sponsors Whyte who will be exhibiting and/or demo-ing their latest and greatest produce. This will also be the only opportunity to test ride the Hope HB160 north of the border.

Demo booking is at www.tweedlovemegademo.com and there will be limited on the day spaces (for every bike) available too.

As well as the Expo village on Tweed Green, this year’s festival weekend is also hosting numerous events for every riding style, skill level, and age group. Events across the weekend include the TweedLove multimedia and movie night on Thursday June 7th with films and talks from The Dudes of Hazzard and Trek Factory Enduro Team racers Katy Winton and Ruaridh Cunningham, the Lovecross CX race on Friday 8th, the Cycle Law Scotland Skinny Tweed, and new Gritopia gravel event, supported by ORTLIEB, all happening on the 9th.

The whole weekend hinges on the UK’s biggest enduro race this year – and the Whyte BEMBA British MTB Enduro Championship race will see hundreds of professional and privateer riders trying to win the coveted winner’s jersey. EWS racers Katy Winton, Mark Scott, Lewis Buchanan, and Ruaridh Cunningham, who all grew up in or near the Tweed Valley are tipped as favourites but the racing will be a real battle. Practice for the race takes place on the Friday and Saturday.

If enduro isn’t your thing but you would like to challenge yourself with some great riding and a bit of friendly competition, then check out the Odlo Glentress 7 (May 26) and G-Form Enjoyro (June 2) events. The Odlo Glentress 7 will see solo riders, pairs and trio teams complete as many laps of an 11km course within 7 hours as they can, whilst the G-Form Enjoyro is a taster enduro for those too young to compete in the bigger enduro races, and those that don’t feel they could cope with a full-on enduro race.

With their motto of ‘all the bikes, all the riding’ TweedLove is hosting 38 different events throughout the season and caters for all kinds of riders and all kinds of riding. The full details of the TweedLove Festival and the full calendar of events can be found at www.tweedlove.com, or festival brochures shall be distributed nationally soon so you might be lucky enough to find one in your local bike shop or trail centre.

More info: www.tweedlove.com

Here’s what went down at the last Tweedlove…

Pic: Ian LInton

2017 TweedLove Mega Bike Demo

After a good response from the bike trade, the organisers of the Shimano TweedLove Bike Festival, have had to cap attending brands to the three-day long event in June.

With Vitus the final name to join the array of the cycling brands attending the TweedLove Mega Bike Demo, there will now be 26 individual manufacturers with over 250 bikes available to demo in Peebles on the 9th, 10th and 11th of June.

As well as a huge events programme and over 2000 available demo slots, the big festival weekend will also feature live music, eight local food and drinks vendors, including wood-fired pizzas, artisan coffee and the award-winning local Tempest Brew Co. bar to keep all attending the free expo fed and watered over the weekend.

Neil Dalgleish, event director, said, “Looks like we’ve created a bit of a monster – in a really good way! No matter what kind of bike riding you like this should be one of the best weekends of the year. We’re trying to create a fantastic festival experience, but with everything revolving around the good times we have with our bikes, and so much of it is free to join in with. If you like bikes, get yourself to the Tweed Valley in June!”

‘Entry level enduro’ added to 2017 TweedLove

The 2017 running of the popular TweedLove bike festival will see a new event added aimed at the “enduro-curious” and younger riders.

There isn’t a whole lot more info about it at this stage – it’s merely a ‘STOP PRESS” add-on to their most recent newsletter – but more details should be announced soon. We thought you’d like to know now though.

Here’s all that we know at the moment…

“Announcing soon… A brand new entry level enduro aimed at the enduro-curious and younger riders. Full details coming soon. Limited places so stay tuned for the announcement. Friday afternoon and evening (9 June).”

What is TweedLove?

It’s a bike festival, essentially.

“Where riders (along with their friends and families) can enjoy some awesome rides, look at new kit, demo new mtb/road/electric bikes, hang out, have some top beer and food, listen to tech talks and enjoy some great entertainment.” That’s how the organisers themselves describe it anyway.

As far as the racing goes, check out the above video and then read the feature from a previous TweedLove where our deputy editor tested himself against the best at the Scottish stage of the Enduro World Series.

What happened at the 2017 TweedLove?

When: 9-11 June, 2017.

Featured…

The UK’s only international level enduro race for 2017. All weekend, Sunday is Race Day.

Cycle Law Scotland Skinny Tweed: TweedLove’s roadie sportive. Saturday 10 June.

Love Cross: Town centre CX racing, with the accent heavily on fun. Saturday evening.

SEStran Islabikes Family Ride: Roads closed in Peebles while hundreds of bikes take back the streets. Saturday evening.

PCC Kids Skills night: Skills and fun for young riders in the centre of town. Saturday evening.

– Top bike brands in expo village
– MTB bike ride-outs
– Kids track
– Tech talks and videos
– Signing sessions
– Films and entertainment on main event stage, day and evening – programme details coming soon
– Great food stalls
– Tempest Brew Co bar
– Bike events start and finish from event village
– Podiums and Prize-giving ceremonies