VIVA INTERBIKE Oh come on, you know the words! "And how I wish that there were more, Than twenty-four hours in the day...
But even if there were forty more...
I wouldn't sleep a minute away." The only catch is that for four of us (Catherine, Vlad, Robbie and JF) our 2007 visit to Las Vegas it's going to be mostly test bikes, test bikes, learn about bikes, learn about bike parts, test accessories, talk about bikes... Of course there's a wee bit of fun factor associated with this annual trip to INTERBIKE in Sin City but it's also lots of work.
See, the thing is... we take this a little more seriously than we probably should. You'd think with all the distractions it'd be easy to get distracted. Sidetracked to something like a Celine Dion concert maybe (yes, I was just kidding there... Wayne Newton is much more my style.)
or perhaps some gambling (nope, not much of a gambler, either... wouldn't know when to hold 'em or when to fold 'em).
So Vegas turns into work mostly. We usually arrive the Sunday night before the demo day (demo days are held Monday and Tuesday)... Always with the intention of going out for dinner but always ending up passing out in the hotel room. We usually stay at Harrah's o the strip. Close to everything and somewhat reasonable with decent rooms and a backyard alley that leads straight
to the Sand's convention centre.
The Monday morning is always a tic chaotic. We get up early, gather our bike gear and head to
the Interbike welcome centre to grab our badges (not that we need no stinkin...) and line up to get on one of the dozen busses that will take us to Boulder Canyon, Nevada a 45 minute drive into the desert, site of the Interbike demo.
Once there, we hop into our bike gear and wander the site looking at all the eye candy... Scoping out what we'll be testing during the day, taking some time to say hello to old friends in the business... But at the same time planning our test day. We do the same on Tuesday but with a bit more focus... we only have 2 days... and over 30 bikes to test... Day two is always a lot more bang, bang, bang... less socializing, more riding damnit!
Of course, we always begin the day with the cool bikes, the ones we know will be difficult to get our hands on once the
crowds show up at noon (the busses run all day for those wishing to get up late or leave early). Bike we hit early were bikes like the Jamis XCR Carbon, The Jamis BAM, the Scott Ransom, the Tomac Snyper and Carbine... Bike you'd be lucky to get your hands on later on in the day without standing in line for hours... waiting until someone brought them back.
The big thing about the demo is that there are simply not enough bikes to go around. Except for the massive "Big 3" bike brands who can afford to bring 100 or so bikes each, most companies bring 40 at the very most. And that's not a bad thing for small bike companies... That's how they get to show up on the map. For example: When faced with the possibility of having to wait 30 minutes for a Jamis XAM we turned around to see the Commencal booth with two bikes our size just hanging there... Why not, we said to each other... hopped on 'em and we were surprised. Nice bike. Something to think about. That's how we decided to pick up Tomac bikes for 2008. The Scott booth was empty... Hmmm, look at those Tomac bikes across the isle. Very nice riding bikes.
Keep in mind that roughly 10,000 people register for Interbike and while most people don't attend the Demo (newsflash: Not all bike shop owners and buyers actually ride bikes) they still estimated that over 2000 people attended the Demo days. That's a lot of people vying for what seems like just about that many bikes (including road and specialty bikes).
The Demo site is crazy. But it's not as crazy as the convention-centre. The Interbike indoor show is just a sensory overflow of data, humans, information and product. Anyone who is in the business of selling bike stuff to retailers is there. From Taiwanese decal manufacturers to custom head-cap engravers to bike set manufacturers to the Marzocchi girls and Rocky Mountain bikes. if it's bike, it's here... Wheely bags are a must since the insane amount of catalogues is somewhat overwhelming... And unfortunately necessary to get all the information that we need (the web can only provide us with so much).
No kidding, it usually takes us well over a week to process all the information that we gather in 4 days at Interbike. like I said: Crazy.
CONCLUSIONS Of course we come out of something like this with a few conclusions, a few top 10's and many, many winners and losers. Check back soon for the lists... and remember to "refresh" your screen.
VIVAAAAAAAAA! Gotta love the place... or hate it. Vegas has been where the bike industry gets together for the last dozen years or so (I could be wrong on that). Love it or hate it it's where we go to check out the cool new stuff and the not-so-cool-new stuff. We spend 2 days in the desert at Bootleg Canyon testing out bikes. Here's a little teaser of what we do and how we do it:
WHAT THE HECK IS INTERBIKE? Interbike is the leading bicycle industry business- to-business event in North America, bringing together top international manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of cycling. Interbike actually consists of two events: the two-day OutDoor Demo, held this year in Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City, Nevada, and the three-day International Bicycle Expo held at the Sands Convention Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.
The 2006 edition of OutDoor Demo occurred September 25-26, equating to 61,400 square feet of outdoor exhibit space filled with more than 130 bicycle and accessory manufacturers. Three thousand five hundred individual buyers and journalists tested bicycles and accessories on cross country mountain bike trails, downhill-specific courses, a professionally built BMX track and a closed road course. Total overall attendance for the two- day demo was more than 6,000 individuals. In terms of square footage and attendance, it was the largest OutDoor Demo since the pre-indoor expo was started 11 years ago.
The industry is made up of enthusiasts who like to ride, said Lance Camisasca, Interbike's group show director. But on the business side, the OutDoor Demo gives retailers the opportunity to ride products they are interested in purchasing for their stores, along with products their competitor down the street will carry. The OutDoor Demo is a confirming period which gives retailers the chance to make an intelligent decision and then go to the indoor portion of the show and seal the deal with their chosen vendors.
The indoor portion of Interbike, the International Bicycle Expo, ran September 27-29 and consisted of displays from 735 individual bicycle and accessory manufacturers representing more than 1,000 brands covering approximately 15 acres of the Sands Expo and Convention Center. With a total of 310,000 square-feet of occupied exhibit space, this year's event had the largest footprint in Interbike's history.
Total attendance was close to 22,000 individual exhibitors, manufacturers representatives, buyers and members of the media, which represents a 12 percent increase versus 2005 attendance. Buyer attendance was close to 10,400 individuals, which equates to a six percent increase versus 2005, and represents a little more than 3,100 stores.
According to Camisasca, this year's International Bicycle Expo had a noticeable feeling of excitement and energy compared to recent shows. Aisles and booths were noticeably more crowded with attendees abuzz about the latest product offerings from companies such as Giant, Giro, Scott and Shimano to name a few.
Each year I hear people telling me how Interbike is no big deal,said Skip Hess, president of Giant USA. Well, when the doors opened this year, it was an invasion. High energy, massive crowds and lots of enthusiasm. We were packed solid, our people felt special, the retailers felt special, heck it was a special event.
As usual the show was large, said Tony Evans, owner of Chesterton Bicycle Station in Chesterton, Indiana. I like attending Interbike because it gives me an opportunity to see my suppliers outside of the shop. I also use the show to look for design and merchandising ideas for my store.
Leading component manufacturers SRAM and Shimano both expressed positive experiences at this year's Interbike.
We had large exhibits at both the OutDoor Demo and the Expo, said David Zimberoff, SRAM's director of global marketing communications. Interbike is the best place for us to reach thousands of retailers and expose them to our products.
BEST
BUILT
BIKES, PERIOD.
When bikes arrive at our door from suppliers, they're unfortunately
not assembled. We proudly employ highly qualified technicians
to carefully assemble our bikes and pay them hourly. In
fact, we're convinced our bike builds are the best in the
city. Our experienced tech shop staff guarantee it. Our
27 point quality verified assembly process ensures that
your bike will ride well and require less maintenance in
the long run. It's pretty simple: Less down time equals
more fun time.
LE
PHOTO ALBUM
It all started with Matt Goyer (mattgoyer.com) a good friend
and computer aficionado and JF taking pictures here and
there... Enter uber-camera-guy Gavin... Matt started hosting
out pictures on a server... Thousands and thousands of pictures
were taken, an extensive record of all our great adventures.
Unfortunately now password protected to shield the innocent.
Wanna surf the album? simply join the Gord's MTB Club, get
a free Username and Password and BAM! you're in.
GORDS DOES COMMENCAL Attention all bike lovers! Gord's is very proud to announce that we'll be offering Commencal Bikes starting in the summer of 2008! Commencal is a very cool, forward thinking niche bike company from Andorra. (they also hppen to sponsor the ubiquitous Cedric Gracia)... Needless to say we're very excited about this news!
Here's how this came about: Robbie and I were in Vegas, testing our allotted complement of bikes... and since day two was simply overrun with testers, bike companies were struggling to keep up with demand for test bikes. During one lull in testing (while waiting for the Jamis Dakar XAM to become available) I glanced over to the Commencal booth only to see someone about to return a "Meta 5.5" in my size... And since Commencal bikes had always piqued my interest I decided to pounce on the poor guy who was holding said bike. When I rolled up to Catherine and Rob on the Commencal both looked at me puzzled, "but that's
not on our list..." I shrugged, made up some story involving the French and off we went onto our favorite loop or Bootleg Canyon.
JOIN US! We've said it before: It's all about the ride. The ride to Seven Eleven, the ride to your buddies house, the ride we call Ingolf, the ride at Panorama, Fernie, The Seine River, the ride through the monkey trails at Assiniboine Park, the ride with your 30 favorite buddies or the ride with your daughter.
Yes the bike is important. But more important than the bike is the smile on your face. So get off your butt, dust off your bike, throw on your helmet and come riding with us next season! For more information on how we can help get you out, click on the following link:
Attention all bike lovers! Gord's is very proud to announce that we'll be offering 
