How can I get into InterBike?

"Benjamin Weiner" wrote in message
...
Werehatrack wrote:

I haven't looked; are there any significant consumer-type bike shows,
or is this subject just too rarefied for the mass market at this
point? It requires a *lot* of traffic to cover the expense of a major
hall for several days, and it strikes me that in even a major city,
there might not be enough interested bike enthusiasts to allow such an
event to make a profit.

I think there are ones in Toronto (?) and New York, probably
combined with swap meets, but realistically, this is what
the expo booths at bike events like races, MTB festivals, or
big touring events are for.

I question the idea that the bike industry needs to grow by
hyping people up about each year's newest gewgaws (which seemed
to be somebody's idea for a consumer day at Interbike). I am
not a retrogrouch, but bikes are not like consumer electronics;
the technology is pretty mature. The bicycle industry needs
to grow by getting more people riding bikes. IMO, people like
Mike J, Peter, and other shop owners here understand this.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. The trouble is, it doesn't fit the sales
repertoire of the boneheads running the industry now. They need to figure out
how to promote cycling itself, not just bikes. The more you ride, the more you
discover it really isn't about the bike...

That's why I think we need a "bike week" kind of thing, like the motorcycle
people have. While the motorcycle scene may look like an orgy of gear-lust and
poseurism (or sometimes just a plain old orgy), below the surface there's the
fellowship and the riding itself that keeps people coming back. Unfortunately,
in the last 10 years, the bicycle industry has offered nothing but gear-lust.
But the experience is what ultimately gets people hooked, not the joy of
ownership, which is what they're selling now.

So my idea is to move Interbike to somewhere that's both bike-friendly and nice.
I'm sorry, but Vegas and Ana-slime fail on both counts. Maybe somewhere like
Boulder, or the SF Bay area... Anyway, have some races to generate excitement,
but more importantly, organized rides that anyone can join, led by industry
folks and famous riders. Who wouldn't love to ride through Sonoma or the
Rockies with Lance Armstrong or Greg Lemond?

Matt O.

Dealers wouldn't need to be there for consumer day; they could get
back to their shops.

The last day of Interbike (this year it'll be Tuesday, October 14th) is
usually rather sparsely attended, and even most of the folks that stay
for that day only go in the morning, then head for McCarran Airport.
(How could they name a nice airport for such a vicious, evil,
red-baiting troglodyte?)

Anyway, if you're in the neighborhood and show up late in the morning,
you could probably get a departing visitor to give you a no-longer
needed badge if you ask nicely.

Sheldon "I'll Be Too Footsore To Stay That Long" Brown
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http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

He was Nevada's Senator and the Senate's leading proponet of aviation
legislation.



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"meb" wrote in message
...
He was Nevada's Senator and the Senate's leading proponet of aviation
legislation.

Who? What? Huh? Come again?

Bill "attribution rules" S.

Matt O'Toole wrote:

I agree with this wholeheartedly. The trouble is, it doesn't fit the sales
repertoire of the boneheads running the industry now. They need to figure out
how to promote cycling itself, not just bikes. The more you ride, the more you
discover it really isn't about the bike...

Well, it's easy to criticize them, but in order to really promote
bicycling you have to start with something like Safe Routes to School,
and then confront structural problems like suburban sprawl.
Even if they weren't boneheads they could hardly solve that.

That's why I think we need a "bike week" kind of thing, like the motorcycle
people have. While the motorcycle scene may look like an orgy of gear-lust and
poseurism (or sometimes just a plain old orgy), below the surface...

So my idea is to move Interbike to somewhere that's both bike-friendly and nice.
I'm sorry, but Vegas and Ana-slime fail on both counts. Maybe somewhere like
Boulder, or the SF Bay area... Anyway, have some races to generate excitement,
but more importantly, organized rides that anyone can join, led by industry
folks and famous riders. Who wouldn't love to ride through Sonoma or the
Rockies with Lance Armstrong or Greg Lemond?

Events like RAGBRAI and Sea Otter (very different) exist already.
I bet organized bike centuries are more common than motorcycle rallies.
I just don't see what would be gained by superimposing the trade show
on a bike rally. I'm sorry to guess that the Taiwanese manufacturers
who are there to take orders for 50,000 aluminum stems probably
wouldn't be interested in the rides. Maybe higher industry involvement
in bike-culture-events would be good (why I mentioned expos at
major cycling events) but that is separate from Interbike.

When you organize a big convention, a primary concern is the
availability and cost of a big exhibition space and lots of hotel
rooms. I bet this is one reason it's in Vegas. Costs in Boulder
or SF are very high. (BTW, I don't want to give the impression
I know anything special about Interbike, never been near it.)

rault- Actually, I might. I'd expect it to be between $2500 and $8000 for a
10x10 booth, with even higher rates for remium locations, and
additional charges if an electrical connection or any setup decoration
is required. BRBR

Yep, that's about the charge for the floor space, then the expense of making it
an exhibit..It is very expensive, I heard Ben Serotta saying it was about
$30,000 or so for his smallish, back wall exhibit of 3-4 years ago. Now he
doesn't have one.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

On 11 Sep 2003 01:29:07 -0800, Benjamin Weiner
may have said:

Well, it's easy to criticize them, but in order to really promote
bicycling you have to start with something like Safe Routes to School,

Real-world concerns for biking to school tend to center even more on
the fact that in many locales, while you might be able to ride a bike
*to* school, there is considerable doubt about whether you could ride
it home afterwards. Theft and malicious damage by other students and
outside agents is so common that at typical schools in my area, fewer
than a dozen bikes will be in the rack, and many locations have
dispensed with the rack altogether due to lack of use. At my
daughter's high school (which is 16 miles away by bike), I believe
there are two students who sometimes ride to school; both park their
bikes inside the building or in secure, non-street-accesible spots,
not in the disused bike rack in the parking lot. (During the summer,
the maintenance people finally removed the carcasses of two
long-abandoned and throughly destroyed bikes that had been the sole
occupants of that rack for a couple of years. The rack remains
empty.)

and then confront structural problems like suburban sprawl.
Even if they weren't boneheads they could hardly solve that.

Correct, although suburban sprawl areas have their own cycling
opportunities.

That's why I think we need a "bike week" kind of thing, like the motorcycle
people have. While the motorcycle scene may look like an orgy of gear-lust and
poseurism (or sometimes just a plain old orgy), below the surface...

So my idea is to move Interbike to somewhere that's both bike-friendly and nice.
I'm sorry, but Vegas and Ana-slime fail on both counts. Maybe somewhere like
Boulder, or the SF Bay area... Anyway, have some races to generate excitement,
but more importantly, organized rides that anyone can join, led by industry
folks and famous riders. Who wouldn't love to ride through Sonoma or the
Rockies with Lance Armstrong or Greg Lemond?

Events like RAGBRAI and Sea Otter (very different) exist already.
I bet organized bike centuries are more common than motorcycle rallies.

In this area, the motorcycles have more events, but the bikes get
better publicity...and we have a couple of fairly large events that
get some news coverage and even corporate backing. The problem I see
is that our potential big opportunities are point-to-distant-point
runs with no good place to stage a public expo for *this* city's
market; the MS150 (for instance) starts in Houston and ends well up
the road from it; I don't know if there's a finish-line shindig or
not, but there's no mention made of one here, and the start is very
early in the morning; that's not conducive to getting Fred and Ethel
to haul the family over to check out the scene.

I just don't see what would be gained by superimposing the trade show
on a bike rally. I'm sorry to guess that the Taiwanese manufacturers
who are there to take orders for 50,000 aluminum stems probably
wouldn't be interested in the rides.

I agree. Which is why your suggestion below is a good one.

Maybe higher industry involvement
in bike-culture-events would be good (why I mentioned expos at
major cycling events) but that is separate from Interbike.

When you organize a big convention, a primary concern is the
availability and cost of a big exhibition space and lots of hotel
rooms. I bet this is one reason it's in Vegas. Costs in Boulder
or SF are very high. (BTW, I don't want to give the impression
I know anything special about Interbike, never been near it.)

Biking is an outdoor activity; convention-hall shows may not be the
best venue to get the public's interest. If a century could be
organized as the anchor event that began in or near this city and
ended in a local publicly accessible outdoor location with exhibit
space (I can think of a very affordable one that would be suitable),
I'd bet that it would not be hard to get both media publicity and
local shop vendors involved to make it into something that could fill
a full day or even perhaps a weekend. It wouldn't hurt to have some
Major Name Brand racers participating, but aside from Lance Armstrong,
who among the public would recognize them? It might be possible to
borrow a concept from some of the foot races that have become
significant events, which have a marathon for the pros, and several
shorter races for the wannabes and tyros, so that just about anyone
can get involved if they want to. (I would *not* recommend allowing
walk-up entries for most real bike races, however; that's an easy way
to end up with a bunch of crashes.)

--
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Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

Just halfway through day 3 you're seeing the walking dead everywhere. Maybe
the problem got worse 10 years or so ago when they banned smoking? No more
contact-high from all the nicotine in the air!

Banned smoking? It's Vegas, baby! People smoke everywhere.
Last year, the guys in the booth next to our Heron booth
chain-smoked the whole show!

Todd Kuzma
Heron Bicycles
Tullio's Big Dog Cyclery
LaSalle, Il 815-223-1776
http://www.heronbicycles.com
http://www.tullios.com

"meb" wrote in message
...
He was Nevada's Senator and the Senate's leading proponet of aviation
legislation.

Yes, real non-cartoon people are complex, and seldom all good or all evil.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971