Next week, J.R. and I are heading to Las Vegas to partake in the annual bike industry pilgrimage that is Interbike. It’s been many years (five I think) since I last made the trip, so I thought it was long overdue.
I’ve been to Interbike many times in the past. I worked booths as a customer service/sales guy for Chris King Components, as the marketing guy at Old Man Mountain pannier racks, and most recently as an independent PR/marketing consultant (the job I ditched to do this blog full time).
I’ll have four full days at the show (one at the Outdoor Demo) and I’m not sure what type of stories and photos I’ll come back with. I’ll try to cover a wide range of stuff, but here are some categories I’ll focus on:
- Portland people represent! I’ll find as many Portlanders as I can and share what they’re up to.
- Celebrity sightings: Why not!?
- E-bikes: 2011 is likely to be a big year for all types of bikelectrification.
- Family biking: How are U.S. vendors dealing with our silly regulations, over-bearing safety culture, and so on.
- Fashion: Momentum is doing there big fashion show, so I’ll be there to see what’s hot in cycle chic.
- Cargo bikes: Longtails, box bikes, and more.
- The commuter/urban riding renaissance: Who’s making what for urban riders.
- Advocacy: What is the industry doing to help make bicycling a more respected part of America’s transportation system?
- Racing machines: My camera (and heart) can’t resist the sexy, lightweight, high-performance side of bicycling
- Random: The weird, cool, and strange people and stuff you find in the back aisles.
We’ll be in Vegas from Tuesday to Friday. For those of you who aren’t into Interbike-related coverage, don’t fret. I’ve got regular, Portland bike news stories lined up as well.
If you have particular products or trends you’d like me to report about, let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading.
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Please find out everything you can about anyone who designs women’s clothing for the urban bike commuter that is both functional while on the road (comfortable, safe, waterproof, etc.) and stylish for the workplace. Bonus points if you can find anyone dealing with footwear.
Sounds like fun. Keep your eyes open for the new Shimano Alfine 11-speed internal gear hub and tell us about it.
Pix of as many booth girls as possible, please. Thank you. It’s gonna be tough, sweaty, hard work. But, hey, dat’s why we pay ya da big bucks, right?
You won’t have any problem finding Big Wave Dave! AKA Mr Bianchi
E-bikes are interesting. But you might want to read Chris White’s take on e-bikes at Eurobike this year and compare what you see at Interbike:
http://creativextreme.com/?p=381
Hopefully there’ll be something better… 🙂
Say thanks to the Mountain Bike Patrol volunteers from the Color Country Cycling Club at the outdoor demo day who have provided medical and mechanical support for riders for about 10 years now. This is probably their last year since it sounds like IBike is moving to Anaheim next year.
All the new lights, and anything new with trailers(like the surly trailer)
@New Biker Grrl
I actually came to tell Jonathan to keep an eye out for Outlier Tailored. I’m guessing they’ll be there–they make awesome waterproof pants that go from bike to office easily (and other things that don’t look like “bike clothes” at all) and they recently started making a lady’s cut.
They’re not cheap, but they’re amazing!
One Ghost Industries and St0p Cycles will be there with a VIP after party in our room as well as walking the show floor with our bikes.
look for us we are bringing a keg of Hopworks DOA!
Thanks for the input everyone. I didn’t list it above, but I’ll definitely have my eye out for how the industry is doing in terms of offering women-specific products.
And thanks for the shout out about Outlier David. They actually sent me a pair of their pants recently and I agree… they’re fantastic.
Come visit Showers Pass clothing at booth #1821!
I’ve been seriously thinking of getting a cargo bike for the wife to haul kids and groceries in…
lately I’ve been thinking about getting one with electric assist…
so any reporting you can do on family cycling would be great… (:
see if you can find an I-Bike app. that would be really cool- you wouldn’t have to own an actual bike, just the app.. you could put yourself in the tour-de-france or on a bakfit in amsterdam…. and not worry about getting doored or right hooked…
Please cover THE ACTUAL SHOW. I really don’t care what you think of Vegas, their lack of bike infrastructure, scary drivers, fake people, cigarette smoke, etc. I am also not interested in lame fashion shows or the “cool” and “cute” Portland people and advocates you spied roaming the halls.
Please show us what’s new on the commuter front. Showcase things that matter to the average rider – practical rides, safety gear, apparel that is functional, components that make riding more accessible to regular folks. Also, make sure these are things we can buy now or very soon. Not quirky entrepreneurs that might have products to distribute in a year. Not prototypes that may never reach mass production. Not builders, God bless ’em, that can get a bike to you in two to four years if you plunk down a hefty deposit today.
Trust me, the racing oriented sites will give us loads of bike celebrities, booth girls, boutique builders, and one-off carbon exotica that costs as much as a car.
Maybe you’ll run into fellow Portlander Mike Lane, who is partnering with Stites Design on a new bike rack. From the distance, it looks like a standard rear rack, but has a fold-up caribeener hook for suspending a load … backpack, computer bag, groceries.
He’s not boothin’, but will be wondering.
Erik and Dan from Portland Design Works are also in attendance, I believe.
Thanks for making the pilgrimage!
I’m with Brad on this one.
Please focus on bikes as practical transportation more than as sporting goods if possible.
I and a co-worker are going, and one thing we want to see is what the industry is doing to accommodate riders at the extreme ends of the sizing ranges. The very small and the very big have the hardest time finding bike-cut clothing that fits without looking absurd.
@beth h #16. Hear hear. Heck, the very small and the very big have the hardest time finding bikes that fit.
Jonathan: I’m looking forward to your reports.
If optibike is there, they have the best, coolest (most expensive) e-bike out there. http://optibike.com/
Are there any arm / leg / motorized bikes or trikes offered? My arm and leg trike was stolen last month. Please let me know. Thank you