LasInterVegasBike 2009, Part 1
Another Interbike has come and gone and we are back in NYC, slowly getting our bearings (and getting back on bicycles! Good grief Las Vegas – could it be any more difficult to get around your “city” !?)
We have to say the mood at the show was a bit more subdued than in years past. Not only was there more free real estate around the perimeter, the general vibe seemed to be… cautious. Last year at numerous booths there were all types of staged events, with emcees announcing prizes, contests and raffles. This year…… not so much. With the exception of some post-lunch free beer at a few vendors, and the perennial Eddy Merckx million-autographs-in-an-hour session, the show has certainly lost some of its excitement. This is to be expected, since retailers don’t have much to be celebrating in 2009. It’s our sense that the show has now primarily become an opportunity to meet old and new friends – basically old-fashioned, Dale Carnegie, analog networking. Still necessary, if not as much fun as before.
Having said that, we did relish the opportunity to check out the Dirt Demo for Days 1 and 2. Andrew liked the Scott 29er hardtail and the Pivot Mach 429. Brett the roadie picked offerings from BH as well as a Parlee Z5. In fact, Brett rode these bikes so hard he entered a state heretofore known as “Double-Cracked”. We’re pretty sure he still hasn’t recovered.
Day 3 was the start of roaming the show floor. We proudly sported our new Velo shop caps, and Mike even made some shirts just for the show. We started bumping into people as soon as we entered the Venetian – Chris McNally, Scott Nicol, Bart Kyzar from Mission Workshop, Corey from Kona, Marty from Geekhouse, Tyler and Gary from IF, the ubiquitous Embrocation crew, Mike 2, Tyson from Civilian, and Abe and Tyler from Outlier. </namedrop>
As for vendors, a lot of the usual suspects were there – Shimano, Campy, Mavic, Sidi, Park Tool, Phil Wood, and Chrome – but a lot of names were NOT there – Cervelo, Giant, Felt (they had something going on outside the show), and Independent Fabrication were a few of the more obvious ones.
We did see a lot of great stuff however, some of which will end up in the shop for sure – great tools and pumps by Lezyne, the killer new expandable bags from Mission Workshop, stylish swrve apparel, new complete road bikes from Civia and Surly, and new DeFeet wool socks.
Wednesday evening was when the excitement really started.
Part 2 to follow…