London Cycle Show
musto_skiff
Posts: 394
What a dissapointment.
Been to the show today ... lots of nice bikes on show but hardly any retailing.
I was hoping to leave with bags full of gear but there was just one stand selling clothes.
The presentation by the guy on bike fit and the Spec. BG system we quite good; probably the best bit.
Been to the show today ... lots of nice bikes on show but hardly any retailing.
I was hoping to leave with bags full of gear but there was just one stand selling clothes.
The presentation by the guy on bike fit and the Spec. BG system we quite good; probably the best bit.
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Yet another year where it wasn't advertised as a retail show, and yet people are disappointed to find it isn't a retail show.0
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Hope it'll be better tomorrow. Going through early. Was hoping to see/ enjoy some displays.Embrace cynicism…. see the bigger picture!!!!0
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Friend of mine went today and made a similar comment regarding the retailing.....he tried on a helmet that he really liked but couldn't buy it. The guy on the stand said that they had to specifically sign terms that they would not sell anything at the show.
I am going to go anyway myself tomorrow.0 -
That is definate BUMMER.
It should be made clear on the promotionals/ site etc. that there is no or very limited retail available.
If this was clear before hand, I'd not have bought a ticket or my train ticket. I was hoping to grab some "show specials".
Maybe this is something you're all used to, but being new to UK, I can absolutely say that I've never been to an expo/ show before that didn't have loads of goodies.
I had no idea shows/ expo's come in retail or non-retail versions.
Sounds like my mates & I may have wasted a lot of good loot.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.Embrace cynicism…. see the bigger picture!!!!0 -
It wasn't just the lack of retail.
There was no celebration of our Olympic success; no promotion of 2012 and what it can do for cycling in the UK.
Lots of nice bikes to look at but that only interests me so far ...
The talk was by Andy Pruitt and I spoke with him after on the Sec. stand
http://www.cycleshow.co.uk/page.cfm/link=256
Best bit IMHO0 -
I enjoyed it, but I have been to the last three or four so knew what to expect. Met a few people and drooled over lots of bikes. Tried some clothes ion for size and got some ideas.
Thoroughly worth the visit0 -
Having just checked the exhibitor list it seems that Condor Cycles are the only people listed as a retailer (they seem to have two stands)
http://www.cycleshow.co.uk/page.cfm/Act ... Section=280 -
Stands at the show are not allowed to sell at the show, that's the rules apparently.
Having said that, there was the odd stand that was selling. Torq were selling their drinks and gels and stuff on their stand as was a small book stand selling hardbacks. But the more prominent outfits were not selling. And let's face it, Condor has plenty of big names - with even bigger prices - in their retail unit. Endura, Castelli, Rapha, Nalini, and a few other names were available to buy.
Quite the exception was Fondriest, selling complete bikes. They had all their latest frames made up with new kit and were selling them off. This was cheaper or so I was told, than taking them back to Italy. And they were discounted heavily! One of the models was with new 09' Chorus 11 speed and going for £1900. The frame on its own retailed for £1500 so you could get a damn good deal that way.
Shanaze Reid, the BMX girlie from the Olympics, was there yesterday and Mark Manning was walking around with his gold medal around his neck. A couple of other BMX 'stars' were also there, I wouldn't know cos I am a strict roadie, but anyway ...
Nice to see the Colnago EPS and the Cervelo S3 on the Sigma Stand, and the Assos stand was good to see too. The Continental stand had German girlies giving out stuff (oh yes please lol) and the Condor stand had some nice bikes to look at. Cannondale's 'stealth' bike was er different, and has a great chat with some guy from Independent on Mosquito's stand.
Good day for me, very tiring but great stuff ....... not quite as good as last year imo but every year seems to be different ......0 -
Actually I thought it was better than last year for variety of road bikes on show.
Last year seemed to be endless, very samey CF frames but this year there was way more high end steel and Ti, plus the whole fixey thing was much more in evidence.
Basically, it's an opportunity to look at kit and talk to the manufacturers, I got a really good briefing from the campag guys on their new groups (excellent, because I'm about to build up a new frame). Checked out Condor's '09 stuff (some v. pretty paint). Enjoyed having a chat with the enigma guys and the crayshy dutsch guysh at van nic.0 -
Mark Manning ?? Do you mean Paul Manning ? Poor guy - how many medals does he need to get for people to get his name right ? He has three Olympic medals alone.0
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I went today and thought it was pretty good....there were some very nice bikes on display but was disappointed that there weren't more of the component manufacturers there. One stand that had a couple of beautiful bikes was Milani who I have never heard of...only had four bikes...a couple carbon framed and a classic steel framed road bike as well as a steel framed fixie. Unfortunately there website seems to feature none of the retro bikes!
The best value thing I did was pay £10 for 15 mins with this guy http://cliftonbradeley.co.uk/index.php? ... &Itemid=57 who is the Podiatrist on the Sub 4 stand. A couple of hours with him is normally £250. I've been having trouble with my right foot since I got back in the saddle 6 months ago after a few years out and I think he has really helped me already.
I really liked the Condor stand...the paint jobs were very nice and make my 2008 Baracchi I bought from them look very dated. The limited edition fixie they have launched with a Saville Row taylor for £4500 looked bloody nice but so it should! I thought for a small UK based company they put on a great show. But I am biased....
I really want to buy a top notch light for my bike and was hoping there would be someone there with a few lights and hopefully some kind of darkened area so you could get an idea of beam patterns/effectiveness. No such luck....plenty of stands doing an impersonation of a disco though.0 -
i went there today too spend some wonga the retail items were a bit sparse but just seeing pantanis bianchi in all its glory an cheered me and there was a lot of cycling eye candy was dribbling a bit
cheesy quaver0 -
giant mancp wrote:Stands at the show are not allowed to sell at the show, that's the rules apparently.
Having said that, there was the odd stand that was selling. Torq were selling their drinks and gels and stuff on their stand as was a small book stand selling hardbacks. But the more prominent outfits were not selling. And let's face it, Condor has plenty of big names - with even bigger prices - in their retail unit. Endura, Castelli, Rapha, Nalini, and a few other names were available to buy.
Quite the exception was Fondriest, selling complete bikes. They had all their latest frames made up with new kit and were selling them off. This was cheaper or so I was told, than taking them back to Italy. And they were discounted heavily! One of the models was with new 09' Chorus 11 speed and going for £1900. The frame on its own retailed for £1500 so you could get a damn good deal that way.
Shanaze Reid, the BMX girlie from the Olympics, was there yesterday and Mark Manning was walking around with his gold medal around his neck. A couple of other BMX 'stars' were also there, I wouldn't know cos I am a strict roadie, but anyway ...
Nice to see the Colnago EPS and the Cervelo S3 on the Sigma Stand, and the Assos stand was good to see too. The Continental stand had German girlies giving out stuff (oh yes please lol) and the Condor stand had some nice bikes to look at. Cannondale's 'stealth' bike was er different, and has a great chat with some guy from Independent on Mosquito's stand.
Good day for me, very tiring but great stuff ....... not quite as good as last year imo but every year seems to be different ......
What did you think of the EPS?0 -
I am already looking forward to 2009's moany threads about how there's not much to buy at the Cycle Show.0
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I went today....bought a coffee!
...I enjoyed it, Condor display was outstanding, made the big international bike companies look rather bland.
....re; "I can't buy anything there etc".....you can buy it all elsewhere, it's not like its difficult to get hold of cycle gear nowadays, I found it useful to just look and have the chance to think whether it was worth buying....saved me a ton of cash! :P0 -
juggler wrote:giant mancp wrote:Stands at the show are not allowed to sell at the show, that's the rules apparently.
Having said that, there was the odd stand that was selling. Torq were selling their drinks and gels and stuff on their stand as was a small book stand selling hardbacks. But the more prominent outfits were not selling. And let's face it, Condor has plenty of big names - with even bigger prices - in their retail unit. Endura, Castelli, Rapha, Nalini, and a few other names were available to buy.
Quite the exception was Fondriest, selling complete bikes. They had all their latest frames made up with new kit and were selling them off. This was cheaper or so I was told, than taking them back to Italy. And they were discounted heavily! One of the models was with new 09' Chorus 11 speed and going for £1900. The frame on its own retailed for £1500 so you could get a damn good deal that way.
Shanaze Reid, the BMX girlie from the Olympics, was there yesterday and Mark Manning was walking around with his gold medal around his neck. A couple of other BMX 'stars' were also there, I wouldn't know cos I am a strict roadie, but anyway ...
Nice to see the Colnago EPS and the Cervelo S3 on the Sigma Stand, and the Assos stand was good to see too. The Continental stand had German girlies giving out stuff (oh yes please lol) and the Condor stand had some nice bikes to look at. Cannondale's 'stealth' bike was er different, and has a great chat with some guy from Independent on Mosquito's stand.
Good day for me, very tiring but great stuff ....... not quite as good as last year imo but every year seems to be different ......
What did you think of the EPS?
Oh just amazing juggler. Beautiful frame, lovely big chunky headtube and large, although not massive, bb area. Very impressive though was the chunkiness of the chainstays. wow. The finish was fantastic of course. The colour of the one on the stand wasn't great shakes, mostly in white. Can't remember the colour code now. Built up with Super Record 11 and I seemed to recall Lightweights. Shame there wasn't one one in PRZA, cos for me, that's the one! Speaking to the Colnago rep, the Zabel colour is hitting the dealers very soon so I guess now is the time to get one. The Colnago stand wasn't as large as last year, they seemed to have just a little corner, but they were next to Sigma Sport with their Sevens and new model Cervelos, and also very near to Assos, so they were in good company.
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In fairness it is a cycle "show" not a shop. BUT as it is difficult to know sizes and the like and invaribly it is the only place you get all the kit in one place, it would be nice to buy a bit more stuff!
Helmets are a case in point, there are loads of helmets that I like the look of, but won't buy 'cos my head is big (size wise)and unless you try it on....etc etc
The show had plenty to try but not many for sale, which is a shame but hey at least you know what fits and what doesn't I suppose.
I also noticed on cyclingnews that at Vegas the Shimano stand was doing a roaring trade in the heat mouldable shoes whereas in London you struggled to find the shoe itself!
For what it's worth on Thursday I spoke to Magnus Backsted, Barry Hoban, Malcolm Elliot & Andy Pruitt (Who gave me free advice on hotfoot) so I was quite happy.
It's funny though because my wife came this year and said "I was expecting it to be much bigger." Funny how perceptions differ, cyclists say wow it's bigger this year and a non cyclist says is this it!0 -
Although I generally enjoyed my visit, add me to the list of slightly disgruntled attendees. While this was my first bike show, I've been to many exhibitions and shows over the years where 'show offers' and general promotions abounded. Exhibition stands normally haven't got the space to stock loads of items but there is usually something they have to promote their products or brand image. The previous owner of my house fitted the kitchen and bathroom out with half price stuff from the Ideal Homes Exhibition.
I wasn't expecting a market, far from it, but the near complete lack of anything to buy from the list of things I had to look at was a bit of a shock, especially as so many of the stands were retailers (Wiggle et al). I did at least manage to try on a Foska jacket so come winning the lottery I know what size to order. This was the one item I could order via the stand but not at any discount.
I did see a show offer for a 7000 gps at the Memory Map stand but this seemed to have disappeared by mid afternoon.
There will be at least one disappointed small boy - a family next to me on the train were also going to the show and were promising to buy him a bike there if there was something suitable.
Still pleased I went but next year it will take something more to get me there and make up for six hours travelling time.
John0 -
Absolutely. Ususally enough specials to compensate for travel & entry cost.I've been to many exhibitions and shows over the years where 'show offers' and general promotions abounded.
Absolutely.next year it will take something more to get me there and make up for six hours travelling time.
Afraid, other than getting to see some awesome kit, most of which I'd never afford anyway, I didn't get much out of this show. And yes, I do understand the difference between "show & faire", but this was disappointing. No more gained than what I can through mags & web.Embrace cynicism…. see the bigger picture!!!!0 -
Did Condor have a 2009 version of the Baracchi on display?0
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"Been to the show today ... lots of nice bikes on show but hardly any retailing. "
Weel that was my thoughts entirely , I suspect that the real reason was the cost of the stand , smaller outlets probably couldn't afford to pay the price of the stand. And well if they couldn't sell anyway whats the point. I tried to buy a Chain Degreaser, only to be told it wasnt for sale. To make this hsow work thats what is needed.0 -
Russell Smith wrote:And well if they couldn't sell anyway whats the point. I tried to buy a Chain Degreaser, only to be told it wasnt for sale. To make this hsow work thats what is needed.
The bulk of the interest at the show is the new 2009 kit.
It's not 2009 yet.0 -
I thought it was great. I like the fact it's not retail and is about showing next years kit. Found out lots of useful info from importers/dealers and got to try out a few new things. If I wanted retail bargains I'd go online.0
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I really enjoyed it. My wife was upset that she couldn't buy anything, but I considered it something of a blessing!
My highlights were:-
Seeing the Enigma Elite in the flesh/steel - what a fantastic looking bike. The attention to detail, quality of the welds and paintwork made this my favourite bike of the show. Stunning.
Seeing the Continental Tyre Girl - what a fantastic looking tyre girl. The attention to detail, quality of manufacture and bodywork made this my favourite stand dolly of the show.
Speaking to Jim Rees - what a bloke!
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Nuggs wrote:I really enjoyed it. My wife was upset that she couldn't buy anything, but I considered it something of a blessing!
My highlights were:-
Seeing the Enigma Elite in the flesh/steel - what a fantastic looking bike. The attention to detail, quality of the welds and paintwork made this my favourite bike of the show. Stunning.
Seeing the Continental Tyre Girl - what a fantastic looking tyre girl. The attention to detail, quality of manufacture and bodywork made this my favourite stand dolly of the show.
Speaking to Jim Rees - what a bloke!
Yes the Continental tyre girls were lovely weren't they. The lack of skirt on one of the girls was particularly impressive! 0 -
Nuggs wrote:I really enjoyed it. My wife was upset that she couldn't buy anything, but I considered it something of a blessing!
My highlights were:-
Seeing the Enigma Elite in the flesh/steel - what a fantastic looking bike. The attention to detail, quality of the welds and paintwork made this my favourite bike of the show. Stunning.
Seeing the Continental Tyre Girl - what a fantastic looking tyre girl. The attention to detail, quality of manufacture and bodywork made this my favourite stand dolly of the show.
Speaking to Jim Rees - what a bloke!
The Continental tyre girl was a highlight for me too, she was stunning! Wanted to get a picture but didn't want to look like I was "Pesting" her!0 -
NWLondoner wrote:Did Condor have a 2009 version of the Baracchi on display?
Yes...it's a completely different frame with a "flattened" down tube. It also comes in a RL (for relaxed) geometry as well as standard as does one other bike in the Condor line up....can't remember which though.0 -
My only other experience of a sports show is the Dinghy Exhibition at Ally Pally and The Boat Show at Excel.
At the Dinghy show there is a huge amount of retailing along side the trade stands.
It all seems to work together.
My LBS carries very little stock and as much as I like to support them they usually don't have what I want and have to buy on line ... then if the size is wrong I have to send it back etc etc ... I thought at a big show I'd have the chance to try on a few items then purchase.
I think they need to communicate what visitors and expect ... it felt more like a trade show than a consumer show.0 -
What was the one they used to have at Olympia and then the NEC ? That definitely had more retail stalls ? As did the one they used to have in Harrogate.0
