2014 Bike Show

Simmsy77

hi guys

thinking of heading down to the London Bike Show at the Excel tomorrow, did anyone go today or been in previous years and would you recommend it ?


thanks

sloppyschleckonds

I go to the Bristol show every year, highly recommended.

alex222

I went on Thursday. I found myself a nice Pactimo soft shell to buy which meant the event was worthwhile for me, as wouldn't have found the brand otherwise. Overall it's okay but wouldn't go massively out my way to visit

redscouse

went along yesterday afternoon..plenty to see..had a test ride of couple of canyons...there was 1 rose bike to test...also fondriest scott and aprire..canyon woof

antsmithmk

Enjoyable day out today, think I've changed my mind on Canyon. The top end SL is a better bike than the bottom of the range DI2 SLX... And the cosmic carbones are awesome

Ben6899

I'll be there tomorrow. Crit race at 2pm.

kentphil

Went today. Was good, but just like a massive bike shop. Would be really good if you were looking for a bike to buy.

snowley

I think it would be really good if your looking to buy a bike or your local, I think they seem to miss out on other bike related gear though....

Ben6899

Went yesterday. Glad I didn't pay because I thought it was a bit of a let down.

And I expected more from the crit race, but the corners were too tight and this led to it being a series of sprint intervals. Erdinger Alkoholfrei is good though!

slowbike

went on saturday - bit disappointed ...

The day didn't start well with the train taking 2 hours instead of 1 to get into London ... it would've been quicker to drive!
Into ExCel - ok - instead of the 3 shows spanning 2 halls as I'd expected, they were just in the one ... crowds of ppl queuing up for tickets - ok we just walked past that queue and went in with our pre-printed tickets so that's a plus ...

It was a bit crowded and a distinct lack of opportunity to try things like clothes on ... very few shoes and no locks that we found ...
We did see a potential for "her" N+1 ... and I did get my sitbones measured (I've got the right sized saddles so that's ok then!)
Other than that - the only thing we bought was a coffee and whilst the Clif Shot Bloks we tried were ok - you can get normal jelly cubes that nearly match the nutrition levels for a fraction of the cost.

Didn't get to stay for the crit racing as we'd been round the show and didn't want to hang around for hours plus we had to get back for another commitment ... it's just as well we left as the trains back home were disrupted too ... really we should've driven!!

redscouse

was dissapointed with lack of bikes at the test track...canyon and fondriest and scott were there..but no boardman, planet x, ribble, cannondale, beacon fell...bit funny when you think that planet x beacon fell and ribble ony have retail in the north, ideal time for people to try there bikes and get a feel for size... tried the canyon and Large fits me well

redvee

Ben6899 wrote:

Erdinger Alkoholfrei is good though!

I had two pints to make sure

Ben6899

redvee wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Erdinger Alkoholfrei is good though!

I had two pints to make sure

I had three.

arran77

Slowbike wrote:

The day didn't start well with the train taking 2 hours instead of 1 to get into London ... it would've been quicker to drive!

Don't know about that, we went on Saturday as well, the last mile into the car park at Excel probably took about an hour :roll:

It was worth it though.....not.......won't be going again, not a great deal to see and feck all to buy!!

The best thing there was the stand that had the Defender camper vans 8)

Laineyskins

redscouse wrote:

was dissapointed with lack of bikes at the test track...canyon and fondriest and scott were there..but no boardman, planet x, ribble, cannondale, beacon fell...bit funny when you think that planet x beacon fell and ribble ony have retail in the north, ideal time for people to try there bikes and get a feel for size... tried the canyon and Large fits me well

I agree entirely... I'm looking to upgrade my Giant FCR for something a little lighter and more sporty, and was quite excited about the prospect of at least standing over a Ribble or Rose. Ribble didn't have any bikes in a 'small', Rose (and others) weren't displaying any of their female specific road bikes. I came away feeling pretty let down - OK, so my LBS only stock the usual suspects (Giant and Cube), but at least I feel valued as a client - the 'internet retailers' clearly didn't need my business.

As for going by train... we took the car and ended up queuing in traffic for what seemed like an eternity. At least there are loos on the train :oops:

Big_Ring_Rider

Being in the bike industry I was working at the show as trade, and am glad I didn't have to pay to walk round what was just a showroom... Outdoor show looked good though, especially the Defender! And the pie I sampled

Anonymous

Ben6899 wrote:

Erdinger Alkoholfrei is good though!

Apart from not actually being alcohol free :shock:
When I am drinking alcohol again I will try it to see if its nicer than Bravaria 0.0% wheat beer.

Ben6899

Carbonator wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Erdinger Alkoholfrei is good though!

Apart from not actually being alcohol free :shock:

Was!?

The WeiBbier is 0.5% alcohol, but I thought this incarnation (i.e. not WeiBbier) is completely alcohol free?

ddraver

Ben6899 wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Erdinger Alkoholfrei is good though!

Apart from not actually being alcohol free :shock:

Was!?

The WeiBbier is 0.5% alcohol, but I thought this incarnation (i.e. not WeiBbier) is completely alcohol free?

I can vouch for it's quality - I confess i was handed it after an MTB race in Germany and I did nt realise it was Alkohofrei until someone pointed it out...

Gunnsie

I went on Sunday. Took over 2 hours to drive there from 35 miles away due to lack of traffic control buy ExCel.
Astanomical Parking Fees
Enjoyed looking at the bikes and seeing lots of top end ones that I'd never be able to afford (loved the Cannondale Black Nano).
Was diappointed with the lack of tands that sold parts and accessories.
Only thing I bought was a CO2 pump for a tenner.

Apparently TriUK (the company that were showing the majority of the bikes (Giant, Cannondale, Olympia, etc etc)) had their two vans stolen at the end of the show with over £250,000 worth of very rare, limited edition bikes in..... they are offering up to £100,000 reward for any information that results in them recovering all of the missing stock. So keep an eye out on eBay, Gumtree etc.

Chris

Anonymous

Gunnsie wrote:

I went on Sunday. Took over 2 hours to drive there from 35 miles away due to lack of traffic control buy ExCel.
Astanomical Parking Fees
Enjoyed looking at the bikes and seeing lots of top end ones that I'd never be able to afford (loved the Cannondale Black Nano).
Was diappointed with the lack of tands that sold parts and accessories.
Only thing I bought was a CO2 pump for a tenner.


Chris

You could of just ordered a Cannondale Nano into your local Evans for £50.
Parked for free probably,
Took the bike out for a test ride,
Looked at the other bikes,
They sell quite a few parts and loads of accessories as well as a Co2 pump to buy...........
....... and you would have got your £50 back ;-)

ugo.santalucia

Gunnsie wrote:

I went on Sunday. Took over 2 hours to drive there from 35 miles away due to lack of traffic control buy ExCel.
Astanomical Parking Fees
Enjoyed looking at the bikes and seeing lots of top end ones that I'd never be able to afford (loved the Cannondale Black Nano).
Was diappointed with the lack of tands that sold parts and accessories.
Only thing I bought was a CO2 pump for a tenner.

Apparently TriUK (the company that were showing the majority of the bikes (Giant, Cannondale, Olympia, etc etc)) had their two vans stolen at the end of the show with over £250,000 worth of very rare, limited edition bikes in..... they are offering up to £100,000 reward for any information that results in them recovering all of the missing stock. So keep an eye out on eBay, Gumtree etc.

Chris

This event has always been a bit of a letdown and a waste of money... I went in 2010 when it was held at Earls court and it was exactly the same as you describe, except at least it was in an area one might actually want to spend the day, rather in a swamp.
I didn't buy anything because there was nothing to buy and I got a Continental cap as a freebie... hooray...
Never bothered since...

ddraver

Well I actually got off the tube at Earls Court and walked out to the centre before starting to think "it looks really quiet here..." Easy to mix up Earls Court and Exel :oops:

Does nt sound like I missed much though...

ugo.santalucia

ddraver wrote:

Does nt sound like I missed much though...

The problem is that they do their best to make these events un-cool... I bet in Gent they would organise it inside the Velodrome, with bikes you can test on the track... and you would be able to have a chat with Freddy Maertens and Pete Van Petegem while I remember there was a ludicrous testing area in Earls Court... kind of a 10 metres long indoor circuit. Merckx, Cipollini and co. only made an apperance for the trade day before the official opening... all very disappointing of course.
The cool stands, those of artisans, were few and looked completely out of place in the sea of look-alike carbon bikes that really needed not be there as they are already over-featured in all magazines and boutique shops... by the time I had tried all the variety of energy bars I was ready to go home

fat_cat

Went on Saturday, and as others have said thought it was a bit disappointing.

Think I would only go again if I was looking for a new bike, as plenty of choice from this perspective, but not much to chose from in terms of Accessories / Components / Clothing.

giant_man

most of the bike shows in this country are a bit $hit tbh, the only decent one is the Bespoked one every spring imo

FransJacques

I was working at my buddy's fitting stall and it was not extremely busy so I think several people share your views.

The busiest time of the weekend was 11am - 1pm Satuday. Between 4 - 6pm Saturday you could've fired a cannonball down the main isle and only hit the Cliff stand. Sunday was ok but not stellar.

The new Beacon bikes had beautiful paintwork, but the frames are all open source so looked like anything else under the lovely paint.

USE has a great new carbon seatpost coming out.

That was about it for highlights for me.

RoboRider21

FransJacques wrote:

I was working at my buddy's fitting stall and it was not extremely busy so I think several people share your views.

The busiest time of the weekend was 11am - 1pm Satuday. Between 4 - 6pm Saturday you could've fired a cannonball down the main isle and only hit the Cliff stand. Sunday was ok but not stellar.

The new Beacon bikes had beautiful paintwork, but the frames are all open source so looked like anything else under the lovely paint.

USE has a great new carbon seatpost coming out.

That was about it for highlights for me.

I went on the Friday and it was very quiet.

Was hoping to see more bikes than were on display.
I was interested in the Beacon Bikes when I came upon their stand as they looked like something different at 1st glance. Then I started talking to them and it became obvious they were just putting paint & decals on cheap to produce off the shelf open mould far eastern frames.

I left considering Canyon and Rose until another thread highlighted the waiting list. They offer great VFM but I aint waiting that long (UP TO 6 MONTHS) for my bike.

The search continues :-(

johngti

FransJacques wrote:

I was working at my buddy's fitting stall and it was not extremely busy so I think several people share your views.

The busiest time of the weekend was 11am - 1pm Satuday. Between 4 - 6pm Saturday you could've fired a cannonball down the main isle and only hit the Cliff stand. Sunday was ok but not stellar.

The new Beacon bikes had beautiful paintwork, but the frames are all open source so looked like anything else under the lovely paint.

USE has a great new carbon seatpost coming out.

That was about it for highlights for me.

Which stall? Just out of interest

string78

RoboRider21 wrote:

FransJacques wrote:

I was working at my buddy's fitting stall and it was not extremely busy so I think several people share your views.

The busiest time of the weekend was 11am - 1pm Satuday. Between 4 - 6pm Saturday you could've fired a cannonball down the main isle and only hit the Cliff stand. Sunday was ok but not stellar.

The new Beacon bikes had beautiful paintwork, but the frames are all open source so looked like anything else under the lovely paint.

USE has a great new carbon seatpost coming out.

That was about it for highlights for me.

I went on the Friday and it was very quiet.

Was hoping to see more bikes than were on display.
I was interested in the Beacon Bikes when I came upon their stand as they looked like something different at 1st glance. Then I started talking to them and it became obvious they were just putting paint & decals on cheap to produce off the shelf open mould far eastern frames.

I left considering Canyon and Rose until another thread highlighted the waiting list. They offer great VFM but I aint waiting that long (UP TO 6 MONTHS) for my bike.

The search continues :-(

Took delivery of my Rose Xeon CRS 3000 today and couldn't be more pleased. Communication with Rose was excellent and has taken 16 days from placing the order to being delivered.

RoboRider21

16 days!!

I may have to have another look :-)