It’s that time of the year. Time to break out the comfy walking shoes and the sparkly dancing shoes. Time to prepare for the neon-soaked, glitz-infested streets of Las Vegas. Time to brace oneself for the extreme sensory overload that is Interbike.
UtilityCycling.org will be attending Interbike, which is North America’s largest bicycle trade show, with the Wandertec Organization. (And if you are curious what the item is in the header photo, you can learn more here.)
My main goal at Interbike is to be on the lookout for new products that are focused around the practice of utility cycling. Word on the street is that transportation bikes are new the craze from large bicycle manufacturers such as Specialized, Trek, and others. Just in browsing through their selections online, I am pretty confident that the new transportation bikes that these larger manufacturers are rolling out are a huge improvement from the bikes that were available before. I’ve worked at a handful of bike shops over the last 7 years, and I always felt sheepish showing someone who wanted a bike for commuting the mountain bikes and hybrids, which were just about the only thing available from many companies for someone who wanted a commuting focused bike. It’s nice to see bikes coming out that are made with transportation – and not just recreation or sport – in mind.
And of course, there are going to be a lot of companies at Interbike that have always been dedicated to transportation and utility cycling.
There are also a lot of new electric bike companies that are going to be at Interbike this year. And though I am personally less inclined to the electric bike, I think they could be hugely successful in getting more people out of their cars, especially people who are not confident, fit, or healthy enough to completely embrace cycling without a little assist.
Fashion is always an important part of Interbike, as well, and this year is no different. Momentum Magazine will be hosting a the Urban Legend and Fashion Art show to celebrate urban culture and style.
And there are all of the new products, faces, and events that I have yet to discover waiting in Las Vegas, as well!
However, it sounds like a lot of companies will be missing Interbike this year, as they can’t justify the costs or the return on their investment for attending the trade show. It’s hard to say whether this will be a bad thing or not, as it might just be a result of the changing dynamics of the bike industry coupled with the changing dynamics of and attitudes toward cycling in general. Or maybe that whole recession bit…
But anyways, the important thing is that UtilityCycling.org will be documenting as much of the transportation, cargo, utility, etc. bikes, accessories, and even fashion products, as possible at Interbike this year. And of course, we will posting it all up here, so check back often for updates from the show. And if you will be there also, shoot me a line via the contact page or at melanie at utilitycycling dot com. It’s always great to put faces to the blogger-personalities we all strut…er…type around with!