Aug
9
Bikes at the Outdoor Retailer Show
By Rich Kelly, Filed Under Exhibitor News, Gear, Industry News, Interbike, Photos
I’m here in Salt Lake City working one of Interbike’s sister shows, Outdoor Retailer. OR is bigger in physical size than Interbike (about 20%) and about the same percentage less in people. It’s a huge show that fills every - and I mean every - nook and cranny of the Salt Palace Convention Center. The show’s gotten so big that we’ve had to expand across the street into the Energy Solutions Arena where the Utah Jazz pro basketball team plays.
Filling all this space along with all the climbing, hiking, kayaking, camping, trail running, canoeing retailers and manufacturers are a lot of bikes. Not surprisingly, many of these outdoor industry people are bikers themselves so having a bike category in their line of products is logical. Here are a few of the bikes and bike-related sights that I’ve seen since the show opened yesterday.
First up is the scene outside the show. Clif Bar had their bio-diesel bus out front with a bunch of bikes lined up.
I’ve been wanting to check out Gramicci since they recently announced that they were going to release a line of urban-friendly bike wear. This morning I stopped by their booth to see what they had planned. They are an established outdoor industry brand founded in Southern California and are known for garment died worn and weathered look. “Live free, love nature, Never the Norm” is a line from the catalog I picked up. Their bike line fits right in with casual styles that don’t hint at their bike functionality. They’ve incorporated some high-tech materials to enhance the function, but have focused on making sure they don’t feel synthetic. Nice looking.
Gramicci had 3 bikes on display that were decorated by artists that they were auctioning off for a non-profit group. They also had a helmet to go along with each.
A few pieces from their “Urban Rider” line. The t-shirt is a cotton-poly mix for super soft touch but has some wicking ability. The chamois inserts are removable so you don’t need to walk around all day in it once you’re off the bike:
And for the ladies:
Here’s a performance cycling example from the show floor in the Timex booth. Speaking of performance, I was introduced to two guys from Training Peaks Software. They write the software for Timex’s training gear and their programs are used by pros including George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer among others.
A Surly in the Pacific Outdoor Equipment booth. Stopped to chat with Greg from POE and he filled me in on the company’s gear and ethos. Their welded fabric technology really makes their packs, bags and panniers unique and sleek looking. When I asked if they were planning to be at Interbike this year, he said that a lot of people here at the OR show have been telling him that they need to be there. I agree.
At the Smartwool booth they had a bunch of bike wheels decorating their booth with this cool coaster from New Belgium Brewing Co. inserted in the spokes:
And this is Krista from the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective. They are handling the bike parking for the show this year. I met her at the OR Industry party last night where the band Rusted Root played. She said that she will be heading out to Interbike this year for the first time. Make sure to welcome her if you run into her in Vegas!
You can follow the news of the show at the online version of the OR Show Daily.
Comments
4 Responses to “Bikes at the Outdoor Retailer Show”
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Thanks so much for the Gramicci coverage, Rich!
I have been very interested in seeing and hearing more about their urban line of clothing.
I appreciate your efforts to share cutting edge product and company news with your readers. Were you able to confirm if they would be at Interbike?
Thanks,
binny bin
Rich,
SmartWool is building an entire line of cycling apparel for S09. The coolest piece is a wool lined cycling short! QBP will have the SmartWool line on display in their booth as they are now distributing the product to the IBD’s.
I’d be remiss in my communications role at the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) if I did not point point out that we were at Outdoor Retailer for the second consecutive year.
Our main message to the OR crowd is that mountain biking is one of the most popular activities for enticing people into outdoor sports (as documented by the Outdoor Industry Association’s participation studies), and it’s especially popular with young people.
IMBA represents the interests of 700 affiliated mountain bike clubs and patrols worldwide. We enjoy robust support from the bike industry, and growing support from companies in the outdoor industry that attend OR. Check us out at http://www.imba.com
Thanks Rich!!
POE really appreciates your coverage of our new line of panniers. These days it seems everyone is commuting to the office here in Bozeman, and after years of R&D and strong demand from our Euro distributors we decided it was about time to finalize the welded bags we had been working on for years. Altogether, they are easy to use and work in all conditions for everybody.
Watch for the entire set of 18 pieces on bikes in 2009.
Looking forward to Interbike,
Aaron
“good gear = less waste”