The first Southeast Bike Expo was, without a doubt, a HUGE success! With over 60 vendor booths, including top bicycle companies Niner, Trek, Scott, Jamis, Yeti, Blue Competition Cycles, Orbea, Specialized and Felt all showcasing their latest designs, there was much to see and do. Crowds passing by the beaming faces of local frame builders, Nate Zukas and Seth Snyder were drawn to the clean lines of their frames as well as their enthusiasm for the sport and lifestyle of cycling. The popular Bike Swap, held by Cycle Youth Devo Team, was a favorite amongst new and veteran cyclists, alike.
Full demo fleets could be seen through the gathering crowd of star-eyed cyclists. A 5 mile mountain bike course was marked out on the Georgia International Horse Park Olympic trail system (home of the first Olympic mountain bike race) for xc enthusiasts to demo their choice of bikes. And demo they did! Each bike tent kept the pedaling machines cycling through and hundreds of happy riders were seen buzzing to and from the singletrack. Niner rep, Mike Stanley, estimated 80+ demos of Niner bikes on Saturday alone, setting a new personal record. Animated discussions of geometry, suspension, components, and directions to the closest local bike shop, where said set-up could be purchased, added to the excitement of the weekend.
The mental bike builds were almost visible in the air as all eyes perused the likes of SRAM, Thomson, Stans NoTubes, Industry Nine, Formula, Shimano and more. Mountain Bikers are serious about our tires and a great selection was provided by long time cycling advocate Jim Wannamaker at Vee Rubber. Jim has brought his knowledge and experience to Vee Rubber and designed a full line of performance tires that proves how long this man has been in the business. The theory behind the tread placement is simple, strategically placed lower profile outer knobs to corner with the most efficiency possible. Tire selections were made and shops names taken.
ProGold lubricants was on hand to pass out samples and information on their lube and bike care products. Bruce Dickman has surprisingly good aim and was seen on more than one occasion ‘beaning’ a cycling friend with a sample of lube as they passed by. Points were scored. The ProGold truck landed right beside the Red Bull traveling deejay truck, which provided the thumpin' background music for both days of fun and games.
Bike packing has become a popular way to ditch the day to day doldrums and get outside for more than just an afternoon and Osprey was there to help answer any questions about their variety of packs for rides varying from an hour to weeks on the bike. And who likes to ride at night? Everybody! So, Night Rider and Lumintrek had demo lights available for testing on the course Saturday night.
Other vendors covered nutrition, clothing, helmets, and Yakima
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Stans NoTubes held a clinic each day at 2pm for a gathering crowd of tubeless enthusiasts. Proper taping and tire mounting was shown and questions answered.
This was an exciting weekend filled with raffles and more gear information than you could gather from a hundred magazines! How fortunate are we that Mike Stanley and Brian Molloy had a brain storm and brought us this amazing event?! Thanks guys!
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