by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
London, February 16, 2012: I recently received the below reproduced post show press release from the organizers' press office for the London Bike Show 2012 and I am wondering as to whether they and I have been on the same show. (See my visit report of the day).
85,912 visitors descended on London’s ExCeL Centre from 12th – 15th January 2012 for The London Bike Show, The Outdoors Show, The Active Travel Show and the Tullett Prebon London Boat Show.
The London Bike Show is London’s only show dedicated to cycling, and provided an excellent start to what looks set to be an exciting year for British Cycling. There was lots going on, including fantastic demos from the Animal Bike Tour, highly competitive bike polo action, top riders on the DMR Pump Track and expert training advice and assessment from the Bike Radar Training Hub, as well as some great speakers and hundreds of exhibitors - offering a fantastic, affordable day out suitable for the cycling enthusiast and family audience.
The attendance for The London Bike Show, The Outdoors Show and The Active Travel Show was 31,912 – an increase of 5% on 2011, with visitors to the Tullett Prebon London Boat Show making up the remaining audience. Many of these visitors are enthusiastic cyclists; whilst some were ‘super-keen’, and others will enjoy a bike ride once every so often. It’s this varied audience which appeals to our exhibitors.
Since launching The London Bike Show in 2011, VOS Media have built up good relationships with many of the main distributers in the cycling industry, and a close alliance with Future Publishing and their cycling portfolio. These close relationships have provided the foundation for the show to rapidly develop and to shape an exciting visitor experience.
London Bike Show Manager Geraldine Reeve said: “The industry has embraced VOS Media and The London Bike Show which we’re really pleased about. We’re extremely passionate about cycling and we’re delighted to be creating a very exciting event for the industry. We’ve already started planning for the 2013 London Bike Show and we’re very confident that the show will be bigger and better again. As cycling continues to grow within the UK we’re determined to keep improving the show to underpin the UK’s cycling industry.”
Exhibitors had a great experience at the show, with many rebooking onsite for next year’s event. Here’s what a few of them had to say:
"It is clear that London needs a bike show and ExCeL is proving a great venue able to cope with the many tens of thousands of London Bike Show visitors. Madison is delighted with the success of the event and the fact that more and more brands from the world of cycling are taking space, investing in their presence and really giving the show momentum. For Madison it is our premier consumer event of the year." Dominic Langan, Chief Executive, Madison
"Project One is an exclusive, high end custom bike program that we were keen to relaunch to cycling enthusiasts and The London Bike Show provided a great platform for that. Results were outstanding with a consistent flow of quality leads and excellent exposure of both Trek Fit Services and Project One to a receptive audience." Andrew Griffin, Marketing Manager, Trek
"Busy, and bustling with the right people. Whether you're exhibiting for sales or marketing purposes this is THE bike Show to attend" Dave Taylor, Marketing Manager, Schwalbe
"London needs a big bike show and so it was heartening to come along and see that this relatively new show is already hitting it big with Londoners and even visitors from outside the capital. As a brand, we want maximum exposure from the major events that we attend and we hope that the industry supports these shows as the interest from the public is clearly apparent." Shelley Childs, Brand Manager, Continental Bicycle Tyres UK
"We've been really surprised that people have been asking us proper questions – we've hardly had any tyre kickers and everyone has been genuinely interested in the bikes, and clued up too. It's the best bike show I've been to in the UK for years. The atmosphere is really positive and I am usually very cynical about shows." Dan White, UK Sales Manager, Cube Bikes
“It was fantastic and we were very pleased with the outcome. It was organized, informative and all of the staff were very helpful.” Laura Toll, Strategic Commander, ISM Saddles
“The London Bike Show was a great platform for us to showcase our WD-40 Multi- Use Product and it’s cleaning and protecting benefits to the cycling community. It was a big show with a wide variety of visitors, who were able to wander round all of the halls and see everything that was on offer. The Animal Bike tour was also a big hit, with some great stunts and a real crowd draw.” Amy Long, Brand Manager, WD40
“Ison Distribution had another very successful Bike Show. We launched several new products and got very good interest in them from press, trade and public alike. I don't know the visitor numbers but I was certainly run off my feet for most of Saturday and Sunday with Thursday and Friday continuing to impress with the number of the visitors as well. The combination of the four shows draws a diverse group of people to our stand and improves our exposure in the market place. We did take along possibly the most outrageous bike of the show, the Salsa Mukluk, and managed to make everybody who saw it smile; so the chances are they will remember the bike well after the rest of the show has faded which is a perfect result for us. A great show again and one we'll be returning to next year.” Patrick Joscelyne, Brand Manager, Ison Distribution
The London Bike Show, The Outdoors Show and The Active Travel Show will return to ExCeL London from 17th - 20th January 2013, and will again take place alongside the London Boat Show.
The London Bike show is, that is true, since the departure to Birmingham of the Cycle Show the only show in the capital dedicated to cycling but it is, in my opinion, predominately the wrong kind of cycling that is being addressed.
The London Bike Show, which was launched only in 2011 has been the capital's answer, no doubt, to the Cycle Show upping sticks and moving out of London to the West Midlands, a move, I am sure, they will regret sooner rather than later.
What the London Bike Show needs to do is being more real cycling stuff in, such as real work bikes, for lack of a better word, and some where there but... and then the right accessories, such as cargo trailer, and I mean proper cargo trailer and not fancy ones that do not have enough carrying capacity.
Where were the cycle pannier manufacturers, and others? They just were not there. The same is true as to real bicycles for the ordinary user, affordable and reliable ones... still some way to go, methinks.
Please don't get me wrong. The Cycle Show also did not really fulfill the need to such kinds of real cyclists and the London Bike Show is but a new version of the Cycle Show. Maybe a new innovative approach to real cycling would really make this show relevant.
© 2012
