Interbike - Behind The Scenes

[BeerMe]

slowitdown is definitely a good screen name for you considering how slow your thought process is.
Seriously broseff, you're the dumbest person on the entire internet today.

Send me a pm as soon as you exhibit at an international show and don't deal with a union in every possible aspect of your booth setup.

[IH8Rice]

Originally Posted by BeerMe

Send me a pm as soon as you exhibit at an international show and don't deal with a union in every possible aspect of your booth setup.

for the past 7 years we have been off-site during the CES show and still have to pay stupid amounts for union and still cant even plug our own equipment in unless some union putts does it.
next year we are being forced by the CEA who runs CES to be on site. im sure this will jack up our cost for showing during CES time.


my point? unions stink

[NOJA22]

Unions do not stink. They are the only way for a working man to get a fare wage and a job with benefits and a retirement set up. Try doing that working construction non-union. Most of the trades that are union actually have to work on a regular basis. Alot of us out in the bitter cold and peak of summer. Unfortunately in order to keep the large picture of jobs there are some spots where the individual job is completely ridiculous. I don't agree with it, but when you give up that stupid job, a bunch more follow behind it and it puts more skilled men out of work. Nobody in the unions are clearing 100k a year now a days, yet the people that are sitting behind desks, comfy cozy with 6 figure bonuses have no problem bitching about it. And telling every one how unions are hurting things. Men don't get paper cuts on my jobs, they get maimed or dead, no sick days, no vacation. You don't work, you don't get paid. You **** in a porta john with a bunch of day woker mexicans who tryand cut you out for 6 dollars an hour, and have no care in the work they do. Unions are for men with families.

[IH8Rice]

so you like unions or no? its not clear

[Sandwich]

Why not pick some struggling midwest town with good trails? There's got to be someplace hard up for cash that could use the income from an uber bike show....ie not vegas.

Union or not, it would cost less just about anywhere besides vegas.

[Westy]

Originally Posted by 3D.

Vegas is a joke, right along side of some of these unnecessary fabricated union jobs that go so well with convention centers.

Never did understand why Vegas? I realize the outdoor portion works well at bootleg, but it could be put on in many other areas. The town is crap and speaks nothing of mountain biking to me.

I say f the city locations all together. With all of these new whistler style villages that have popped up over the last ten years, why not take the trade show to the ski resorts. They have plenty of indoor conference/convention halls to fill (complete without the union guys), the room accommodations are all completely empty and top notch, and the riding of the resorts and their lifts makes the perfect outdoor demo arena, without a 50 min car ride loaded with all gear/tools/parts/bikes… what a joke… simply roll the goods out of the village and on to the lifts and back again.

Also, it would be nice to dose the local economies with some end of the summer tourism cheer. Some resorts are not making much off of biking and it would be a great way to stoke their season up while getting people up to the mountain. How does giving Vegas our money contribute to the stability of the mountain biking industry?

edit: Getting your gamble/strip club on, might be a bit of a problem.

Yep Union men are all about quality. I got shocked with 480 volts at a trade show 3 years ago when I touched an electrical cabinet. The Union electrician had reversed a hot line and the ground line when hooking it up. Thick paint on the cabinet prevented it from shorting out immediately. I was just lucky enough to brush up against the chromed hinge. If I hadn't been standing on several layers of Tyvek and carpet I surely would have been killed. I was told the mistake happened because the electrician was colorblind and couldn't tell the difference between a red and green wire.

[ridiculous]

[IH8Rice]

Originally Posted by Westy

I was told the mistake happened because the electrician was colorblind and couldn't tell the difference between a red and green wire.

nice. you almost die because the guy was colorblind. its not like the red, black and green wires actually mean anything.

[Westy]

Originally Posted by IH8Rice

nice. you almost die because the guy was colorblind. its not like the red, black and green wires actually mean anything.

It's not like it is a fundamental requirement to be an electrician either.

I've worked with all kinds of Unions. My favorite were the Iron Workers. It is supposed to be one of the most dangerous jobs in the US. From the crew I worked with I'm guessing that has a lot to do with the combination of heavy equipment and large amounts of alcohol, weed and cocaine. Not to mention they were fairly violent. The one person that got hauled off in an ambulance at our work-site got stabbed. Most other accidents were not reported because they would get piss tested.

[syadasti]

Originally Posted by Westy

It is supposed to be one of the most dangerous jobs in the US.

According to the US BLS, the fishing industry is most dangerous and usually loggers and pilots trade 2nd and 3rd from year to year. Steelworkers are usually in the top 5 but not the top 3. Police and firefighters do not make the top ten, despite their over hyped job danger.

[James]

Originally Posted by BeerMe

Allow me to enlighten you to the wonderful world of wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbike
And I quote,
"The Interbike International Bicycle Expo is the largest bicycle industry trade show in North America and is held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada. Exhibitors consist of companies interested in selling their products and services to bicycle retailers, wholesale distributors and manufacturers. Because of the many new cycling products and technologies that are launched each year to much fanfare at Interbike, the show is also an important media event for the bicycle industry."

There is a reason that you can't cite Wikipedia in any school or industry papers my friend. That sounds like Interbike copy right there. I will agree that at one point IB was the go-to place for all the cool stuff, but at this point it's been eclipsed by EuroBike. They call it international because there are a fair number of Western Canadians who attend, as well as a decent number of buyers from South America. Not to mention exhibitors from all of the world, but many of these are here to support their North American distributors. There are a fair number of Chinese/Taiwanese companies that exhibit, but honestly I'm not sure why most of them show up. No one comes by to see the junk they're peddling, they just sit there and read the paper for a week.

Interbike used to have an East Coast show, and then West show, and there used to be a MidWest show run by another company. There is a Canadian show in Montreal that handles much of the Eastern Canadian shops, though some still do come to Vegas.

Many "real" vendors will come to meet with North American customers for OEM meetings, show the next model year stuff, etc. But a lot of this has moved to the Taipei OEM show in March/April. Like it or not, Eurobike is the big international show now, it is earlier than IB, and it is also covering many more countries, just based on it's location.

New stuff is generally teased at the Taipei show to OEM companies and selected media, and if it isn't launched to the press at EuroBike, it's usually done during the racing season, directly to the media. And why not launch a new bike directly to the end customer? This is why events like the Sea Otter Classic Expo are so important.

There is a reason companies like Trek and Giant don't exhibit anymore, it's a waste of money, and you don't have the full attention of your dealers. Why not create your own show, focused solely on your company? Trek World is gigantic, and the majority of Trek retailers have at least one person attending.

Originally Posted by Sandwich

Why not pick some struggling midwest town with good trails? There's got to be someplace hard up for cash that could use the income from an uber bike show....ie not vegas.

Union or not, it would cost less just about anywhere besides vegas.

This comes up just about every year, and the reality is that there aren't an infinite number of places that can meet some of the important criteria, in no particular order:
1. Number of hotel rooms for the thousands and thousands of bike shop people, buyers, media, plus the industry people who attend.
2. Ease of travel from much of the country.
3. Place for the Outdoor Demo.
4. It's a vacation for a lot of these people, they bring the wife, and spend an extra couple of days doing Vegas.
Like it or not, Vegas is set up to handle large (much, much larger than IB) trade shows. IB used to be in Anaheim, CA, and there has been talk of going back at some point, but when there was a poll of bike shop people (attendees), no one, at least a large number of people anyway, objected to Vegas. I think IB has a contract through 2012 or 2014 or something in Vegas.
Denver has been bandied about, as has Portland, but I don't know the specifics of that.


Sorry this post is kind of convoluted, I'm tired from jetlag and drinking waaay too much every night for over a week. Damn the Taiwanese and their hospitality!

[ire]

Originally Posted by James

... as has Portland, but I don't know the specifics of that.

That would be f*cking awesome. We have two great freeride parks close to PDX and an awesome cycling community. And, of course, I live in the vicinity

[Mike B.]

James is spot on of course. Also worth noting are the OE only small "shows" in Taichung in mid-December. They've partially taken over what the Taipei show was all about.

There is a reason that we, as a small company, have not displayed at 3 of the last 4 Interbike shows but have done EuroBike instead. Interbike is nice to see your dealers, US distributors, etc but not a whole lot of business gets done, it seems to be more about image. EuroBike on the other hand, actual business is conducted and there has been a direct correlation in sales as a result of attending. Doesn't hurt that the people that run EuroBike and the actual show venue are about a million times easier to work with than GES at the Sands.

The Messe (show venue) in Friedrichshafen added two new halls this year, they were sold out and from what I'm told there are 100+ exhibitors on a waiting list to get in.

[James]

Originally Posted by Mike B.

James is spot on of course. Also worth noting are the OE only small "shows" in Taichung in mid-December. They've partially taken over what the Taipei show was all about.

There is a reason that we, as a small company, have not displayed at 3 of the last 4 Interbike shows but have done EuroBike instead. Interbike is nice to see your dealers, US distributors, etc but not a whole lot of business gets done, it seems to be more about image. EuroBike on the other hand, actual business is conducted and there has been a direct correlation in sales as a result of attending. Doesn't hurt that the people that run EuroBike and the actual show venue are about a million times easier to work with than GES at the Sands.

The Messe (show venue) in Friedrichshafen added two new halls this year, they were sold out and from what I'm told there are 100+ exhibitors on a waiting list to get in.

Well of course I'm spot-on! :P

Agreed about the earlier shows, but none of them have really reached Taipei or EB or IB sizes. Ride-On is getting bigger, and I like the idea, but I'm just afraid that we're pushing earlier and earlier and what will that mean?

IB it seems is about networking and glad-handing and socializing, and I just don't think it's worth $500,000+ to do that. Call me crazy. IB has gotten complacent, and they'd better watch out for the day that the EuroBike guys decide that hey, they can do a better job in North America. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they plan a show, and after some fancy footwork by IB, it was postponed/canceled or something. It's got to be coming soon though, and then IB will see just how much people hate Vegas/GES. I welcome this day.

Eurobike is where business gets done, that's for sure. EB is a juggernaut.
I was at IB for only 2.5 days this year, no booth, just meetings, and I was still so excited to leave that I decided to cut out early and catch an earlier flight.

[Mike B.]

IB is starting to grasp I straws I think, witness the horrible IB East. EB people did pitch a show here but I don't remember the details. They were trying to do it on short notice which was probably the biggest issue but I would welcome them here. Not that they could dodge the union stuff any better but I'm sure there would be fresh ideas. I think they'd need to roll it out on a 2 year plan so everyone can adjust accordingly.