Every year I go to the Toronto Bike Show and every year I'm disappointed. There are some gems but for the most part it just comes off as a chunk of suburban box store mediocrity plopped down at the waterfront for three days.
©Driving to the bike show
I don't know why I'd expect otherwise, but most people still drive to the Toronto Bike Show. I'm beginning to wonder why they don't just have the show out at the airport. It would be closer for more of them and since few urban folks seem to show up or exhibit it won't be missed.
©More and more like a flea market every year
The biggest draw of the Toronto Bike Show seems to be its "marketplace" of last and this year's bikes. Since many urban folks seem to have bike shops nearby I've always assumed that the biggest attraction is for suburban folks driving into the city to get some deals.
©Argon fancy road bike
Nothing against carbon road bikes nor middle-aged men, but it always seems that the bike show is exists to play matchmaker to the two, while their wives stand around looking bored. Sure there are also women buying cruisers, boys buying mountain bikes/BMX, but it strikes me that middle-aged men on carbon road bikes is usually a poor combination.
©Opus city bikes
There just aren't a whole lot of city bikes on display, despite that about half the bikes I saw leaving with people were of the sturdy and comfortable category rather than the light and fast.
©Bamboo bike
Outside of high end road bikes not a whole lot of innovation was on display, except for "Bamboo Bikes by Pat Menzies" which drew constant interest. True North Cycles has always been one of the few, but even they failed to show this year. Neither did Urbane Cyclist with their latest examples of recumbents.
©Joints wrapped in banana leaf
Here Menzies wrapped the joints with "banana leaf", I am told.
©Gears massive booth
The winners of the best display of the show, four years in a row, was Gears, a large bike shop in Mississauga. Gears also happened to have the largest booth at 5600 square feet (explained to me by another vendor) and they served tasty scones and coffee.
©Let's see how this bike feels on this roof rack
Gears also had some sort of partnership with BMW. "Honey, go see how this bike rack feels by sitting in the car."
©Cycle Couture
More my kind of swank was this, unfortunately rare, booth offering city bikes imported from Denmark. The Cycle Couture bike shop is opening April 1st at College and Ossington. Almost no urban bike shops were present to showcase new products or innovations. A few were selling old/new stock, but there's nothing exciting about that.
©Recycled bike furniture
Thankfully The Recycler was there showing off his furniture built from old bicycle parts. I was told he's a farmer from Goderich. My kind of people (the farmer part that is).
For what it is, the Toronto Bike Show is successful. It certainly gets old men to part with hard-earned cash to purchase $1500 carbon road bikes they'll ride 20 times a year. I just see less and less point every year for urban folk to go and see what's up. I live a short walk away but it may as well be Mississauga for all that it caters to my neighbourhood.
[Update: I forgot to add the BMX photos - one of the more exciting parts of the show. You should have seen how this one guy bailed by jettisoning his bike out to the back so he didn't land on it. Smart. (See I'm not all negative.)]
©BMX Half-pipe
Comments
Ben
That Menzies looks awesome.
Mon, 03/07/2011 - 15:47That Menzies looks awesome.
dances_with_traffic (not verified)
When i've gone there has
Mon, 03/07/2011 - 19:52When i've gone there has never been a strong urban bicycle presence there, so i can't really join in your lament. There are some nice mountain bicycles, road bicycles and etc. Really that spread reflects the state of the bicycle industry in North America though. In a Canadian's conciousness well off bicycle commuter is probably a stranger image than road bicycle racer. So perhaps this sort of passive-aggressive lament isn't really about the show itself, middle aged men and suburbanites, but noticing something else about the cycling situation in our cities?
hamish (not verified)
My my - Herb more negative
Mon, 03/07/2011 - 20:30My my - Herb more negative than me?
There were lots of urban biking things/shops there, as well as some good info. As for everybody driving there was a HUGE food industry confab in the conference/Energy centre so that's where all the fricking cars came from, or most of them. Along maybe with a game or two...
And the bikes looked all like quality bikes, and beyond my price range at the moment. I do have some reservations about the similarities between newest models and consumptive patterns as established by the car industry, but we need suburban bike riders - mroe than ever maybe?
James (not verified)
Walked the dog along the lake
Mon, 03/07/2011 - 21:58Walked the dog along the lake and saw the traffic jam leading into the Exhibition. I figured it would be exactly that - suburbanites shopping for carbon fiber racing bikes and mountain bikes.
Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it's not for me.
tracer
So you don't like the bike
Mon, 03/07/2011 - 22:22So you don't like the bike show. I get it. You only care about commuting by bike and nothing else, then yes, a show about the "sport" of cycling is probably not for you.
A. The weather was crap. If I didn't work a short walk from the location, I would have driven too.
B. Commuter and low end bikes sell. It's the high end gear that's left over from the previous year that's discounted at the show.
C. You completely ignored the BMX and Mountain bike courses? That's one of the highlights of going to this show. Watch all the skilled riders do stuff I can't.
D. I primarily bike for transportation. However, I do go out riding offroad trails and do the occasional touring trip. I go to the show as it's the best single place to compare and try on performance cycling gear.
E. I fix and maintain my own bicycles. The show is a good place to pick up deals on parts and tools.
herb
That's the thing, the show
Mon, 03/07/2011 - 23:47That's the thing, the show isn't just about the "sport" of cycling, at least not officially. Most people I know in the industry cater to the urban crowd - so city bikes for commuting or leisure. And it's not like this is a small demographic. Why aren't they at the show? Maybe it's a chicken and egg problem. I do know that some won't show up because their type of customers aren't going and because the show is becoming more of a place to sell old stock rather than show off new, interesting bikes and accessories.
A. Cars can be fun (so long as one doesn't have to commute day-in/day-out). But it doesn't mean that cars aren't the bull in the china shop. I raise the point, because the bike show is just so completely, irrepentedly pushing a car lifestyle. I don't really expect anything else of this show, but it doesn't mean I won't point it out.
B. There's already a fall show to sell off old gear. Doing it again in March frankly makes half the show boring.
C. Nope, I didn't ignore it, but I did forget to post the photos I took (see update above). The half-pipe is always exciting.
D. There seems to be a lot of a narrow range of bike types for sale at the show. I didn't even see any good touring bikes or fixies. Some single track interests me, though I'll need to buy another mtb so I can do it again.
E. You're probably right. I've got a lot of tools and parts but I could maybe have found a few things. Stock up on future projects.
W. K. Lis
What are the chances that Rob
Tue, 03/08/2011 - 06:48What are the chances that Rob Ford will attend the Toronto Bike Show? Zero?
Lycra Rage (not verified)
I figure our mayor avoids
Tue, 03/08/2011 - 23:02I figure our mayor avoids the bike show because just like devoted urban cyclists on this forum he knows a dog when he sees one. It doesn't matter if you're fat or thin, rosy cheeked or vegan pale there is no good reason to attend the bikes show ....unless your're a middle-aged white guy from the burbs shopping for carbon - or so I'm told.
Cycleguy (not verified)
Nice to see Canada is now
Tue, 03/08/2011 - 09:33Nice to see Canada is now getting the attention of quality city bike builders with products that have proven their worth in year round climatic conditions. Europeans are used to Cycling in all kinds of weather and their equipment has to match the weather so they build their bikes to last.
The Velorbis at the cylcecouture booth sure looked like it could handle anything Canadian winter could throw at it while keeping the rider safe.
dances_with_traffic (not verified)
W.K. Lis ... that smart ass
Tue, 03/08/2011 - 10:23W.K. Lis ... that smart ass is probably too scared of being lynched to show up there without a security team.
Ol' rosy cheeks has to hide in his castle after the hate he spewed.
hpvrider (not verified)
I rode down there on Sunday
Tue, 03/08/2011 - 11:11I rode down there on Sunday after all the rain we got on Saturday and stopped at the first big hall we came to and wondered why there was only one bike in the bike rack out front with the parking lot across the street jammed with cars. And the area with the bike rack was all taped off with" Do Not Enter" tape because of falling ice. We went into the building and after walking the length of it, realized we were in the wrong building, after looking at a CNE Grounds sign that had a map on it showing the Better living Centre the other side of BMO field, we went over there and found several big bike racks with lots of bikes and no cars!
The show? I can put it into few words: no recumbets (I checked twice) and only one cruiser dealer (Broadway with Electra). Disappointed to say the least, even the e-bike dealers looked bored. Stopped at the Toronto Police booth and the cop says any questions, so I says yeah, why dont you enforce vehicles parking in the bike lanes, and he says hey we dont talk shop at a bike show!
I found out that to rent a 10X10 display space for the weekend, it costs you $2,000. and you have to pay it long before the show starts, and you have to get show insurance in case someone falls in your booth, ($1 Million coverage).
The busiest booths at the show were the ones selling the old stock pecials, like the $20 Bern helmets and of course the BMX riding contests.
I could have had more fun surfing the net for bike stores and saved myself the $13 admission fee!
Clay the Suburban (not verified)
Middle aged men buying
Tue, 03/08/2011 - 16:40Middle aged men buying expensive bikes have always been the profit center of bike stores. The fancy bikes draw attention, and sell the dream. Would you really want to see Igor selling used beater bikes? Maybe CBN should sell a few at the show. About 90% of bikes are bought at big box stores. They are never there either. As for us suburban cyclists. It is a numbers reality. The GTA & H has over 6 million people. Only a minority live downtown. Bike ownership is actually fairly even through out the area. Usage is higher downtown. But really we are all in it together. Go for a ride and chill out.
herb
Clay, maybe once upon a time
Wed, 03/09/2011 - 10:01Clay, maybe once upon a time that was true. I do not believe "middle-aged men being the profit center" is true of all bikes stores any longer. In bike stores focused on the road/MTB market the main demographic are men, middle-aged or young. Most suburban bike stores are of this variety.
But there are now bike stores - mostly in downtown - that cater to a more diverse market. This demographic is much more evenly split between men and women. Many have money to spend on a fancy bike but would rather splurge $1500 on a Pashley and accessories rather than $1500 on a Cervelo (can you even get one for that little?). And there are many downtown that don't own cars so can use that disposable money towards bikes. These bike shops, instead of tapping into the same market of men looking at sporty bikes, have been making the entire market bigger. The Pashley may or may not be any more practical for commuting (though it likely is) but it goes, in my opinion, get more people onto bikes for everyday cycling.
These shops don't bother come to the bike show anymore. Maybe they're too busy, maybe they don't feel like it's worth their while.
In this map I calculated the split of "utilitarian" and commuter cyclists between the centre and suburbs of Toronto. Utilitarian cyclists: 280,000 in central Toronto / 206,000 in suburbs. Even though this segment is smaller than the recreational cyclists, right now there is a bike show that ill-serves this sizable group.
I won't ask you to "chill and go for a ride" Clay because then you wouldn't be able to read my blog.
dances_with_traffic (not verified)
A dog and pony show you mean?
Tue, 03/08/2011 - 23:39A dog and pony show you mean?
Mr. S. (not verified)
Very funny post, and I see it
Thu, 03/10/2011 - 07:30Very funny post, and I see it hasn't changed since I went once about five years ago. The thought I had was, "why exactly am I paying to enter a glorified bike store, of the type I never visit twice?"
As for picking through the dross for a deal, it's possible if you want a 'dentist bike', but unlikely if you want a steel road or fixed-gear bike, or steel 29r, or Salsa or Surly snow-bike. Sure, that's a narrow market, but it's what I want, so I'll be using the Internet, thanks.
The driving thing is nuts, and it's the same for the 'Ride for Heart' start at the Ex. However, it has to be said that this is a mid-western city, not Montreal, Manhattan, Europe or Tokyo: driving is the only way to get anywhere over 5km without it becoming a bloody epic. I do epic, but the rest of the bourgeoisie do not.
Ryan D (not verified)
Based on my observations,
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 14:40Based on my observations, most of the "urban cycling culture" revolves around Canadian Tire mountain bikes, or whatever else people can find that's as cheap as possible. Many people wouldn't bother spending more than $500 on any bike, either because they just don't care that much or they're worried about it getting stolen. So in a sense, it's probably true that the bike show doesn't cater much to the urban commuter.
But why draw lines between cyclists in the first place? I live downtown, have a road bike for fun and a hybrid for commuting. I have zero interest in riding a dutch-style bike, but I don't begrudge people who shop at Curbside. Maybe some of those middle-aged suburban guys are buying road-style bikes for commuting because they have a longer commute? (granted, a carbon bike wouldn't be a great idea, but you can't get one for under $2,000 anyway) Maybe the person that spends $3,000 on one bike also has another bike for different purposes.