London Cycle Show review

The London Cycle Show ran for the public for 3 days and I visited on Saturday arriving in mid-morning and staying until mid-afternoon.  The show seemed quiet with no huge queues or throngs of people around key exhibitors which did suprise me a little.  Nonetheless as evidenced by the time spent inside Earls Court there was plenty to see and although in a somewhat random fashion we visited most if not all of the stands. 

There were major brands in attendance including Specialized, Shimano, Scott, Cannondale and Condor for example.  Also a substantial presence from TfL with examples of the new cycle hire bikes as well as other major manufacturer bikes that could be riden around the demo area. 

We enjoyed our time on some other stands particularly the Polaris Apparel, British Cycling and Sugoi where the people had time to talk and provide lots of interetsing thoughts.  It was interesting to see that although some of them had a presence in the cycle store area the opportunity to sell directly from their stand was excluded by the organisers and as a result a few impulse purchases were avoided due to the restriction.

Another stand that we spend time on was the Gocycle which was one of a number of electrically powered / assisted bikes but stood out due to a combination of it being both lightweight, exceptional high quality design and functional.  I really hope that the product continues to be developed and is a huge success.

And finally there was a strong presence for the holiday concept of the Italy Bike Hotels  which showcased destinations in Italy for cycling holidays.  An idea that would work equally well in the UK.

Overall an enjoyable dayout with some interesting conversations and a great opportunity to see some new bikes at close quarters, particularly Specialized, Scott and Wiggle who had some very expensive bikes on show.