Africa Cycle Fair 2016?

[Patchelicious]

Sort of, yes and no....I think

Yeah it's not as big as last year, but come support regardless.

[EmptyB]

Yeah it's not as big as last year, but come support regardless.

Will be there tomorrow with my son...

[corriekuilder]

At the expo/fair now, even smaller than last year,think of it now as a race with some stalls,main event for the day it seems is the schools race.Rather disappointed.

[johanpre44]

At least I got a nice shirt, but dont think I will be around next year, much rather go for a long ride somewhere.

[CAAD4]

Yes we went to support it. Got there at 9:30 and quite a few of the handful of exhibitors had not even finished setting up. Boxes everywhere. Lack of effort for the public paying R75 ZAR to see your wares. Slapgat. I used to do a lot of trade exhibitions years ago and some organisers were ruthless about you being set up on time. Looking at this year, I doubt we'll see another. Damn pity.

[MarcBurger]

I was initially pretty excited about this. Knowing that the Saints' mtb course can be a lot of fun, I was keen to get my feet on a few demo bikes, new kit, techy stuff, the works.

 

Was very disappointed to say the least. Few anchor brands, no demo bikes to be seen other than a few e-"bikes" 

I get more bike exposure riding up and down the spruit.

Where were all the:

• Big brands
• bike shops
• events
• promos
• prizes (there was 1 or 2)
• demo bikes
• new tech
• music?
• specials/sales

Apologies if I'm being harsh, but the waterpolo match down the hill had better vibe.

[gtr1]

Not a great event. Went yesterday. Not really worth the money. No specials to buy anything. Last year got some great gear from ASG stand. No bike brands. Only wheels were dark horse. No beer yesterday. Didnt even see ASG there even though says they are.

 

Essentially could see the same stuff at my LBS. And more.

 

Last year was a great event, and even the first event was great. Just gone downhill.

 

I agree people need to support it, but gotta be something to support.

 

Even supplement suppliers nowhere to be seen.

 

Even the stands seemed to have no effort put into them.

[rgw]

My thoughts echo some of those already posted. The St Stithians venue has so much potential but I must say I left a little disappointed. I think my view would have been very different if there was more representation from more bike brands and a few demo bikes. If you are into e-bikes though there were a few things to look at.

[corriekuilder]

Our biggest disappointment is the absence of the high5 stall,went there specifically to get the box they have every year on special. Also shopped for a lid for wifey, ended up going to the lab to get one. Paid less for a catlike lid at cyclelab than at the fair.

The lack of demo bikes were disapointing, and for crying out loud, eBikes(really),stopped counting at 3xbrands. On a positive note,loved the cycleops stall, and the competition they had. Also had a killer of a pulled pork sandwich. Great to see development, but please do not forget the people that are out of school....

Would be great to have a guest speaker talking about things like nutrition, basic bike setups and maybe give some training tips, and how about having team dimension data's bikes on display,they did well on the TDF,promote them maybe. Anyway, I really hope this fair/expo can fair better next year...

[slickandtyred]

R75 not good!

Some stands had knowledgeable staff and advice - CycleOps and the Lizard Skins guys - well done.

 

Many other stands seemed to have stand-ins at stalls and unfortunately, in my opinion, with little to no knowledge of their products. Won't name them publicly, but not impressed.

 

My kids enjoyed the skills park run by I RIDE 2. Well done to these guys for making it happen.

 

Would have been nice to demo bikes, meet some cycling pro guys, get good show specials. Will not go again unless they change their approach by implementing some of the suggestions raised by others above.

 

Standard Bank SIES!

[gtr1]

Our biggest disappointment is the absence of the high5 stall,went there specifically to get the box they have every year on special. Also shopped for a lid for wifey, ended up going to the lab to get one. Paid less for a catlike lid at cyclelab than at the fair.

IMG_5594.JPG

The lack of demo bikes were disapointing, and for crying out loud, eBikes(really),stopped counting at 3xbrands. On a positive note,loved the cycleops stall, and the competition they had. Also had a killer of a pulled pork sandwich. Great to see development, but please do not forget the people that are out of school....

Would be great to have a guest speaker talking about things like nutrition, basic bike setups and maybe give some training tips, and how about having team dimension data's bikes on display,they did well on the TDF,promote them maybe. Anyway, I really hope this fair/expo can fair better next year...

They do have talks and guest speakers...........for the Standard Bank VIP's in their special cordoned off section. :-(

[the nerd]

I went last year, unless they do something drastic I dont think it will last. Really sad cos it could be great! 

[cyclebat]

Also went to the bike show on Friday. They weren't open at 11. So we waited and was major disappointment when we did get in. Waist of beer money.

The food was great but we were done in 20min. Super disappointed with the lack of turnout.

Where was swift, momsen, pyga, no sa bike brands etc.

 

Advertising leading up to the event was poor. And what was wrong with nirox? At least in the cradle you have cyclists riding past and that's easier exposure for an event.

 

I was also looking for gear, ended up at complete cyclist and bought a helmet.

[Brickleberry]

The idea that we should support a rubbish event ,in The hope that it will get better next time is Bs . .. We bleed ourselves dry throwing cash at these brands all year long and they can't find it in them to give back a bit and showcase the new kit ? This industry stinks and it's because we let it. People need to stop buying bikes for a year and see how things change.

[Matchstix]

Problem with these events a th organisers.

Any thing is there to make money. And usually the costs involved to events like these are ridiculous just show off new bikes.

To give an idea a 3m x 3m stand at argus expo in 2008 was R10k. . . And that was a cheap stand that didn't get a lot of feet.

In the end sometimes it's just not worth it.

[divernick]

Nic, I see build-a-bike will be there. Are you willing to share what the cost for exhibitors would be?

No idea. As a NPO my stand was mahala and to be honest I would have been very disappointed if I'd paid money to be there. The attendance was very poor indeed demonstrating the organizers failure to market the event properly.

 

Lots of potential at the venue so I will definitely be giving some stern feedback.