Bicycle Retailer and Industry News - Tradeshows and conferences

Outdoor Retailer show moves to Minneapolis for 2026

Steve Frothingham — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 19:53:33 +0000

MINNEAPOLIS (BRAIN) — Emerald, the owner of the Outdoor Retailer trade show, announced Thursday that the event will be next held in Minneapolis in August 2026, instead of in Salt Lake City in June as planned.

Emerald said the event will be Aug. 19–21, 2026 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The event will include a new "Leadership Village," co-led by athlete and Summit Scholarship founder, Sunny Stroeer, and industry veteran Paul Gagner.

“Outdoor Retailer must be a discovery engine, a strategic gathering place, and a convener for all corners of the outdoor community,” said Stroeer and Gagner in a news release. “The new Leadership Village will bring this to life, creating a space to share knowledge, tackle challenges, and spark innovation.”

In addition to Stroeer and Gagner, the Leadership Village will include

Dana Caraway, founder and principal of Caraway & Co, an independent sales agency;
Sasha DiGiulian, champion climber and global outdoor adventure advocate;
Peter Sachs, outdoor industry veteran and former GM of LOWA Boots;
Mike Massey, founder of Locally, a leading commerce platform bridging shoppers and nearby retailers;
And others to be announced by Oct. 30.

“Moving Outdoor Retailer to Minnesota creates a fresh stage for collaboration, creativity, and the outdoor community to thrive together,” said Randolph Briley, director of Outdoor Recreation Industry Partnership. “This step underscores the strength of our outdoor economy, driving billions in impact, supporting tens of thousands of jobs, and inspiring people to get outside.

Mike's Bikes CEO kicks off NBDA Summit

DeanYobbi — Wed, 21 May 2025 13:35:27 +0000

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (BRAIN) — The National Bicycle Dealers Association Retailer Summit Central that started Monday and ends Thursday led off its first day of educational presentations and panel discussions with a keynote from Whitney Tabaian, newly appointed president and CEO of Mike's Bikes.

Pon.Bike, the 20-brand Netherlands-based bike supplier, purchased Mike's Bikes' 14 California Bay Area locations from founders Ken Martin and Matt Adams in 2021. Adams remains with Pon.Bike as head of portfolio of North America.

Pon.Bike also bought Elevations Cycles in 2022, a four-store Denver-area operation. Tabaian was a partner in the Elevations stores and joined the Pon.Bike team in conjunction with the sale.

Her previous experience was in the outdoor industry as a sales rep for Icebreaker and as owner of a Colorado-based sales agency that also sold Alite and Boreas.

Tabaian's presentation, titled "The Future of Retail: Culture, Leadership and Growth," focused on each of those three areas, including an action item for each to help retailers turn the concepts into reality in their stores.

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast," Tabaian told the gathering of 130 retailers, suppliers, and industry attendees. "Without culture, your strategy will never see the light of day. Culture is all about how your people show up. Inclusive culture leads to diverse customers, which results in a stronger business."

The action prescribed to improve Culture: Listen to your team. Schedule three listening sessions with team members you don't usually engage with. "It's my job to listen to team members, make them feel valued and cared for so they treat the customers the same way." Tabaian said.

Leadership lives at the intersection of empowerment and accountability, we learned from Tabaian's presentation. Trust is the foundation of high-performance culture. The Leadership action to take: Empower your team. Give autonomy, set clear expectations, and hold them accountable.

We learned from the Growth portion of the presentation that sustainable growth comes from culture, empowered teams, and retaining top talent.

"Good talent creates the foundation for customer service," Tabaian said. "Strong employees make customers happy and feel seen and heard."

Action item for Growth: Lead with vision and adaptability. Pivot quickly and embrace new opportunities.

Tabaian closed her presentation with a summary of the three core topics: "What sets us apart as leaders is taking the time to focus and explain our vision. It's not the strongest or most intelligent species that survives; it's the ones that adapt best to change."

Highlights from a day at CABDA Midwest

Steve Frothingham — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 00:27:16 +0000

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (BRAIN) — CABDA's Midwest show opened here Wednesday. Despite a wintery-mix event happening outside the Schaumburg Convention Center, dealers from across the Midwest and exhibitors from around the world showed up for a busy day.

Floor traffic appeared solid, with some exhibitors predicting that Wednesday will go down as the busiest of the two-day show because Thursday's weather is expected to be worse. A few major exhibitors who haven't been at CABDA in recent editions were here this year, including Park Tool and Chicago's own SRAM.

Much of the discussion (at least for our editor) revolved around tariffs, CABDA's upcoming West show in Las Vegas, and the usual industry gossip. CABDA is not traditionally a place to launch products so the new gizmos we found were of a trade nature: wheel-building machines, lift-assist workstands, spoke wrenches and the like. Here are a few highlights from Day 1:

Trudi is from the folks who brought us Berd carbon spokes. It's a $6,999 wheel building machine that is something of a hybrid between a robotic wheel truing machine like a Holland (which cost several hundred thousand dollars) and skilled human wheel builders (who are priceless). It can be used to greatly speed up the truing and tensioning of a new wheel or one in for truing. The machine first measures the wheel's roundness, trueness, and dish. A human then measures the tension of each spoke using a modified Wheel Fanatyk tensionometer wired to send the tension measurement directly to the machine's software. Then, the human uses a power driver that is controlled by the software to tighten or loosen nipples precisely, to the fraction of a nipple rotation.

Amazingly, the software can bring a wheel to near perfect with just one wheel rotation's worth of computer-controlled tension adjustments. Trudi's Charlie Spanjers said it can greatly speed up wheel production versus a standard handbuilt wheel and is better suited than a Holland machine for deep carbon rims. The resulting wheel is also straighter and truer than one coming off a Holland machine, he said. Most high-end wheel makers employ humans to touch up wheels that come off Holland machines.

The Trudi on display ran off a laptop computer but the finished product will have an integrated tablet that runs the software. Trudi has been tested in-house for two years and about 10 of Berd's OE partners have been testing the machines as well. More photos at the bottom of the page. (By the way, Trudi works with all kinds of spokes, not just Berd.)

Park Tool showed its new powered (or not powered) workstand for shops or consumer use. It has a handcrank to raise bikes weighing up to 120 pounds, or the crank can be removed to attach a 10mm bit on a cordless drill like the one attached to the arm of Park's Andy Palmer in the gif below. The stand works with standard Park clamps and baseplates and is available with wheels for $899 retail, or about $560 (shop cost) for the stand and metal base. The PRS-30 will be available in the spring. The product is being launched here at CABDA and at this week's iceBike trade event in the U.K.

Blaupunkt has some news on several fronts. The folding e-bike brand, owned by the famous German audio brand, is now available to Pedego store owners. The stores previously carried Pedego e-bikes exclusively but, as we've reported, the manufacturer is now allowing its licensed stores to carry a handful of pre-approved brands to fill niches not served by Pedego. "We fill the folding e-bike niche," said Blaupunkt president Brian Tedesco.

Blaupunkt bikes now come standard with a wireless speaker that fits in an included bottle cage. "Think of it like getting a Blaupunkt audio system that comes with a folding e-bike," said Tedesco (left).

The company also announced it has an official NCAA license to label bikes with the logos from hundreds of colleges and universities. The college-branded bikes are being sold in official campus stores and online. Tedesco said the fact that the bikes are UL2849 rated was key to getting the license, as colleges are concerned about students bringing unsafe e-bikes into dorms. Blaupunkt plans to make use of the NCAA's new name, image and likeness (NIL) policy to pay college athlete ambassadors to be seen around campus on the bikes.

Asked about the impact of the recent extra 10% tariff on Chinese e-bikes, Tedesco noted the company moved production from China to Paraguay, where Blaupunkt has long had an audio factory. The first Paraguay-made e-bikes were shipped to Miami about two weeks ago, he said. Near-shoring from an unsual source.

Monolith is a startup with a variety of innovative tools, including a new version of its spoke wrench, the s.i. "It's designed for old, arthritic hands," said Monolith's Aaron Pieplow, eyeing the editor's paws. "Try it."

The editor, who hasn't wielded a spoke wrench in a serious way in about 30 years, was flattered by Pieplow's assumption of professional competence. He picked up a wrench in his favorite color, identified a nipple on a convenient nearby wheel and turned the tool in a manner calculated to inspire the respect of any professional techs who happened to be strolling by. And, indeed the wrench felt effective in his old, arthritic hands. (Plus: It was orange.)

The new tools are $50 each or $180 for a complete, color-coded set of four. Monolith is also showing its CalipERD rim-measurement tool (for calculating spoke length) and its original spoke wrenches, which are targeted at those with slightly less old and less arthritic hands.

Finally: Howard. The duck. Who toured CABDA in style in a be-stickered bike trailer on Wednesday.

The owner is from Never Ending Cycles in nearby Streamwood, Illinois. We asked, "What's with the duck?" The owner said, "I always wanted one, so I got one."

It's hard to argue with that; we like a good duck as much as the next guy. Watch for a Shop Ducks calendar from BRAIN soon.

The Trudi on display runs off a laptop but the production model will have an integrated tablet.
Blaupunkt has some news.
The new Monolith spoke wrench.
Howard.

PeopleForBikes plans pre-Sea Otter event in Monterey

Steve Frothingham — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 07:19:35 +0000

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — PeopleForBikes is sponsoring a one-day conference in Monterey, California, on the week that the Sea Otter Classic is set to be held there.

The new event, called the U.S. Bicycle Market Forum, is targeted at international brands either operating or hoping to operate in the U.S. bike and e-bike market.

Following an opening industry meet-up and dinner on April 9 in Monterey, the forum will be held at Monterey's Tarpy's restaurant on April 10. It will include sessions on market data, e-bike regulations and legislation, trade policy and tariffs, distribution and domestic operations and logistics. It wraps up with an afternoon visit to the Sea Otter Classic Festival, which opens that day at Laguna Seca Raceway and runs through the weekend.

PeopleForBikes previously held its Bicycle Leadership Conference in Monterey the week before the Sea Otter. The BLC has since moved to March dates in Tucson, Arizona. Life Time, which owns the Sea Otter, held the Sea Otter Summit in Monterey for several years, but is not planning to hold that event this year.

PeopleForBikes emphasizes that the new Monterey event is different from the BLC. "Unlike our Bicycle Leadership Conference, which serves established U.S.-based companies, this event is tailored for international business leaders — including CEOs, COOs, supply chain executives, and sales and marketing professionals — seeking to navigate the unique opportunities and challenges of expanding into the U.S. market," the organization says on its event page.

At CES, Segway accepting pre-orders, releases more details on its e-bike models

DeanYobbi — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 14:24:55 +0000

LAS VEGAS (BRAIN) — Segway is accepting pre-orders for its two new e-bikes and offering more details about each at the CES consumer electronics trade show, running this week in Las Vegas.

Segway first showed its e-bike models at CES last year. Last month, it released more details and announced it was focusing on sales through specialty retailers. It hired IBD industry veteran Nick Howe to head up its e-bike program.

Segway is offering test rides at the show on- and off-site for the Xyber and Xafari models. Pre-orders are available at independent dealers nationwide and online with February delivery. Online orders will ship to a local dealer of the customer's choice.

The 110mm full-suspension Xyber ($2,999.99 MSRP), which Segway calls "a true mid-range light-electrict vehicle" and does not meet e-bike class regulations, features a twist throttle and can go from 0 to 20 mph in 2.7 seconds and has a 6,000-watt direct-drive motor capable of a 35 mph maximum speed with the dual-battery configuration. The top speed can be set to 20 mph on the Segway app. The 2,880Wh dual-battery configuration allows for 112 miles between charges. It has 12 levels of pedal-assist and three modes (Eco, Sport, and Race) of throttle-only operation. It rolls on 20x5.0-inch wheels.

"The Xyber is an unclassified e-bike designed for maximum performance and is not intended for use on-road or where prohibited," according to Segway. "A second version of the Xyber fully conforming to Class 2 e-bike requirements to comply with federal, state and local regulations is expected late Spring/early Summer 2025."

The Xafari ($2,399.99 MSRP) is a step-thru "all-terrain cruiser" with a max assist of 20 mph and 750-watt motor with switchable three-class modes through the Segway app. It features 80mm of fork travel and 70mm rear. The 936Wh battery allows for 88 miles between charges. The Xafari has 26x3.0 wheels.

Both models, which are UL 2272 certified, feature Segway Intelligent Ride System, "an integrated suite of smart tech and features," including security and GPS tracking, maintenance reminders, adaptive pedal assist to automatically adjust power depending on terrain and rider effort, real-time health and fitness data syncing to the Segway Mobility app and other health apps, and other features.

Segway Xyber.
Segway Xafari.

Eurobike moves to late June for 2025

Steve Frothingham — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 16:47:35 +0000

FRANKFURT (BRAIN) — Eurobike organizer fairnamic GmbH has set the date for next year's show: Eurobike 2025 will be held June 25-29.

Organizers also announced two additional trade fairs for this year, in Berlin and Jakarta. And they announced that its show planned for Istanbul this year will not take place as planned.

Stefan Reisinger, the managing director of fairnamic GmbH, said, "Eurobike 2025 is being brought slightly forward to the end of June, before the start of the main holiday season in most markets. The early announcement of the date gives the global bicycle and EcoMobility industry the certainty they need and we are delighted that after the exceptional year 2024 with the Olympic Games and European Championship soccer fixtures in Frankfurt, we will again be able to start before the Tour de France in 2025."

Upcoming shows this year include VELOBerlin, April 13-14, a show being held for the twelfth time. On April 30, the first edition of Asiabike Jakarta will open in Indonesia. The show will be held at the Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran (JIE), which will be hosting the third edition of the Periklindo Electric Vehicle Show at the same time. The new event's product portfolio includes traditional bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters, e-motorcycles and all areas of related supply chains.

Eurobike announced the Instanbul event last October. However, following the Turkish government's announcement of local elections on the planned date of the fair, organizers proposed moving it a week earlier, but the Turkish Bicycle Industry Association and other stakeholders decided the notice was too short to accomplish the date change. They are now working to reschedule the event.

This year's Eurobike is July 3-7 in Frankfurt. The dates were chosen in part to navigate around the European soccer championships being held in Germany this year. Organizers said they expect more than 1,900 exhibiting companies. The first three days are trade-only, followed by a consumer festival over the weekend.

Suppliers offer framebuilders special deals at March's Philly Bike Expo

Steve Frothingham — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 19:06:14 +0000

PHILADELPHIA (BRAIN) — The Philly Bike Expo has moved from its traditional fall dates to spring, but organizers said it will remain a meeting place for handmade builders as well as cycling enthusiasts. At this year's show — and prior to the show — exhibiting framebuilders are being offered an array of B2B purchase offers.

In previous editions, the show's organizers offered early admission to retailers so they could conduct B2B business in a more relaxed setting. Show director Bina Bilinkey said few retailers took advantage of the program so it is no longer offered. She said many retailers still attend during regular hours. "That is what makes our show unique — the opportunity for industry and consumer-facing interaction in one place, at one time," Bilenky said.

Registered media are allowed into the show an hour early (at 9 a.m.), she said.

Framebuilders are being offered a variety of special programs this year. For example:

Schwalbe is offering a free set of tires to the first 20 builders who sign up for the show; builders have access to OEM pricing at schwalbetires.com/dealer-information.
Industry 9 is offering discounts on its wheels to builders who include the wheels on their show bikes.
Ritchey Design is offering free COMP cockpit components for use on show bikes, and 40% off wholesale princing on wheels and forks for show bikes.
Appleman Bicycles is offering discounts on its 2XR cranks for show bikes, with custom colors and sizing available.
Merry Cycles is offering 30% off Tange tubing and Long Shen lugs, dropouts and fork crowns for show bikes.
Titanium Joe is offering a 20% discount on materials (on orders totaling over $1,000 made during February) for companies building bikes for the show.
Fairing Industrial, aka: Bicycle Frame Depot, will be offering free shipping until the end of March for exhibiting framebuilders.
Photographer Brad Quartuccio will be on-site doing framebuilder bike portraits, which can be accessed after the show.

Philly Bike Expo also announced an additional sponsor and expansion to its Framebuilder Inclusivity Scholarship program, which started in 2019. Industry Nine has joined founding sponsor SRAM. Paragon Machine Works is supporting the initiative with its framebuilding parts and accessories. Four new builders, three from the USA and one from Mexico, will show bikes at the Expo: Significant Other Bikes, Shovel Research, Studio Basica, and Artefact x NMW.

The Expo is March 16–17; it remains in Hall E in the Pennsylvania Convention Center.ompanies planning to attend are advised to reserve a spot sooner than later.

Exhibitor information is at phillybikeexpo.com/exhibit.

Lost Paddle plans two (e)revolution shows for 2024

Steve Frothingham — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 15:55:03 +0000

Company adds Orange County, California, event in April.

PARK CITY, Utah (BRAIN) — Lost Paddle Events will produce two e-bike events next year: a second edition of its (e)revolution Denver show in late May preceded by a new outdoor trade/consumer show in Orange County, California, in April.

The California event will be held at Irvine's Great Park, a 500-acre venue with off-road and paved e-bike demo spaces. The April 5-7 event will feature outdoor exhibition space and is timed to take place between other regional demo events, allowing exhibitors to conveniently transport their demo assets between events, Lost Paddle's Lance Camisasca told BRAIN.

Camisasca said many exhibitors at the inaugural (e)revolution show, held indoors at Denver's Colorado Convention Center, said they would prefer an outdoor event, allowing use of their outdoor expo assets and outdoor e-bike demos.

"We've run three successful outdoor Big Gear Shows (at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah), so we know how to do it," Camisasca said. "It lets (exhibitors) drive up, set up, and enjoy, which is what people like to do, like they do at Sea Otter and Unbound," he said.

The Irvine event will conclude about 11 days before the Sea Otter Classic opens in Monterey, California. The Denver event will open about five days after the conclusion of the Bentonville Bike Fest in Arkansas.

"For both events we really had to thread the needle so we didn't step on any toes and exhibitors could move from one event to the other," Camisasca said.

Besides the demo opportunities at The Great Park, there are more extensive riding areas available nearby and the event will organize guided rides at several off-site locations during the event. "We'll have former pros and other celebrities to lead the rides," he said.

The Denver (e)revolution show, May 31-June 2, is being co-located with Big Paddle's The Big Gear Show at Denver's Civic Center Park. The events are part of the Outside Festival, a multi-day consumer festival organized by BRAIN's parent, Outside Interactive, with the state of Colorado. The Denver (e)revolution will be trade-only on May 31 and open to trade and consumers on the final two weekend days.

Both events will include e-bike education sessions for retailers and consumers.

Early-bird exhibitor pricing starts at $15 per square foot or $1,500 per 10x10 booth space until Jan. 13, 2024, when prices increase to $17 per square foot or $1,700 per 10x10 space. More information at lostpaddle.com or email Camisasca at lance@lostpaddle.com.

CPSC commissioner: We are ready to consider e-bike regulations

DeanYobbi — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 19:21:16 +0000

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (BRAIN) — The Consumer Product Safety Commission will consider regulating micromobility devices, including e-bikes, but don't expect anything final to come before 2025.

Commissioner Mary T. Boyle addressed PeopleForBikes' SHIFT'23 conference Tuesday in front of an audience of industry professionals some of whom weighed in on the growing fire danger from lithium-ion batteries that power micromobility devices at a CPSC public hearing in July. Coming out of that public hearing, the consensus was the industry was asking for help to solve the problem. Boyle had an answer.

"I'm happy to announce we are poised to consider regulatory regulations for micromobility devices across the board, including e-bikes," Boyle said. "We're going to propose mandatory requirements for batteries in micromobility products. But it's going to take a while."

Boyle said in the next year, CPSC staff will research developing lithium-ion battery requirements, adding she thinks there will be additions to the voluntary standards in place currently. In December, the CPSC urged manufacturers and importers of e-bikes and other micromobility devices in a letter to comply with relevant safety requirements, including UL's 2849 standard.

"Over the next year, we will develop a proposal so that a year from now, we can bring it to the commission," Boyle said. "And if some version is approved, then we will open a public comment period. That's where you come in to weigh in on the proposal. And then we take those comments into consideration. And then hopefully a final ruling some time in 2025. Even though there's consensus and even though there was positive energy in that (July) forum, it is a long process. If the industry comes into compliance with voluntary standards that are in place now, that will be a really helpful part of the process."

While Boyle applauded New York City's recent legislative action to require recognized certification like UL for all micromobility devices and batteries, she said developing a federal standard is important.

"I look forward to doing that as quickly as possible. And to that extent, you all can come into compliance with voluntary standards and you can continue to evolve as the new standard comes into focus. I think that's the best way we can pursue safety for consumers."

When asked about global standards like ISO 4210 and EN 15194 by moderator Erika Jones, Boyle said it would be beneficial for the CPSC to consider those standards but not necessarily adopt them wholeheartedly.

"I think it's safe to say bike culture there is ingrained and more enhanced than it is in this country, so we can learn from them and coordinate with them. In terms of full adoption, there are differences in the speed (e-bikes in Europe provide assistance only to 15.5 mph instead of 20 mph in the U.S.). I think this comes to mind first."

Boyle expressed apprehension over Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes and how the CPSC will view them.

"I do worry that, especially Class 2, with a throttle-based system, that there are no pedals involved," Boyle said.

Class 2 e-bikes actually do have pedals and provide throttle-controlled assistance. "Electric bikes" like Sur-Ron off-road are marketed as bicycles but have no pedals.

"It makes me wonder whether (a Class 2 e-bike is) a bicycle and what consumers will think of that. Is it a motorbike? Is it a motor vehicle? As for Class 3, I'm also concerned about the 28 mph speed. I worry that it doesn't match what ordinary riders can achieve, especially for older Americans. I think we need to look at that from a regulatory perspective and from your business perspective. Your consumer base might be different from the bicycle aficionados that make up your original base. Do those speeds make sense for children and older Americans?"

PeopleForBikes announced early during the conference the creation of a Technical Standards Working Group to collaborate with industry members, federal agencies, and standards-development organizations to craft voluntary standards for bicycles, e-bikes, and e-bike batteries.

The Technical Standards Working Group will bring together experts from across mechanical, electrical, and legal departments within the bike industry to craft updated standards that blend with international requirements and ensure that products sold in the U.S. are high quality and safe for consumers. The goals of the group are to update the existing requirements for the design, assembly, and testing of bicycles and electric bicycles and incorporate existing national and international standards where appropriate.

Boyle concluded by saying from a consumer and industry perspective, safety is good for business.

"As you consider that maybe there's a more diverse user base in terms of skill and ability to be thinking about these questions: You need to be thinking about young riders and senior riders, and you need to be thinking about how fast is too fast, thinking about what your brake systems are. You have the policymakers' ears. I think we're at a pivot point to make sure that positivity remains and that safety is front and center."

Cycle of Influence Updates Summit Agenda and Panelists, Offers July Discount.

Steve Frothingham — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 14:03:56 +0000

The Cycle of Influence Summit announces a website update that offers more detailed information on the Agenda and Panelists: cycleofinfluence.com/agenda

Join this year's Summit where the next-generation new thought leaders connect! COI has assembled an impressive list of panelists with diverse experiences to bring to each topic. One of the panels, "Innovating for Tomorrow," will be led by Zap Espinoza and discuss the possible innovations they see coming ahead and for the future. This will not be a history of innovation discussion, it's a future-thought discussion!

Please visit the website to see all the panel topics and panelists.

Additionally, COI is offering a Special Discount of 15% if you register before July 31st ($100+ savings) - Use code 'COIREG15/'

Click to Register

This year the COI Reception, Sept 12th, will take place at the exclusive Blake St. House. As a result, COI is offering a Guest Pass for purchase for use of the facilities during COI. The Guest Pass includes: Use of House Social Spaces, Dining Room, Bars, Lounges, Sound Lounge, Library, and Backyard. Use of Wellness facilities including Pool, Hot Tub, Steam Room, Locker Rooms, Gym, and Cold Plunge. Use of the Bike Cleaning and Maintenance Station.

$60 for 4 days ($15 p.day!). Purchase at COI checkout.

Questions?

info@cycleofinfluence.com