Ace venue, good trade support, dodgems and nice food stalls. Even drinkable Tetley Smooth on tap.
Didn't watch any of the racing or ride a bike or anything, but looks a good un.
I'll be back next year, with stuff to show, and can't wait. Cool.
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BikeRadar Live - the makings of a classic.
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Posted 2 years ago #
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drinkable Tetley Smooth
Oxymoron....??
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'd agree with Gary_c
Posted 2 years ago # -
Fair doo's, Tetley Smooth may not be my drink of choice but it is fairly reliable. If it's on you know what you are getting. Bit like a bottle of Bud
Posted 2 years ago # -
The lesser of several evils. Anyhow.
Posted 2 years ago # -
:(Fair doo's, Tetley Smooth may not be my drink of choice but it is fairly reliable. If it's on you know what you are getting. Bit like a bottle of Bud
Both s**t!
Posted 2 years ago # -
It looks like a music festival without the music. Like Glastonbury.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I was very disappointed. For £15 entry there didn't seem much to offer - ok if you wanted to try a bike there was plenty of choice, but as for trade stands where you could buy stuff that wasn't expensive widgets or displayed on shiney stands it was rubbish. Only Leisure Lakes and Rutland came close to having a decent stand, but both of these were tiny. Fair play to Chain Reaction offering free servicing, but I thought they were too busy to wait for their fettling expertise. For the size of the venue the event was too small - apart from a ride round the track or a ride outside of the venue what was there really to tempt people there? And it seemed badly organised; poor access to the car park, two entry booths with no priority access for pre-entrants, poor exit arrangements...I wouldn't like to be trying to get out of there towards the end of the day, poor toilets (I heard one of the exhibitors berating a security steward because he couldn't find anywhere except a ladies toilet to have a sit down). At least all the catering looked good.
Posted 2 years ago # -
as for trade stands where you could buy stuff that wasn't expensive widgets or displayed on shiney stands it was rubbish. Only Leisure Lakes and Rutland came close to having a decent stand, but both of these were tiny
Decamping a comprehensive retail range into the middle of a field would be extremely time consuming and expensive don't you think?
apart from a ride round the track or a ride outside of the venue what was there really to tempt people there?
Free bouncy castles and face painting, Islabikes try-a-bike with lovely James (no relation) Richards instructing. Interesting seminars and talks from interesting people.
entry booths with no priority access for pre-entrantsI drove through and waved my wrist band with some success.
I heard one of the exhibitors berating a security steward because he couldn't find anywhere except a ladies toilet to have a sit down
then he must have been blind of stupid, as my wife says there were blokes sit down bogs next to the ladies, next to the bouncy castle.
apart from a ride round the track or a ride outside of the venue what was there really to tempt people there?
Worldclass riders duelling on the tracks? Dirt Jumping? Just "meeting up with mates, checking out nice stuff and drinking overpriced below average beer in the sun?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Anyone know who won the 4X?
I was supposed to be going as a couple of my team riders were racing the 4X event, but decided to go riding instead of going to watch other people riding.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Gotta go with Brant on this one - For a first year event, only put together a few months ago, it's an absolute cracker - a proper broad appeal bike festival, sort of like the NEC show was when it was good!
Can only grow from here, and I think bang for your buck marketing/exposure for trade exhibitors has got to be far better than something like Earls Court, just a shame that its still a little early for 2010 gear to be on show.
Personally, I'm glad that it wasn't just a big jumble sale - I'm wondering if as a trade event it could surpass Mountain Mayhem next year.
Posted 2 years ago # -
EASY TO KNOCK so do it yourself next year and show us how it should be done, as a first it can only improve gotta give them credit on their first atempt
Posted 2 years ago # -
I thought it was a pretty good day; didnt really get time to have a proper look about as i was flat out all day (i was on the Rutland stand) but from what i saw most people seemed to be enjoying themselves and were in good spirits but i think the weather certainly helped.
Yeah retail space wise it is pretty small, were actually running Burton McCalls stand for them and in return we got to fill what space is left on it, with our products but were only informed of this 2 weeks ago so considering the timescale we didn't do too badly! It was a tricky one to judge, i personally didn't want to hark back to the bike show of old which was basically a car boot sale so just took some nice kit to give people an idea of what we do.
Im there again all day tomorrow so if anyone wants to say hello just pop on over! We have Rutland Cycling Rock and its yummy!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hey - it didn't rain!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Quit ya whinginPosted 2 years ago # -
how did the night time enduro look?
Posted 2 years ago # -
was it full of 14 year old groms buying tioga DH tyres for a tenner each?
Posted 2 years ago # -
We have just got home.
Arrived Friday at 5.30pm and although it was supposed to open at 5.00pm we had to wait in a holding carpark for nearly an hour before were able to get on site. Some very frayed tempers on display.
Camping/parking arrangements were very poor. Toilet facilities were appaling.
Showers as far from the camping as was possible. The hot showers were great, but sadly only 4 of the 24 had hot water. No water anywhere to wash hands or clean teeth...I suppose I could have used the cold showers! (call me old-fashioned, but I do like to wash my hands after using the loo!)
Loads of "staff" wandering/sitting around, but none able to answer simple questions.
Security people everywhere, but none able to answer any questions.
No tannoy system to say what was going on.
It may well be a first, but how much experience do you need to know that 4 toilets are not going to be sufficient for 2000 plus campers?
Enjoyed watching the duel slalom.
Our kids enjoyed collecting a few autographs.
The pissed up wannabeGees had a great time!!
Weather couldn't have been better.
MrFC would have enjoyed the 12hr enduro more if we could have had access to the camping by the enduro start/finish. But according to some competitors this morning, they had to create a huge fuss in order to have access. The security guys threatened to tow our car away if we moved it from our allocated parking place.
The domestic arrangements just had not been thought out properly at all.
Probably a great event if we had gone for the day and not the whole weekend.
Oh, and I didn't see the dodgems being used once!! Right brant...you have my permission to rip my post to shreds!!!
Posted 2 years ago # -
If they've struggled with organisation and arranging suitabel retail stands I don't quite understand how, as MBUK/WMB are part of Future Publishing, a company that also includes "Redline", "Fast Ford" and "Total Vauxhall" amongst their stable which are heavily involved in organising some of the best modified car shows with great trade stands, programming, announcements etc.
Why didn't they tap into this field of knowledge/experience that has well over a decade of experience when it comes to this level of show.
Perhaps the basic comcept of the show is flawed, people generally ride bikes for thier own satisfaction, sure it's nice to watch competitions but riding is riding.
Modified cars is all about show and the "Look what I've done" to my car etc, hence the massive success of these types of shows
Posted 2 years ago # -
Decamping a comprehensive retail range into the middle of a field would be extremely time consuming and expensive don't you think?
they why do it in the middle of a field?
was it as bad as the NEC and stoneleigh were? the only good thing about those two were the fact it was only 40mins from home, sounds from the above it wasn't much better
Posted 2 years ago # -
Ive heard rumours the XC course was terrible.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Just got back. We did the 4 hour pairs enduro.
Manchester Trev - the rumours are not true.
The course certainly wasn't terrible - exactly what bike radar described in their website - woodland singltrack linked together with field sections. single track sections were fine, very pedally, with some interesting obstacles - I've never seen north shore bits in an enduro before and they are great fun. The course was, however, pretty tough, no sections to coast in, very much a full on short course xc type of thing. We had a great time and that seemed to be the consensus among the racers.
With regards to the general disatisfaction - I'd echo what brant said. yes some teething problems, not enough toilets right on your doorstep (who wants toilets on your doorstep?) but life goes on. I thought there was plenty of intersting trade stuff, and A LOT of nice bikes to take out to play on. the 4X sounded like a brilliant format - the only hting I would say was that, as a mountain biker, you couldn't enter the enduro and watch the 4x, whereas the roadies obviously could - it would have been great if some of the rounds happened at say 5 or 6 in the evening so we could at least watch a few rounds. food - good, nice vibe.
All in all, an excellent first year - I'll be back next time, though, as with any of these events, weather is a major element.
dodgems reminded me of phoenix nights.
well done bike radar!
Posted 2 years ago # -
dodgems reminded me of phoenix nights.
shabba!
how much experience do you need to know that 4 toilets are not going to be sufficient for 2000 plus campers?
oh, that sounds a bit grim
Posted 2 years ago # -
I thought it was brill, no major reservations
I can't comment on the camping or showers. But
Really good dual slalom field. With Rachel Atherton helping on the commentary
Loads of chances to ride. I road
Haro Mary 29 er
Giant Anthem X1
Scott spark 20Plus a blast round the Donnington race circuit on a Carbon road bike
My son got in for free and also demoed a load of bikes
I discovered on a Watt bike that my pedalling action is crap and that I can generate 1300W
We found cycling shorts to fit my son for a tenner down from 40 quid
We drove out the car park easily at 5:10 . We did que for a bit to get in though
Posted 2 years ago # -
Just got back, did the 12 hr enduro last night with Olly, Blackhound and Markenduro (we finished 5th in the teams!
). I agree with Brant, good range of stalls and cycling 'genres' catered for, nice burgers and great dual slalom and dirt jump events with the likes of Gee, Peaty, Minaar etc competing (dunno if Peaty did actually compete but he was around), and Danny MacAskill showing those amazing skills in the Trials area.There did seem to be some issues with the enduro parking though, although we were lucky enough to get a pass into the car park...but then that's Donnington for you!
I liked the XC course - considering the lack of height around Donnington it made the most of what was available...some nice swoopy singletrack, cheeky north shore if you were brave enough and off-camber sections to keep you focused. The field climbs were a bit of a drag though.
Posted 2 years ago # -
i was entered but couldn't go due to a foot injury on thursday. I did see a map of the layout on the website though; was the solo camping adjacent to the transition area or not. And could you not park our car by your tent then?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Just went for the day with my son, thought it was great. Obviously the fantastic weather and the fact that he got in for free helped, but there was plenty to see.... the Animal demos with Danny Macaskill were amazing and the dirt jump finals were immense! Oh and the free bouncy castle was a big hit.... as were the dodgems :roll:. Seemed to be lots of people having a good time, nice vibe, really mellow.
Posted 2 years ago # -
well done mbuk
Posted 2 years ago # -
Initial impressions were not great. Stuck outside the gates waiting to get in with hundreds of others as they didn't open the gates on time.
Parking/camping situation seemed silly, as you were not allowed to park next to your car.
After asking several people we finally got into to enduro area where we camped and from then on everything was positive.Good size with plenty to offer, especially considering this is the first year it is running.
Enduro course was fairly short compared to Mayhem or 24/12 etc. Around 6km, but good fun. Lucky it was dry though, the design would have been a nightmare in the wet.Shame the duel was on at the same time as the enduro, as I would have loved to have watched it. It certainly sounded good.
Overall a good weekend and I hope it grow next year. I'd be happy to go again.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I went on Sunday to help Simon from Green Oil. I also went to see how it was organised any get tips for the Big Bike Bash. The main thing that seemed to cause problems was the toilet facilities so I will be making sure we have loads of toilets.
The track was okay but by Sunday the bit through the woods was like a sandpit deep in dust. A fair selection of trade stands but it was quite spread out so you walked the jump competition then walked over to the track then walked over to the stands. I think having them more combined would be better.
Good day yesterday and nice sun burn today.
Posted 2 years ago # -
General concensus appears to be that it should have been bigger, but smaller too. And that everyone should have the right to park their cars and bottoms right next to any activity they happen to be taking part in. And the racing shouldn't have grassy bits, or sandy bits, or bits that might get a bit tricky if it rains. And that the shops should bring everything, sell it cheap but still let us have a go on the really valuable stuff (which they did). And that everything should be crammed together, but not so crammed together that you have to put up with those spotty young grommits who use their bikes to hop about rather than ride. And get loud rather than just sad and reflective when they have a beer
Personally, I thought it was an excellent couple of days out. Few festivals manage to successfully celebrate every aspect of bike sport. It seemed to do that really well, as well as having plenty stuff for bored family tagalongs.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Please don't let the negative comments put you off this event.
For £25 my son and myself spent a whole weekend sampling different bikes, riding dirt and tarmac, watching mtb heroes racing and jumping and a bit of chill out time inbetween. Fantastic.
OK the brill weather was a huge bonus but the lack of a multitude of jumble sale trade stands was not missed. Perhaps a few more toilets and water points for the campers would be good for next year.
Already looking forward to 2010Posted 2 years ago # -
Still think they nicked the idea from the Big Bike Bash
Posted 2 years ago # -
Weather was great but the organisation was crap!! No one could tell us where to park for the Enduro event. We were put in the wrong category. Now the results are out there are two teams in front of us with less laps!!!
Posted 2 years ago # -
tick over here too.
the event was top notch in my opinion.
enduro course was pretty good, some nice twisty bits, some fast swoopy bits, nothing to tech to worry about in the dark.i borrowed some proper lights (yay, thanks Steve G) and was LOVING hammering around the loop at two in the morning, seeming to be the ONLY person doing the north shore section through the night, to the tune of the new prodigy album
tip
top
the 4X was ace, wish ide taken part in the amature series now!
the jumping was aceDanny Macaskill was AWESOME.
was really good to see him, late on sunday, practicing the flair to rear wheel stop.
proves that even HE can cock it up some time, and its all about practice, over and over again.Posted 2 years ago # -
The organisation for the enduro was sh**e, no one in charge had any idea wot the f*ck was going on!! & the marshals had f%cked off before the race finished?? what it needed was Patrick Adams
however that would mean it would rain.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm sorry, but I'm with Foxy Chick and Rangeroy... I was very dissapointed, considering the level of promotion in the affiliated press I was giddy with excitement. A friend and I were using it as a typically perverse and painful way to celebrate a 38th birthay and finishing a change of career necessary degree respectively. According to the blurb this looked like the perfect way to celebrate.
We planned to trundle down after lunch on saturday, rest, prepare ourselves for the 12hr night enduro, ride hard, and have a snooze sunday morning before a mooch round the trade stuff before returning home.
On arrival, despite having a very posh "W" sign given to us at the gate, nobody could tell us where to park. We abandoned the car by the obvious camping area but could see no sign of the enduro start. We lucked upon the registration tent, where we were given numbers etc. all seemed well again, untill we asked where we needed to go...nobody knew anything!! We were told to go "that way" and ask someone down there, which we did, they had no idea either, one girl hadn't even heard of a 12hour enduro ride and looked as if we were talking in a foriegn language at the mention of solo pits, camping area or off road course. In all we did a lot of walking before we found one security guy who pointed out a seperate camping field along with racing tape with Whyte written on it which we deduced may form part of the course, it was however more just because he happened to be stood next to it!
We then had to "negotiate" our way through security as described by Foxychick above. By this time, we had about 90mins till we needed to be on the start line, not exactly good preparation, we thought arriving 3hrs before would be enough, clearly not!
Once we made it to the start line, despite numerous attempts at friendly advice from a number of riders, the marshalls insisted that sending the soloists off first with the teams behind was the best way to go, this led to the inevitable stress of a load of team riders trying to get through all us steady state soloists so they could ride at full pace.
And yes, the rumours were true...I really wanted the course to make up for all the rubbish organisation, but it was truly, monumentally crap. Yes, there was singletrack through the woods, but it was all flat or climbing, and because of the soil it was cut from it was like riding through 6inches of sand. There was about 200m of trail which actually felt like a trail, the rest was either flouncing around in the soft soil, or bumping your way round the edge of a farmers field. This may have been ok if you were in a team, but as a soloist after 2 laps it was tedious, after another couple we just didn't want to be there, so we called it a day, packed up and left. As fairly experienced enduro riders we could easily have stayed and plugged away for twelve hours, but we were simply so insulted that we had payed £40 for something this badly organised and set up, and if we left early we had the chance of making it back to manchester in time to get some rest and still race at the Lea Quarry XC race on the sunday, which was much shorter but infinitely better run.
I'm sorry for ranting on, but if some people who organise these things read these feedback threads, hopefully they will take it as constructive critism and see areas to improve. At the end of the day I think the organisational issues could have been easily solved with a simple marshals/security briefing before the start of the event, as for the course, I think it's indicative of trying to fit a course round a venue rather than finding somewhere that makes for a good course, then fitting the ameanities around that, a la CLIC24 a couple of weeks earlier.
Apologies for ranting on so much, just needed to get it off my chest as I was so dissapointed following high expectations.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I really hope anyone who had bad experiences at the weekend are posting their constructive feedback on the Bikeradar forum or dropping them an email too?
(Not a dig at anyone btw, it's just I'm sure the people who organised it would appreciate genuine feedback so things can be improved next year
)
Posted 2 years ago # -
I was there. The stands etc looked jolly.
The organisation was shameful. It was when one of the staff didn't know what 'pits' were. At a venue hosting the World Super Bikes it's a bit of a worry.
The 12hr enduro was not at all clever, in terms of course layout, length, starting order, wet weather rideability, or administration.
The timing on the other hand was fab and there was lots of parking/ camping, albeit guarded by zealots and the unknowing in equal measure.
I hate to knock events and it may have been OK as a trip out with the kids to look at some 4X and trials - but I'm not going again.
Posted 2 years ago #
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