Press release based news from the Cycle Show – which has moved to Birmingham from London this year…
“Cycle Show organisers have this week revealed the brand new Outdoor Mountain Bike Demo track, sponsored by dare2b for the duration of the show, which is a first for the show as it moves from London to Birmingham’s NEC.
The purpose built 1km track, which will be open to visitors at the 10th anniversary Cycle Show, was tested out yesterday by cycling experts from across the UK, just two weeks before it is set to open to the public for the very first time at this year’s show. See a video of the track here:
Riders at the launch included elite British mountain bike racer, Maxine Filby. She commented: “The track is absolutely wicked. It combines everything a rider could imagine in such a short space, with twists, berms and pumps right round the track. It will be perfect for testing out all the latest bikes at the Cycle Show this year – a mountain bikers dream”.
Rob Scullion who rides for Continental, Orange Mountain Bikes added: “The track is really good fun, with loads of flowing corners and rollers. You could almost forget you that you are on a test track and think you’re on a forestry trail. If you want to cruise round, it’s do-able for a beginner, but if you want to hammer it, there are plenty of tight turns to test your ability.”
The organisers of the Cycle Show, Upper Street Events, have teamed up with the NEC to make their biggest investment to date in mountain biking, and 2011 sees the introduction of the permanent track, which is jointly funded by Upper Street Events and the NEC.
Andrew Brabazon, Event Director for the Cycle Show commented: “The fact we have the space to offer an amazing track like this is one of the main benefits of moving to Birmingham. Everyone who has been on it so far has been impressed, and I expect that when visitors are riding state of the art bikes around this track they are going to really enjoy it.
“The track is everything we wanted it to be and more and we can’t wait for visitors to the Cycle Show to get the chance to try it out.”
The newly built track will offer a unique opportunity to test out the latest mountain bikes on a permanent outdoor track at this year’s show, which promises to be the best yet. The show will be open to the public at the NEC between 30 September and 2 October this year, but the track will be staying for good.
Chris Hartley, Business Development Director at the NEC commented: “I’m thrilled with how the track looks and feels – riding around it is a real buzz! Exhibitions and events are about the live experience, where all senses are touched – and this really does it. And what’s great is that this track is here to stay, and we hope to work with the bike trade and surrounding communities – businesses and school groups – to deliver the likes of bike demo days and corporate events throughout the year.”
The track is designed to offer the best environment to show off your skills on the very latest mountain bike brands. The exhilarating 13-sector track will include table top jumps, flowing rock drops, low riders, cambered turns, bermed corners and a rolling/pump feature as well as a combination of fast flowing and technical sectors.
The start line for the track will be a mountain biker’s paradise, with the opportunity for show visitors to ride some of the world’s most desirable bikes, which will be open to all Cycle Show visitors on a first come, first served basis.
In addition to the new 1km Outdoor Mountain Bike Demo Track, sponsored by dare 2b, this year’s show will also feature a new 600m Outdoor Road Bike Demo Track, perfect for commuters to test out all the latest products on. For the kids, 2011 will see the return of the 6-12’s test track, run by fully qualified coaches and the Kiddimoto kids test track for under 6’s.
For more information, or to book tickets, visit www.cycleshow.co.uk or call the ticket hotline on 0844 848 0132. Advance tickets bought online or through the ticket hotline are priced at just £12.50* for adults, £10.50 for concessions, £6.50 for children entry is free to under 5s. Special offers are available for advance group bookings.
*£15.50 on the door
Singletrack and the Cycle Show have teamed up to offer special cut-price tickets for readers. To take up the offer head to www.cycleshow.co.uk/STM and use the code STM. This will offer you tickets for £11 rather than the on-the-door price of £15.50.
When testing out the track yesterday, riders used head cameras provided by Cycle Show exhibitor, Contour.
Comments (14)
Comments Closed
This looks great, I’m ready to go, but… errr…..I can’t find any info at all on what bikes they will have :/
just been and taken a look on my way home from work.
IT SUCKS.
admittedly the the none permanent stuff isn’t up but the trail through the trees isn’t up to much.
…and what did you expect for beginners on the 1km track huh?
Its the best UK cycle show test track ive ever seen, but then i loved blasting round the car park of the Business Design Center a few years back on a KMX. Its only meant to give you a taster.
Looks good considering it’s an indoor exhibition, certinally beats bouncing round a car park using kerns to test suspension
Would like to have some idea on what bikes will be available and what procedure is for testing, do I need to take ID, credit card deposit, pedals, shoes etc
Info is a bit lacking on the website
Oh and you didn’t mention the singletrack £11 advance ticket offer by quoting STM on website?!
“This looks great, I’m ready to go, but… errr…..I can’t find any info at all on what bikes they will have :/ ”
Exibitors list though:
http://www.cycleshow.co.uk/exhiblist
http://www.cycleshow.co.uk/Content/Demo-Bikes/42/
Considering last year’s much hyped effort was just a loop of duck boards on a rancid blue carpet, this looks really good.
Thanks andy k, just what I needed
I was thinking of going along to the show, mainly to see what I could get for my (nearly) 4 year old – I was hoping to see an Islabikes up against some of the competition.
Anyway, after some tortuous searching, it dawned on me that the exhibitor list (overall) was pretty limited, and certainly not worth going in the expectation of walking away with a bike for my eldest daughter.
Imho, the list on the link posted by Andy K above (thanks Andy) backs that up. The range of bikes for demo is pretty limited, and I don’t think it’s much better for the wider exhibition.
There is nothing from any of the ‘household names’, which for a national cycle show seems strange.
Of the people who’ve been before, will any be paying to go again this year? I’m beginning to think I’d be better off going to Evans for free!
Pretty good demo track is that- wonder if they’ll let you test their shiny brand new bikes on it if it chucks it down with rain for the entire week?
@andrewreay – Maybe go along anyway. TBH, not all of the brands exhibiting have been announced yet – although with 1 week to go I doubt it will change much. It won’t be the major side-by-side comparison opportunity you were hoping for, but I don’t think a situation like that is available in the UK. However, there will be a few different kids bikes for you to look at and compare/ make notes etc – then go along to Evans or whoever and look at the others such as Islabikes afterwards. You’ll be able to see how the bikes fit your kids, talk to some brand people for advice and it will certainly help you make an informed decision. Plus the demo track and hi-octane BMX competition etc will entertain the kids enough to justify the entry price I’m sure. As a bike browsing adult with no kids last year, the show wasn’t for me – but for someone in the market for a new bike with kids, you’re more the target audience. I’d give it a go…
It’s the usual story. No big brands going so no 2012 bikes to speak of. I’ll pass. Not even a good excuse to get drunk. At least the old show had DJing and 4x or something..
@passtherizla
Jesus, what a misery…it looks great for a quick test spin!