Monday, October 16, 2006

Bike Show bling

I wandered along to the Bicycling Australia show on the weekend to see all the shiny new bikes. It was great to see the huge variety of bikes and accessories available: from road and mountain bikes, folding bikes, commuters, handcycles and recumbents. The highlight was probably a dead heat between the vintage bikes and the velocar tucked away in a dark corner.

The most puzzling thing for me though was the dominance of high end racing bikes on display. You'd have to wonder why perhaps 50% of the bikes were $2,000 and up and only much use for competitive racing. I'm a fan, but after a while all the carbon fibre and Dura Ace gear gets a tad repetitive. True, there was a decent showing of practical commuters, a couple of tourers and even one bike which boasted a front light, but the largest number of bikes on display were variations on a single theme that probably didn't appeal much to the majority of people who'd shelled out $15 to walk in the door. There much be some logic to it, but it escapes me.

1 comment:

Treadly and Me said...

You've confirmed my gut instinct SD. I really wanted to go but just couldn't be bothered pushing my way through crowds of people drooling over expensive bling to see the few stands that I'd be interested in.

Anyway, I hope you got your $15 worth!