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.