ST. PAUL, MN (BRAIN)—With bike dealers starving for more service oriented training, Park Tool is going to fill a void.
Next January’s Park Tool Tech Summit will feature two-day “technical schools” that would feature in depth, three-hour, hands-on classes taught by brands: Fox Racing Shox, Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo, Hayes, Rock Shox, Avid and Park Tool.
“Individual component companies can’t cost effectively reach all the dealers they would like to,” said Bill Armas, marketing director for Park Tool. “QBP’s seminars at Frostbike are popular as are the clinics held at Interbike, but there is too much else going on and the seminars are too short to really get into the issues. Some manufacturers put on regional training clinics, but the dealers don’t get to actually work on the bikes while they learn.”
Park Tool Tech Summit will have two events that last two days each. One will take place in Philadelphia (Jan. 12-13, 2009) and the other in Ontario, California (Jan. 26-27, 2009). Both sites will be adjacent to airports so a rental car isn’t needed. (NOTE: These are now the official dates. Not the dates in BRAIN's June 15 print story.)
Cost for dealers to attend is $175 before November 1 and $195 after. This covers the cost of presentations, meeting space, student manual with breakfast, lunch and snack for both days.
To learn more about the Park Tool Tech Summit, click on link.
Also be sure to read more about the Summit in the June 15 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
—Jason Norman
