MOAB, Utah (BRAIN) — The first Spring Outerbike consumer expo event opens here Friday, with about 500 participants and 32 exhibitors expected for the three-day event.
Event organizers have held Outerbike in the fall four times previously. This year, they are expanding with the spring event in Moab, a June event in Vancouver, B.C., and the traditional fall event in Moab in October.
Organizer Ashley Korenblat said bike suppliers have been requesting a spring event, timed closer to when bike consumers are actively shopping.
"People are coming here ready to buy; 100 percent of the attendees are shopping for a new bike," Korenblat said. Many have made a significant commitment to attend: registrants are coming from at least 43 states. The full registration fee is $175, which includes demo access, trail shuttles, lunch for three days and some evening activities.
Several of the larger bike manufacturers, however, are unable to attend this month's event because of conflicting dealer events. Korenblat said the spring show's timing was a challenge because Moab hosts several large events in the spring, including the Jeep Safari, which traditionally starts the weekend prior to Easter and continues through the holiday. In coming years, the Spring Outerbike dates will likely float a bit depending on Easter's date.
She said in its first year, the spring event will have about half as many consumers as recent fall Outerbikes. On the exhibitor side, many medium-sized high-end mountain bike brands will be in attendance, including Pivot, Ibis, Niner, Yeti and Santa Cruz. Smaller clothing and accessory brands also will attend, including several women's bike clothing brands that will be selling their wares at Outerbike.
While other consumer bike events include competition and heavy media attention on new product introductions, Outerbike remains focused on the consumer demo. The event is held adjacent to a trail network that allows quick demo rides, and organizers also run shuttles to some of Moab's other trails. The event also includes evening activities including a movie night and a party with a live band.
"The whole idea from beginning is, 'we can be nicer to consumers.' This is all about them; it's not about the industry or the media or the racers. It's about getting people the chance to ride as many bikes as possible on real trails," she said.
Korenblat said the event may expand beyond Moab and Vancouver in coming years; she said several communities around the country have approached Outerbike about hosting an event in their area. Expanding to multiple locations is preferable to making the Moab event larger, she said, in part because it would be impossible to have enough demo bikes available for more than about 1,500 participants.
