CABDA Retailers: How do you rate Las Vegas?

LAS VEGAS (BRAIN) — This is CABDA’s first show in Las Vegas. On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate Vegas as a host city for a bicycle trade show?

Phil Cohen, Chain Reaction Cycling, Evans, Ga.

8.5 to 9 and moving up. Walking in here today brought back a lot of good memories about how much fun a show in Vegas is. There’s a ton of people here, so I think it’s a great move for our industry. I don’t see any downsides. If we’re going to have a show like this I can’t imagine a better place and I think the show will continue to grow.

Rich Bartlett, Block Bikes, Palmdale, Calif.

I give it a 6 out of 10. So far, it’s e-bike focused and not catering to the needs of a passionate, conventional shop like ours. We’re more of an analog shop than an e-bike shop. It’s a step in the right direction though. We need this. Our heart’s not beating anymore. Direct to consumer is killing us. It feels like we’re just turning units to keep the doors open.

Carlette Madary, Cycleworks, Clute, Texas

I give it a 9. I love it here, so many great things to do and see. Have a little fun along with doing the work. We’re looking for some more e-bikes but mostly we’re here to build relationships so we can continue to grow our business. We pride ourselves in our shop, we’re all about building community, we’re doing that here with our vendors too.

Jim Kersten, CABDA, Chicago

This city is designed for trade shows. It’s designed to get people in and out as quickly and cheaply as possible, there are more direct flights and there are several hundred thousand low-cost hotel rooms within three miles. We’re seeing so many people from outside that traditional four-hour drive window. I give it a 15 on a scale of 10.

Ray Turman, West Valley Bicycles, Surprise, Ariz.

I definitely give it a 10. It’s so inexpensive to fly in and stay. I’m here to get a sense of the trends and where things are going. I’m a mobile shop, and the brick-and-mortar shops send me a lot of business. I serve a retirement community and I work on a lot of e-bikes and trikes the seniors can’t load in their cars and take to a shop.

David Miller, Palo Alto Bicycles, Palo Alto, Calif.

Las Vegas is great. Everybody can get here easily. Do I like the smoke, we’re in a healthy industry so not so much. I’d give it an 8 or 9. Our industry is all about community and connection, people first, products second. I like meeting my vendors face to face. Our Q1 is up over 2024, so we’re optimistic about the coming season.