07 Sep Dahon at the World’s Biggest Bike Show
Eurobike – what’s it all about?
Every year industry types from around the world flock to the small town of Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance in Southern Germany for the world’s biggest bike show. If you’ve never been to a bike or trade show, allow us to demystify a little in this short article.
Stats lovers may be interested to know that the Eurobike show is made up of 1,250 exhibitors from 49 countries with 43,700 industry visitors, 20,500 additional bike fans on public day, and 1,889 media representatives from 42 countries attending.
In reality, this means such a vast display of bikes, e-bikes, accessories, parts and clothing that no mortal would be able to see everything on offer in the four allotted days. Exhibitors show their latest and greatest in a number of indoor halls in booths of varying size. There is also Demo Day, one day before doors open, where visitors can test ride outdoors to their heart’s delight. This year the sunshine was right on cue and we got to share our folders with a whole bunch of folk, proving just what a great ride you can get on a folding bike. The smiles we see after a test ride are one of the best parts of the job!
Back at the exhibition, it’s down to business. The global nature of the bike industry revolves, to a large extent, around the trade show calendar. So the three days before public day are non-stop drop-ins, walk-bys and scheduled meetings with distributors, dealers, suppliers, media and old friends. Exhibitions are of course a place to show off new products, and at Dahon we had a strong line-up including the Visc P18, Formula S20, Ikon E-bike and our innovative EEZZ. There were also exciting new developments in accessories, but the lowdown on those will come later.
Activities are not just limited to the trade show itself (although it was a real shame to see the lake jump cancelled due to rain). Most nights will have a dinner scheduled and some work to catch up on. We work darn hard, but had just enough time to see a few local sights! All in all we are happy to report it was a great show for Dahon, made all the more so because our EEZZ became a double award-winner by picking up a Eurobike Award. Time to get planning for next year – bring it on!