There seems to be a real air of excitement surrounding any large scale trade show that is put on for public consumption. For years I have read about the NBS in various magazines and watched the video footage from the Sprung DVD’s and told myself that this is something I need to experience. Well, this year the opportunity presented itself for me to attend the illustrious bike show and be a part of this great institution that is the public trade show.

Now, to be brutally honest, for my first time experience I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I was expecting to see wall to wall trade stalls with bargains galore and new shinny kit just crying out for me to take it home, in contrast the reality was one hall with quite a few trade stalls, the arena housed a few more trade stalls and the exhibition area where trials riders displayed their talents, a round of the K.O.D (King Of Dirt) was held and there was some sort of 4X sprint thing going on, not too sure what exactly was trying to be achieved with that though!

At the opposite end of the complex there were various mini ramps, fun boxes and spine ramps for the BMX’ers . Some of the moves being thrown down here were awesome, it’s the first time I have ever witnessed a flair being executed before my very eyes, impressive stuff!

Now back to the trade stalls, who was there and what was on display;

One of the highlights of my weekend was getting to have a bounce on the new Sunn Radical, this is one sweet sweet rig, expect to be seeing a lot of these on the UK scene over the next year or so.

Another bike I have been looking forward to seeing in the flesh was the Empire, you know, the one that was featured in Dirt a few issues back. This bike bears an uncanny resemblance to the highly coveted Honda, mainly in the swing arm area. I’m not too sure about the horizontal fins that provide the frames lateral rigidity; let’s just say I wouldn’t like to get my leg caught between the frame and any solid obstacle in the event of a crash! All the same, Craig did mention to me that the final production run would have a more polished finish and greater attention to detail.

MTB Distribution were displaying the Prototype DaBomb gear box DH rig, the only one in existence might I add. This frame was designed around the SR Suntour gear box system; it seems as if this is going to be the next step forward in terms of technological advancements for the MTB industry.

Ged the Head had a fine selection of Brooklyn bikes on display, these are beautifully crafted bikes, not for the faint hearted though, and I wouldn’t want to be pushing the mini link up Tollymore every weekend!

Commencal had a good selection of bikes on display, from the Supreme DH to a prototype all mountain bike there seems to something in their armoury for all levels of rider.

Formula brakes have a new importer into the UK in Toby Smith with Propel Distribution. These are awesome brakes and have been attracting a lot of attention of late. Now that there is a reputable distributor this will eliminate any reservations over the availability of spare parts should you need them, although with the quality of these babies I cant see that need arising for a long, long time.

 

Another manufacturer that seemed to be drawing a curious crowd was Bionicon with their range of adjustable geometry bikes. I have to admit, these seemed to work pretty well in a static position, and it would be interesting to see how they would perform under real world riding conditions.

Chain Reaction Cycles also had a strong presence with enough computer pods set up to entice the impulse buyers and loyal customers alike to place orders on the day and gain a 10% discount into the bargain. There was even a preview showing of the new Super 8; illusionary lines DVD playing on 2 big screens at either end of their stand, that alone was enough to attract WC DH star Chris Kovarik’s attention as he was spotted checking himself out on screen.

And of course, what MTB event would be complete without the ubiquitous Steve Peat! Peaty was on hand all weekend to have a chat, sign autographs and display is new V10, nice bike, and an all round nice bloke too.

The K.O.D competition drew a fair crowd for the final where the UK’s top dirt jumpers battled it out for the honours of being crowned King of Dirt, that and taking home some extra beer vouchers!

In the end the prize purse went to Giant UK’s Chris Smith for his amazing array of tricks including no footer back flips, tail whips and superman seat grabs to name but a few. All in, the aerial antics of these guys were truly breathtaking to watch and were certainly enough to keep the crowd entertained for a couple of hours.

All in, as this was my first real trade show, I suppose it wasn’t too bad. I had hoped for something more for my first experience, and to be perfectly honest, so did the punters who paid full whack for their tickets! Hopefully lessons were learned so that we can look forward to a bigger, better experience for next year, and here’s hoping!