Held Nov. 10-11, the fifth-annual San Francisco Bike Expo a bike lover's dream.
Custom builders, bike polo players, kids, new- and use-gear sellers, and everyday riders transformed the Cow Palace indoor arena in Daly City, California into one big bike party, complete with an adjacent outdoor bike park.
In the 48,000-square-foot South Hall, custom frame builders and bigger exhibiting companies shared the place with bike polo players and their "4th Annual Ball Whackers Ball."
This used to be a unicycle
Many builders, such as Bicycle Fabrications, Renovo Bikes and Bamboosero, treated the show as equal parts art exhibit and selling opportunity.
“I wanted to make something new that looks old,” said Brad Hodges of Nemesis Project, a local custom bike builder. "I treated it as an art and design project, rather than just treating it as a bike."
Among the highlights: Yuba utility bicycles, for parents who want to carry their children and other cargo in the back; Renovo Hardwood Bicycles offering 30 types of wood for frame construction; Bamboosero building frames with bamboo from Africa and bark cloth, the same material with which mummies were wrapped.
Bamboo bottom bracket shells and mummy wrap — just another exhibit at the San Francisco Bike Expo
The expo included track bikes, mountain bikes, BMX bikes and road bikes, plus water-proof shoes, art, imported and U.S.-made clothing, bags and bike gear.
The 48,000-square-foot North Hall held swapper's row, where individuals, teams, clubs and bike shops swapped used or new old stock to other cyclists.
But the fun didn't stop there. Outside of the two halls was another whole area of vendors, music and bicycle ramps and dirt courses. The expo what show organizers claimed to be the “only mountain bike slopestyle head-to-head competition placed in a major urban city.”
The Expo hosted what organizers said what "the only urban slopstyle competition"
Not too far from the competition was a kid's zone, complete with walking bikes and a little pump track. There was also a fixed-gear freestyle competition, a fashion show, a miniature velodrome dubbed the whiskeydrome and more.
Check out the huge photo gallery for all the details.
Bike shows are serious business