Western Spirit Cycling Tours will offer riders a rare opportunity this September and October to test ride 2011’s top bikes before they are available in shops. Dubbed Outerbike, the mountain and road bike demo event is scheduled to kick off in Moab, Utah on September 30 and run through October 3, 2010.
“I used to be the president of Merlin and I know that a lot of people bought those bikes without having really gotten to ride one,” said Ashley Korenblat, founder of Outerbike. “It’s typical in the high end scene that you go on faith of what your buddy has or what the dealer can get you but you don’t really get a chance to find the perfect bike for you.”
The four-day demo weekend was designed to give cyclists a chance to thoroughly test the industry’s up and coming bikes for 2011. There are more than fifteen brands committed to sending truck loads of demo bikes to be tested at will.
Bike manufactures participating in Outerbike include Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, Marin, Kona, Santa Cruz, Turner, Yeti, Pivot, Ibis, Maverick and Rocky Mountain among others.
“Outerbike has been received super well,” said Korenblat. “They are all really looking forward to reconnecting with the customers. All companies have loyal followers but they don’t have the chance to meet them. There will be representatives, athlete and product designers there to see the customers.”
Outerbike takes advantage of the iconic bicycle industry trade show Interbike that annually takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the end of September. Instead of packing up and heading home, manufacturers will send their demo bikes to nearby Moab for consumer testing.
“I know how hard the bike companies work to get their bikes to Las Vegas and then its over and there is nothing to do,” said Korenblat. “We were thinking that it would be great for them to come to Moab and open up their demos to the consumers because that’s not going to happen in Las Vegas which is only for industry people.”
“We wanted to do something that would be fun and give everyone a great chance to really ride the bikes,” she added. “Since all the bike manufacturers did a great job building all their demos they mine as well just bring them over here.”
Tickets are priced at $150 dollars and include four days of testing on some of the best trails in the US. Outerbike will use three famed trailheads that include The Bar M, the Sovereign Trail, and the Slickrock all located around the city of Moab. Pricing also includes daily lunches and festivities to be had over the long weekend. Proceeds will go to Moab Trails Alliance and IMBA.
“The riders will get a chance to ride a couple of bike in the morning on a couple of shorter trails,” Korenblat said. “Then, in the afternoon they can grab a couple of new bikes and test them out on some different trails.”