Emerald Expositions announced last month that it was canceling its 2019 Interbike Expo. That might not be the end of the story, though, as Emerald has been eyeing two options for a revived bike trade show that could happen as soon as this year.
Option one; have a bike trade show element at the fall Outdoor Retailer show, scheduled for Nov. 5-7 in Denver.
Option two; include bikes in the outdoor demo portion of OR’s summer show from June 18-20 in Denver.
I don’t see either option going anywhere. Booths are too expensive, travel is too expensive, and trade shows just don’t work in this day and age. Not to mention, no show with timing after big names like Trek, Specialized and Giant have hosted their private events and tied up dealers to buy will ever get off the ground successfully.
We’ll see what happens, but I’m of the opinion that the show should just take a year or two off to see if something actually worthwhile and helpful can grow out of its ashes.