When we got there they gave each of us a Camelbak Polar water bottle just for showing up. Craig was blown away by that. He loves those things.
The first thing I did at the expo was enter the Bike Tours Direct giveaway. A trip to Italy! Oh yeah! The folks in the tent were really friendly and completely honest. I know this because I tried to bribe them and it didn't work.
We started visiting each tent and talking to everyone. Some were ready, some were getting ready, some were still hung over and didn't know why they were there. I stopped at a tent where a guy was selling clothing and hats with bikes and gears on them. A particular brown hat caught my eye. I thought it would look good on my wife. But I decided to keep going in case something better came along.
Once I found the guys again Craig had hijacked a bike with big fat tires. He rode it around for a while and laughed. Bikes are so fun. And this one also had shifting built into the hub.
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Craig loves Continental |
We moved on to the Continental tent. These are Craig's favorite tires. He took time to thoroughly inspect each tire. He and the tire salesman swapped stories of undying love for them and I have to admit I was impressed. But my allegiance is to Maxxis for all the support they give to local racing in North Georgia.
We left there and found the GIANT bikes tent and the sales rep there in. He showed us the new Propel road bike that GIANT says is faster than any road bike in the world. And they can prove it! Or it could be some genius marketing spin.
GIANT Propel |

Oh and if you're wondering about the twisted handle bar... that's just in case someone tries to steal it. Imagine trying to bolt out of the expo with the handlebar like that.
They make you surrender your drivers license when you test ride a bike. Just FYI.


There were several surprise lubes at the expo. Let me explain. Did you know that WD-40 has a bike lube specific line of stuff? Me neither. What interested me most was the Frame Protectant. So I got some and plan to try it on my carbon GIANT TCR. I'll let you know how it works.

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CamelBak HAWG |
KMC Chains was interesting. Not sure I want a colored chain but if your into some serious bling they had all you could handle.
We got to meet the Owner and Builder from Cysco Cycles, Richie Moore. He has some of his custom Ti work on display that was really cool. He uses all the latest industry technology like BB30, electronic shifting, 12 mm thru-axles. I tested a Ti road bike he created with disc brakes and DI2.
I was so enamored I didn't take a single picture. But I did take one of the bamboo bikes?
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Bamboo Bikes |
We talked to others like the Bike Athens people. They were great. I love Athens so it wasn't hard to impress me. They have a great map of the city which highlights each road and it's vehicle traffic.
And then it happened. We made our way back around to the GIANT tent so I could ride the XTC carbon mountain bike of my dreams. The bike that will slice through single track like hot butter. The bike that I want to ride more than any other bike at the expo was under the undeserving butt of Dustin Mealor! He stole my bike! Stole it! And I called him my friend!
But I'm not bitter. I moved on to the Niner tent. Where I could find a ride on par with the bike stolen from me. Only to find that there were no Larges left there either. We had waited too long. The good $5,000 plus bikes were gone. And who wants to ride an old 3,000 dollar bike... right?
Anyway, we moved on to the SeaSucker exhibition. I first saw these things in Athens at Twilight and loved them. They're kind of expensive and I wasn't sure about them then but now I've seen all the cool iterations they've come up with and I may try them. At first you think they won't stay put but the design is great. A little indicator on the side of each one tells you if your loosing any pressure. If so you just pump them up a little.
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SeaSucker has a great product. |
After that we took our bags of swag and headed over to C-Town Bikes. I've wanted to get over there for a long time. They sponsor nearly all the races in North Georgia and I like to give back. But like a dork I didn't take any photos so you'll just have to use my link if you want to see the shop. Nice place with great people inside to help. I bought some wool gloves.
After that we headed home with some Zaxby's. We had a lot of fun and met some great bike people. I will definitely be going back next year. But the first thing we're doing is ride. I won't be taken advantage of again.
Next up is the Dirty Spokes Duathlon at Fort Yargo in Winder, Georgia. I'm racing with my friend Kelley Edwards and my daughter Molly is racing solo. Should be a great time.
Others are heading to the Historic Brooks races in Brooks, Georgia. Wish I could guys! Go get'em!
Thanks for reading!
Chad Hayes
It's a creative idea to stick qr code image on the helmet or autobicycle. That help cyclist get assistance easily from emergency page.
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