By Tyler Servoss
Once again, Utah continues to be a favorite for bicycle industry gatherings. July saw Deer Valley play host to the Bike DealerCamp. The camp was a three day opportunity for bicycle dealers from around the country to meet with manufactures and get a close up look at 2011 product lines. The list of manufacturers on hand was lengthy and included Ridley, Salsa, Scott, Defeet, Fox, SRAM, and BMC among the 50 plus exhibitors.
Several distributors such as Quality Bicycle Products, and Bicycle Technologies International had large display areas touting their brands. Quality Bicycle Products was of particular interest as they are operating a portion of their business out of Clearfield, Utah and will soon open a large facility in Ogden. Their booth prominently displayed an image of that new facility that is coming online in this December.
In recent years, large brands like Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale have established their own private dealer camps and this camp fills a need for focus time on other brands. The venue allows for riding and testing in real world terrain and is a great excuse to escape to the mountains of Utah. The scheduling also dovetails nicely with the Outdoor Retailer show which happened the following week.
Attendees were able to take advantage of the lift served runs at Deer Valley to put the various dirt offerings to the test. As a first timer on the Deer Valley trails it was a blast to bomb the big runs on a long travel DH bike, and then head back up on a super light and fast Cross Country machine.
Road riding loops included short rides around Park City and Deer Valley and larger loops into the surrounding communities of Summit County. The opportunity to try bikes with a variety of frame materials and component groups on great roads was a treat.
The event was such a success that the organizer, Lifeboat Events has already announced that the event will be returning to Deer Valley July 26th-28th 2011. While they would like to grow the number of manufacturers and attendees the overwhelming response has been to keep the event intimate.
To learn more about the event visit www.bikedealercamp.com
