BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The tenth-anniversary edition of The Philadelphia Bike Expo welcomed more than 200 vendors and nearly 5,000 attendees to the Pennsylvania Convention Center last weekend.
Diversity and inclusivity were the prevailing themes of this year’s show. Exhibitors displaying e-bikes co-mingled with custom frame builders, and bicycles of every sort filled the show hall. Meanwhile, the wide slate of seminars was well-attended, demonstrating consumer interest in topics ranging from racing to bikepacking, frame building to urban advocacy.
Second-year exhibitor SRAM showed a commitment to greater inclusivity and diversity by sponsoring the PBE Inclusivity Scholarship, designed to support women, trans and POC builders who have been underrepresented in frame building and the industry in general. The first-year scholarship recipients were Julie Ann Pedalino of Pedalino Bikes, Megan Dean of Moth Attack, Schön Studio’s Danielle Schön, and Jackie Mautner of Untitled Cycles.
Show sponsors Industry Nine, VeloJawn, Dirt Rag, Piscitello Law, Green Mountain Energy and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia all reported a satisfying show experience based on customer interactions and brand promotion.
Show director Bina Bilenky said: “It’s been an amazing journey from our beginning ten years ago with a few dozen vendors in the old Armory to where we are today with hundreds of vendors and nearly 5,000 people attending. The Philly Bike Expo has always been a family affair and we rely on contributions not just from my immediate family, but from all the sponsors, volunteers, staff, vendors, and consumers who return every year.
“Everyone who loves bicycles is invited to join our family– but no matter how big we become, we’ll never leave our deep roots here in Philadelphia.”
Next year’s Philly Bike Expo is set for the weekend of 14th to 15th November, in the same glass-walled hall in the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
