Detroit Bike City Show and Swap, Cobo Hall

[pgn421]

This Saturday, March 24, at Cobo Hall , Michigan Room. Bicycle show and swap, 10- 6 pm, 8.00$ kids 12 and under free.

[pgn421]

​Did anyone go? I couldn't make it

[Gannon]

My girlfriend and her friend made it after four...and it was either enormously successful and they sold/traded all the bikes, or only promoters of tours and t-shirts and spray-on tattoos showed up.

I'm guessing the real good stuff came and went before noon.


They got charged the full $8 rate apiece to get into what ended up being a worthless event for both of them.

I like the idea, and hope it grows next year. I also hope to hear better reviews of what it was like earlier in the day.


Cheers,
John

[BasementBeat]

Darn. I'm in need for a good [[affordable) bike. I adore biking through the city during the summer.

[pgn421]

Thanks. Gannon

[Gannon]

As with most swap meets and hobby shows...it was obviously best to be early. This report from the Freep tells a VERY different story than what the ladies I know observed.

http://www.freep.com/article/2012032...text|FRONTPAGE

So, next year...they need to emphasize for the newbies to come early...and possibly discount admission for late-comers to avoid exactly the somewhat incorrect assumption some may conclude if my partner's description was the only data.


I'm glad this happened. It should happen with Hifi, too. We used to have a hifi show at Cobo every year. I'd love it if the AudioAsylum guys would get it together and come into the city, but I understand their motivations for keeping their annual gathering in Oakland County. [[some might remember the story in the Metro Times about these maniacal lovers of old stereo)


Cheers,
John


[[still not believing we never made it to your side of Michigan Avenue during the parade, Pat!)

[southen]

i went and was disappointed. i guess showing up at 2pm was a bit late to see the good stuff and get some deals. i did like seeing some of the proposed bike routes for the city though. that has me pretty excited.

[pgn421]

Bike Tech is having their 3rd annual Bike Show , at Balduck Park. I will post the date. Also. The Grandaddy of all bike shows and swap is in Ann Arbor , April 29 th. people from all over come to this. Lots of antique and classic bikes!

[Downriviera]

I was there noonish. I liked it but I can understand why people were disappointed. I'm cutting them some slack being that its the first event. Needs to improve for next year and I'm sure it will.

[Kathleen]

Ran into Todd Scott at the Nain Rouge event this afternoon. He said about 1200 people attended the bike show yesterday. It was very successful...and perhaps unexpected, being that this was their first time. They are already taking what they learned yesterday into account for planning next year's show.

[Mikeg]

....Also. The Grandaddy of all bike shows and swap is in Ann Arbor , April 29 th. people from all over come to this. Lots of antique and classic bikes!

MICHIGAN’S ANN ARBOR/SALINE CLASSIC BICYCLE SHOW AND SWAP MEET

April 29th, 2012 will be the 32th Anniversary of the Biggest, Oldest, and the Best Antique and Classic Bicycle Show in the Nation.

This annual one day event held at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds, 5055 Ann Arbor/Saline Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan, will host over 250 dealers from across the continent. At last year’s show more than 7,000 Classic, Vintage and Collectible bicycles were on site representing nearly every major bicycle maker in the last century.

The $3 admission [[kids under 10 free) to the Show provides the public with a variety of opportunities to participate in the bicycle collecting hobby like no where else in the nation........

Where do ya think they find all that stuff to sell on Ebay?!!
At the Ann Arbor swap meet of course!

[Rolfsy]

The freep article is full of model-d-esque omission. I'm sure a few people managed to buy bikes, but it was not at all what I expected [[and I've managed my expectations vigorously since the Christmas Wonderland)

Went at 10am - barely anything going on. Figured I was too early so went out for lunch and came back around 11:30-noon. A few more vendors had showed up, and a handful of bikes [[i.e. 3) were in the swap corral. If nothing was going on around 2pm as above posts are indicating, this thing never really got cooking.

Hope they were encouraged though, and come back next year with improvements. Was wondering if the Russell or somewhere in Corktown wouldn't be a better location. Seems the brutalist Cobo logistics could be a hinderance to any serious gathering of bicycles for sale. Maybe a Saturday afternoon gathering at Eastern Market?

[stromberg2]

Yep, the Christmas Wonderland at Campus Martius was a wonder! [[Sarcasm Alert!)

Stromberg2

[Downriviera]

The freep article is full of model-d-esque omission. I'm sure a few people managed to buy bikes, but it was not at all what I expected [[and I've managed my expectations vigorously since the Christmas Wonderland)

Went at 10am - barely anything going on. Figured I was too early so went out for lunch and came back around 11:30-noon. A few more vendors had showed up, and a handful of bikes [[i.e. 3) were in the swap corral. If nothing was going on around 2pm as above posts are indicating, this thing never really got cooking.

Hope they were encouraged though, and come back next year with improvements. Was wondering if the Russell or somewhere in Corktown wouldn't be a better location. Seems the brutalist Cobo logistics could be a hinderance to any serious gathering of bicycles for sale. Maybe a Saturday afternoon gathering at Eastern Market?

I was thinking the same thing. Anywhere would have been better than Cobo. Eastern Market would be perfect.

[pgn421]

Those vendors pay a hefty price to have it at Cobo