Irish cycling show 2015 RDS 18/19th April

mjp

Came across this online over the weekend and wondering if it's worth a visit or what previous years were like.

http://www.irishcyclingshow.ie

€10 entry for the day

QueensGael

I went a few years ago, thinking I'd be able to buy some stuff (like one can at the craft show or K&S show for example). I was looking for cycling shoes and new gloves, but no joy. All they had were display models, which weren't for sale. Not sure if it has changed since then, but I haven't gone back.

So whether it's worth going to depends on what you want to get out of it.

nak

It's ok, have been to them all because I got free tickets. There wasn't much to buy last year either. Rapha had a good amount of stock for sale and free coffee and cake.

Rua_ri

I have been to 3 of these shows and don't think its worth the entrance fee.

Eric Pode of Croydon

For what its worth I went to last year's show in Merrion Square. Entered and much to my surprise won a competition for a Fizik saddle.

Several e mails and almost 10 months later I finally managed to have my prize rather begrudgingly sent to me. While I cant blame all the exhibitors for the attitude of one of the major English exhibitors I was clearly not impressed.

Would I pay a tenner again to see what was on show last year regardless of that particular experience - No.

bazermc

Defo not worth a tenner in.

If I recall last years shows, in the Merrion Square, it was on the same weekend as stage 3 of the Giro finished in Dublin and there was no entry fee in.

Craig06

I do think it's poor form to charge in considering the large price charged to exhibitors. Surely give free entry thus encouraging more exhibitors by having a higher traffic of people

DaithiMC

mjp wrote: »

Came across this online over the weekend and wondering if it's worth a visit or what previous years were like.

http://www.irishcyclingshow.ie

€10 entry for the day

If its anything like last year it is not worth €10 entry fee, in fact I think it is cheeky to expect people to pay in and will probably be a barrier to the companies trying to get sales. I would expect it probably to be of lower standard given that last year also had the Giro on at the same time.

Lumen

Everything at the RDS is crap. It's like a temple of crapness.

Zen0

Lumen wrote: »

Everything at the RDS is crap. It's like a temple of crapness.

Surely not. What about those Chris de Burgh concerts they used to hold there?

eeeee

Lumen wrote: »

Everything at the RDS is crap. It's like a temple of crapness.

The Horse Show is epic. Once of my favorite events of the year. It takes over every single bit of it and over to Simmonscourt. It's a temple of equestrian awesomeness the first week of August!

Beasty

gadetra wrote: »

The Horse Show is epic. Once of my favorite events of the year. It takes over every single bit of it and over to Simmonscourt. It's a temple of equestrian awesomeness the first week of August!

Delighted to hear that as I've forked out for 3 season tickets for me and 2 daughters in August!

eeeee

Beasty wrote: »

Delighted to hear that as I've forked out for 3 season tickets for me and 2 daughters in August!

I've gone the full 5 days every year bar last year for the last 11 years. It really is amazing, there's so much going on, even for an unhorsey person, there's so much to see.

There are at least 4 classes going on at any one time, between jumping and showing, the breeding classes are great.
The classes of the show for me is the 3 year old loose jumping, fantastic view into what breeding and crosses are doing what. The eventing loose jumping too, but it's in a very tight arena.
The breeders classic is a close second to the loose jumping, as mare and foal are judged. Then the stallion classes/parades. The broodmare furtuity (sp?)

The international warm up would educate you just looking alone. Watching the best in the world warm up is something I never tire of. Listening to the chef d'equipe's and coaches is amazing too, especially on the Friday.

Aw I love the horse show! It's one of the last links to my past life. That and the coming 3 year old at home! I hope to have him sold by then though or the father will actually kill me...

I'll see ya there!

Lumen

gadetra wrote: »

The Horse Show is epic. Once of my favorite events of the year. It takes over every single bit of it and over to Simmonscourt. It's a temple of equestrian awesomeness the first week of August!

I knew someone would bring that up. I won't go to the Horse Show because if I did I'd have to buy a horse and I won't do that because they killed Superman.

Harrybelafonte

Lumen wrote: »

Everything at the RDS is crap. It's like a temple of crapness.

Don't say that... I have to go to the Ideal Homes exhibition this week. The holiday show was great, I got 15 free pens.

Kaisr Sose

Lumen wrote: »

Everything at the RDS is crap. It's like a temple of crapness.

Lots of Leinster Fans would strongly disagree...as would those who visit Ireland every year to watch or take part in thr Horse Show.

The bike show is crap though...just an attempt to cash in further on the cycling boom.

Beasty

Lumen wrote: »

I knew someone would bring that up. I won't go to the Horse Show because if I did I'd have to buy a horse and I won't do that because they killed Superman.

There's no way I'm going there just to buy something on impulse.....



....is there?????

Lumen

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

Lots of Leinster Fans would strongly disagree

What's a "Leinster Fan"? Is there some sort of sport whose advocates are so self-important that the name of the sport isn't a required qualifier?

Like "racing fans". And we're back to horses again.

bazermc

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

Lots of Leinster Fans would strongly disagree...as would those who visit Ireland every year to watch or take part in thr Horse Show.

The bike show is crap though...just an attempt to cash in further on the cycling boom.

Leinster what? which sport is that? :eek:

couerdelion

Lumen wrote: »

What's a "Leinster Fan"? Is there some sort of sport whose advocates are so self-important that the name of the sport isn't a required qualifier?

Like "racing fans". And we're back to horses again.

It's a bit like "United" fans. Peterborough? Colchester? Carlisle? Oxford?, Sheffield? Newcastle? No, there's only one club who feel they don't need to use a qualifier...

OleRodrigo

If there's a stand advising on how to buy less stuff, I'm there.

kevin700

Rua_ri wrote: »

I have been to 3 of these shows and don't think its worth the entrance fee.

Thanks for the info

Mattie500

Can I take it that people are saying it would not be worth travelling from Cork for the day with the kids? A trip to the LBS to get something that I "might" need would serve the same purpose?

nak

Mattie500 wrote: »

Can I take it that people are saying it would not be worth travelling from Cork for the day with the kids? A trip to the LBS to get something that I "might" need would serve the same purpose?

Yep, wouldn't bother making the trip. It's not a patch on bike shows elsewhere.

on_the_nickel

Mattie500 wrote: »

Can I take it that people are saying it would not be worth travelling from Cork for the day with the kids? A trip to the LBS to get something that I "might" need would serve the same purpose?

Well, you get out of Cork for a day. So there's that.

columbus_66

The Ideal Homes exhibition is on this weekend as well in the RDS Simmonscourt so you could do both, parking may be tricky though!

Beasty

couerdelion wrote: »

It's a bit like "United" fans. Peterborough? Colchester? Carlisle? Oxford?, Sheffield? Newcastle? No, there's only one club who feel they don't need to use a qualifier...

Whatever you think there's only oneunited

petethedrummer

Beasty wrote: »

Whatever you think there's only oneunited

It should be Manchester Divided.

Mattie500

on_the_nickel wrote: »

Well, you get out of Cork for a day. So there's that.

Hadn't looked at it that way... as tempting as it sounds I might stay put. the dubs wouldn't understand a word I would say and I could end up hungry.

eeeee

Mattie500 wrote: »

Hadn't looked at it that way... as tempting as it sounds I might stay put. the dubs wouldn't understand a word I would say and I could end up hungry.

There are plenty if us culchie immigrants up here in Dublin to translate for you. Just do the special signal...

Harrybelafonte

As I've been reminded before, I'm not a culchie... apparently, I'm what Dubliners lovingly refer to as a Nordie Bastard.

Harrybelafonte

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/glitzy-and-entertaining-irish-cycling-show-all-set-for-rds-this-weekend/

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Lumen wrote: »

Everything at the RDS is crap. It's like a temple of crapness.

Toys for big boys... That was fantastic.

Harrybelafonte

Alessandra Silly Slingshot wrote: »

Toys for big boys... That was fantastic.

I like your sarcasm.

pprendeville

I saw on bikebiz that An Garda are down as one of the exhibitors. I'm not aware of any company trading with such a name so I assume it's An Garda Síochána. What exactly will they be exhibiting?

petethedrummer

pprendeville wrote: »

I saw on bikebiz that An Garda are down as one of the exhibitors. I'm not aware of any company trading with such a name so I assume it's An Garda Síochána. What exactly will they be exhibiting?

A few years ago they had a fella taking serial numbers for the stolen bike database.

pprendeville

That's pretty decent of them.

Kaisr Sose

pprendeville wrote: »

I saw on bikebiz that An Garda are down as one of the exhibitors. I'm not aware of any company trading with such a name so I assume it's An Garda Síochána. What exactly will they be exhibiting?

Perhaps....

Road Safety ? ( lights, hi-vis, helmets, mandatory equipment on a bike ( ie independent brake on fixed)

Rules of the Road as thry apply to cyclists (many I see each day could benefit)

Demonstrating the best and worst type of locks? ( not all locks are created equally.....:-) )

Helpful stuff like that or looking for recruits for their cycle force ;-)

jackstaff

Think il remove that idea of myself and 3 kids heading into the cycle show for the so.

Any other places or idea to entertain my lovely brats

pprendeville

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

Perhaps....

Road Safety ? ( lights, hi-vis, helmets, mandatory equipment on a bike ( ie independent brake on fixed)

Rules of the Road as thry apply to cyclists (many I see each day could benefit)

Demonstrating the best and worst type of locks? ( not all locks are created equally.....:-) )

Helpful stuff like that or looking for recruits for their cycle force ;-)

Hadn't thought of all that. Good points.

Lumen

jackstaff wrote: »

Think il remove that idea of myself and 3 kids heading into the cycle show for the so.

Any other places or idea to entertain my lovely brats

Apparently there's an Ideal Homes Show on at the RDS. :pac:

Tenshot

I called in for a few hours this morning, since I'll be looking for a new bike over the next couple of months.

It was better than I expected, tbh. There seemed to be a lot more exhibitors than last year and plenty of stands selling things. Most were offering discounts on accessories, clothing, etc and some had show discounts on bikes as well.

I saw a few things I hadn't seen before - Pedibal had a backpack cover/vest with integrated lighting and signalling, operated wirelessly from a handlebar remote. I've never been a big fan of bike-mounted indicators but this actually looked pretty good.

The kids enjoyed the test track, especially the John Deere bike and fat bikes.

I didn't end up buying a bike but I picked up a new jacket and some other discounted bits and pieces which more than covered the entry price so happy overall.

gizajob

They were charging €5 in today for adults - kids were free
Not busy and some good bargains - there was a dutch crowd that weren't too happy with numbers but had good discounts as did most everyone because foot flow was down. kids were able to test bikes and zipping around on anything they could - Garda were giving the best freebies :eek: - lights (tiny little things) and puncture repair kits

buffalo

I was out here yesterday, it was a great chance to have a talk directly to vendors of various products. Got to try various nutrition stuff (though couldn't blag any free take-home samples), see different jerseys than the usual, and have a peek at some stuff that normally wouldn't pop into my mostly-racing oriented world. And the BMX and trials skills show that I caught was excellent.

Eric Pode of Croydon

At a loose end yesterday I ended up, against my better judgment, going to the show. Felt a bit better about it when I saw they had reduced the entry fee to just a fiver. Bought a few bits and pieces at discounted prices. Spoke to one of the vendors who told me the show had been very badly attended. He had to pay €1,000 just to have a stand and had to fit it out himself. While he made a few sales he would not break even. When I put it to him that a tenner at the door was a big disincentive he sounded surprised that it cost so much to get in. I suspect the fiver on Sunday was probably in response to the poor turnout on Saturday.

buffalo

I think with the lovely weather, a lot of potential attendees would've made the call to spend their time on the bike rather than indoors.

07Lapierre

Eric Pode of Croydon wrote: »

At a loose end yesterday I ended up, against my better judgment, going to the show. Felt a bit better about it when I saw they had reduced the entry fee to just a fiver. Bought a few bits and pieces at discounted prices. Spoke to one of the vendors who told me the show had been very badly attended. He had to pay €1,000 just to have a stand and had to fit it out himself. While he made a few sales he would not break even. When I put it to him that a tenner at the door was a big disincentive he sounded surprised that it cost so much to get in. I suspect the fiver on Sunday was probably in response to the poor turnout on Saturday.

After the first show a few years ago..i received a call from one of the organisers looking for feedback. I pointed out that IMO holding the show in the RDS and charging people in was a big turn off for a lot of people.

I thought they had taken this on board last year when the show was held in Merrion square, so I was very surprised to hear that they went back to the RDS this year.

Kaisr Sose

buffalo wrote: »

I think with the lovely weather, a lot of potential attendees would've made the call to spend their time on the bike rather than indoors.

Bang on.

A cycle show should be held from October to End Feb. That would make sense but probably won't happen because there are other events taking these slots.

I pity the exhibitors. The cost of the exhibitions at RDS is always mad money ( with no reliable footfall stats to back up the fees). It just means once bitten twice shy, and they will be unlikely to take part again (making it even harder for the event to be successful going forward)