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PR man Michael Heal of the Events Group said the visitor profile was one of the biggest plusses of the show:
"It was very noticeable that there were a very large proportion in the 25-40 age group who were well informed, receptive and were seriously looking to find products that suited their needs and who were quite prepared to pay the price for these high spec items."
IBDs were not allowed to sell from the expo but the results soon filtered through for IBD-exhibitors. Grant Young of Condor said visitors who came to the show on Friday were in his shop the next day buying the models they had seen at Cycle 2002.
Ian Whittingham of Sigma Sport experience the same effect:
"We met a very large number of the general public who were serious about cycling. On my return to the shop on Sunday afternoon I sold four bikes to customers as a result of what they had seen at the show on Saturday. The show was a credit to the industry. Everything had a style and a professionalism about it."
Suppliers had a good time too:
"We had a busy trade day followed by three extremely busy and encouraging consumer days," said Richard Allmark, commercial director, Fisher Outdoor Leisure PLC.
"We saw people from all over the UK and we were impressed by their level of knowledge and willingness to enhance their enjoyment of cycling through better quality components. Let’s make Cycle THE show!"
Trek’s Brian Buckle was also impressed:
"We were confident that the show could deliver what we were looking for – large numbers of the general public who were interested in finding out more about our product ranges. Cycle was a high quality show that has also created a massive amount of positive publicity for cycling in general. Our dealers will reap the benefits."
Jayne Foster, PR and events manager at Raleigh, liked what she saw:
"There was a great mixed audience and plenty of well-informed visitors looking to trade up. There was an extremely positive response from the public and a sophisticated environment in which to conduct business."
Roger Dillon of Polaris, not normally one to praise shows unduly, said:
"The exposure we gained in the Evening Standard and on the live broadcast on LBC was something that we could not buy. We had all this and a show which enabled us to show off our comprehensive range of products to a well informed and interested public who turned up in large numbers."
Inventor Paul Hewitt of Recoil Suspension Seatposts, at the show with a new lock product, claimed he clinched a big-money deal:
"We were only here to dip our toes in the water to see how our new product would be received. I walked away from the show with orders totalling £4.5 million. I cannot praise the show highly enough."
For Bill Farrow, sales manager at PCL Distribution, importer of Family Bike and Bottecchia, the show was always busy:
"We have been delighted with the show. The trade day resulted in a sizable number of new dealers taking our products and the consumer interest was well beyond our expectations – both in terms of quality and quantity. After the public days we can now contact our dealers around the country giving them leads that we are confident that they can convert into sales."
