Thursday, 28 March 2024
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Cycle show organisers Immediate Live, launch eBike demo days events

The organisers of the Cycle Show and London eBike Festival, Immediate Live, have announced the launch of a new line-up of demo events this summer.

Immediate Live will house the demo events alongside its other events at National Trust’s Wimpole Estate, with a larger stand-alone version at Alexandra Palace.

Chris Holman at Immediate Live, said: “The industry’s stock shortages unfortunately put pay to the viability of the indoor shows this year, but several brands expressed the desire to keep driving demand to IBDs by showcasing eBikes to the public and, critically, getting people riding them who may never have considered owning one before.”

“As we all know, it doesn’t take long for riders to get the ‘eBike Grin’ so the artisan festival activations are very much about doing just that. It will give brands an opportunity to speak to an affluent audience of potential leisure riders who are ‘knowledge poor’ when it comes to electric bikes,” he added.

The Alexandra Palace event will feature a longer commuter track with the same incline that RedBull take advantage of for their Soapbox Races, plus a loop in the woodland for MTBs and gravel bikes. “We’re definitely not trying to replicate trail centres further afield, but offering an opportunity for existing riders and new cyclists from London and Home Counties to try out the various eBike options properly. Again, the opportunity to chat directly to the brands about what’s best for them will be a strong attraction for the ever-growing leisure and commuter audience in the capital,” said Holman.

The demo rides at the artisan fairs will run all day with bikes available on a first come basis. At Alexandra Palace there will be a registration system in place for timed sessions so the organisers can manage footfall at peak periods.

Holman said: “We’re treating the Alexandra Palace event as a taster of our annual Cycle Show and London eBike Festival in April and an opportunity for us to fine-tune our procedures for the test tracks next year. Opportunities to test-ride bikes in London are few and far between and so the terrain at Alexandra Palace and the brands we have coming to the show are a key USP for the Immediate Live events and we want to make the demo experience the best we can make it.”

The venues for the eBike Demo Days are:

  • Hampton Court Palace Artisan Festival: 18-20 June 2021
  • Alexandra Palace: 14-15 August 2021
  • The Artisan Collective Fair, Wimpole Estate: 3-5 September 2021

The following brands have agreed to take part in this year’s demo line-up: Madison with Ridgeback and Saracen, Specialized, GoCycle, Ison with Benno, Gazelle, CSG with GT and Cannondale, Moore Large with Tern and Forme, ARCC, Wisper, Vanmoof, Electrify Bikes, eStarli, Angell, Talio and Cairn. Spaces for bike brands are strictly limited and there is a single opportunity for a helmet brand to be a partner for all three events.