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EuroBike: The off-road set in the courtyard

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By Ted Costantino, in Friedrichshafen, Germany
Published: Sep. 7, 2005
Impromptu set-ups pop up all over the Eurobike courtyard.
Impromptu set-ups pop up all over the Eurobike courtyard.

The Eurobike trade show in Friedrichshafen first opened its doors in 1991. Back then it was a funky little thing that felt more like a gathering of the tribe than the prestigious international event it has become today.

Felt fenced off a small BMX arena.
Felt fenced off a small BMX arena.

Friedrichshafen city’s old trade fair arrangement contributed to that feeling, consisting as it did of a mismatched hodgepodge of creaky buildings connected by a confusing warren of halls and passageways. The buildings were clumped around an irregular courtyard that the Eurobike show filled with test tracks, jumps, a BMX freestyle arena and the inevitable overflow of exhibitors under pop-up tents. Mixed in the periphery were a smattering of pushcart vendors selling grilled bratwurst, fish, fries and schnitzel, while a large tent covered a makeshift beer garden. Not a bad setting.

Under the soft late-summer sun of southern Germany, Eurobike became as much a festival as a trade show. The afternoons were especially sweet. Visitors would sit under the tent drinking beer, mountain bikers would swap rigs for test rides, the smoke from the grills would fill the air and the scent of ganja would occasionally waft by, further mellowing the scene.

Inside the hall, Felt put this concept on display, inspired by the Bonneville streamliners of the fifties.
Inside the hall, Felt put this concept on display, inspired by the Bonneville streamliners of the fifties.

To its credit, Eurobike still retains some of that funky German Gemütlichkeit. The move to a spacious new set of halls four years ago helped the show grow in size, organization and importance, but the courtyard, beer tents and test tracks also made the trek to the new digs, and the atmosphere remains congenial and friendly.

Despite the huge emphasis on road bikes in recent years, Eurobike still nurtures a vital mountain bike scene. As in North America, there remain plenty of small independents cranking out one-off frames and suspension systems with a level of craftsmanship that begs to be chronicled.

For the Meccano set, there’s this girder structure from Onion.
For the Meccano set, there’s this girder structure from Onion.

For our final Eurobike report, we’ll take a look at the courtyard scene, along with some bikes from a few established mountain bike companies set up inside the show’s spacious halls.

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