CABDA Midwest Expo 2020: At Home in Chicagoland
by Craig Lepkowski, PCI #1180-B/EMSCI #272-B
Lake Forest (IL) Police Department
IPMBA Secretary
In February 12-13, 2020, I attended the CABDA Midwest Expo in Schaumburg, Illinois. The Chicagoland Area Bicycle Dealers Association (CABDA) re-launched its trade shows in 2014, and has since expanded beyond Chicagoland to two additional locations. The first of 2020 was held in January on the west coast (near San Diego); then it traveled east to Chicago-Schaumburg for the Midwest show before finishing on the east coast in Secaucus, New Jersey (Metro New York). The CABDA Expos are open to bicycle retailers and other invited industry participants. They feature seminars, clinics, and product displays from manufacturers, service companies, distributors, and sales groups.
With over 200 exhibitors, the event is a cyclist’s dream. The exhibitors run the gamut from large distributors and companies like Midway Bicycle Supply and Kryptonite to family-owned shops like IPMBA Corporate Members ISM Saddles and C3Sports (Police Bike Store). Even though I attended both days, it was impossible stop into every booth. I was on a mission to strengthen connections with current vendors and establish relationships with businesses of potential interest to public safety cyclists. I skipped all the e-Bike booths for two reasons: first, because many are not geared specifically for public safety use, and second, because I deferred to Clint Sandusky, IPMBA member and e-Bike expert, to make the appropriate introductions at CABDA West.
I did, however, renew my acquaintance with vendors I had met with at CABDA Midwest 2019, the majority of whom were unable to attend the conference in Fort Worth due to previous commitments elsewhere. I also managed to meet with some first-time CABDA attendees. I had the pleasure of visiting with the following vendors. I tried to entice them to exhibit at our next conference, donate items for the silent auction, participate in the Product Purchase Program, and/or provide an item for a evaluation and subsequent review in the IPMBA News.
Serfas: Serfas offers a collection of headlights and taillights, along with helmets and bells, bags and other miscellaneous items that could be used on- or off-duty. As Clint alludes to in his article, they already produce a public safety light and there may be some innovations on the way.
Sena Helmets: Channel Manager Mark Ebner spoke with me about their smart helmets equipped with Bluetooth technology. The helmets’ built-in earpieces currently sync with smart phones, and I recommended he explore the possibility of syncing to Bluetooth-enabled two-way radios. My department has radios that connect to a Bluetooth microphone, which eliminates the mic cord, so I explained I didn’t think it would be too difficult to use their technology to enable bike patrol to utilize their helmets and hear radio traffic better.
Arrowwhere: I reconnected with Kayleigh Pinkman, president of the high visibility safety clothing company, and explained the importance of and requirements for reflectivity and retro-reflectivity for different branches of public safety. He had a good variety of highly reflective vests and jackets that seem like they would work especially well for EMS cyclists.
Sportlegs: Carl Holmes, the Chief Executive, explained that their sports supplements contain only FDA “generally accepted as safe” natural ingredients and are completely legal for use in professional sports. The main ingredient is lactate, which, he explained, is “the muscles’ preferred natural fuel.” Taken before a shift of full-time riding, the supplement should prime your muscles to make less lactic acid and thus reduce muscle burn.
Tasco: The owner of the company, Nate Miller, was excited about IPMBA in 2019, when we discussed his custom gloves, and still excited this year. Last year, I bought a pair of full-fingered gloves with a subdued Stars and Stripes pattern and still enjoy wearing them. We discussed a design incorporating the thin blue, red, yellow line for public safety use, or possibly an IPMBA design in the future.
Hammer Nutrition: While Hammer markets a number of supplements, energy drinks and gels, they were specifically highlighting their CBD-infused products, which they claim improve sleep quality and reduce aches and soreness. When I explained that public safety personnel are a little leery about CBD products, they assured me there should be no problems with employee drug testing.
GU: Another energy and recovery company, GU had all kinds of samples for participants. The sales manager, Jon Parker, was open to joining forces with IPMBA again with support for the conference attendees.
Nuun: As a user of Nuun, I stopped by to tell Craig Etheridge how much I liked their products. He introduced me to Steve Anderson, National Sales Manager. I explained the ins and outs of IPMBA and our non-profit status as a public safety training association. He seemed very interested in being a part of the Product Purchase Program and exploring other avenues to support our mission.
Muc-Off: A clean bike is a happy bike, so I stopped by the booth to learn about the various cleaning solutions Muc-Off has to offer. They offer everything from a pressure washer to liquid washes and from concentrates to biodegradable drivetrain cleaners and brushes.
Bike Rags: Tony Burnett was very open to the idea of joining the Product Purchase Program as well and in fact enrolled within a week or two of the show. His company does custom screen printing and is hoping to help fulfill our penchant for camaraderie and our love of t-shirts.
Untapped: This was one of the more innovative vendors I encountered. They use organic maple syrup as an all-natural source of sports nutrition. They had various flavored syrups and waffles to sample, and the visitors at the booth all seemed to have a favorable impression of the offerings.
Goodr: An eccentric company with pink flamingos on almost everything but their sunglasses, Goodr’s mission statement says it all: “We are recklessly committed to fun...BLAH, BLAH, BLAH sunglasses.” Lightweight and with a variety of designs, the inexpensive glasses would be attractive to a lot of public safety personnel. With fun model names like “Irish for the Day”, “Beelzebub’s Bourbon Burpees”, and “I Wanna Sax You Up”, their glasses are designed to be “no slip, no bounce, all polarized, and all fun”. I’d love to see their booth brighten up the vendor hall at our conferences!
Delta: Kaleigh Durkin was one of the very few vendors who contacted me after the show before I had even sent out a follow-up email to all the companies I visited. Delta provides a mix of bike accessories, storage solutions, and spare parts. I bought a stem extender from her booth and can’t wait to try it out. She’s interested in developing a relationship with IPMBA and hopefully will find a way to connect with our membership after things return to normal.
HGNR: I met with Maria Schur, who explained that the donation of lube samples for the 2019 conference was cost prohibitive for her company and she was unable to do it again this year. She did say the company was willing to assist with providing a raffle prize or auction item and a membership deal of buy one, get one on trial-sized chain lubes.
Planet Bike: Jereme Noffke from sales and marketing had many bike accessories at the booth, including lights, fenders, bags, pumps, and gloves. I mentioned how welcome they would be as a conference vendor booth.
Silca: This is another bike accessory company that I approached. Michelle (Lillie) Shugars was interested in learning more about the options to connect with IPMBA and hopefully will respond to the email I sent after the event.
Kuat Racks: I explained to Craig Metcalf that public safety departments are in need of heavy duty bike racks to accommodate the growth in popularity of e-Bikes as well as racks that can withstand pursuit driving. We’re hoping to arrange a demo and product review.
Creative Magnets and Hats: Bruce Johnson was one of the more eccentric people I met at CABDA. His passion for customized magnets was palpable and I tried both days to convince him he’d be a hit at our conference. I envision custom car magnets for departments to build rapport with the public, an IPMBA custom car magnet to go along with our other swag, and whatever other ideas members devise.
Camelbak: Jeremy Hancock at Camelbak was interested in connecting with IPMBA with respect to their newly introduced mugs and bottles. Some models can be engraved with logos or messages and some offer cold/hot technology for various liquids. They also continue to produce hydration packs for more active cyclists.
Skratch: I reconnected with Annie Dwyer from Skratch Labs this year as well. They make sports hydration mixes and energy chews. This year she committed to providing an auction item or two and plans to enroll in the Product Purchase Program as well.
Light and Motion: Another contact I made in 2019 and saw again this year was Adrienne Fells from Light and Motion. They have a great selection of bike lights and are actively promoting their motion-activated taillights.
All-in-all, the CABDA Midwest event was a great time to peruse the new wares on the market, check out innovative products, meet with established contacts, and make new connections. Hopefully, the vendors with whom I spoke will understand the benefits they realize from having a relationship with our association and members. The best way to demonstrate these benefits is for our members to actively contact these companies to request demo units and purchase their wares. Be sure to tell them that IPMBA sent you!
Craig has enjoyed riding at his department for many years and was honored to assist with the development of the department’s bike unit. Impressed with the IPMBA Course he attended in 2009, he attended the Instructor Course in 2010 and has enjoyed teaching bike skills ever since. Never one to say “no”, Craig was elected to the IPMBA Board in 2013 and is currently serving as Secretary. He can be reached at lepkowsc@cityoflakeforest.com.
Photos by Craig Lepkowski.
(c) 2020 IPMBA. This article appeared in the 2020 IPMBA News Product Guide.