Interbike 2018: Well Worth the Experience

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by Brian Gillman, EMSCI #189T-B
Cypress Creek (TX) EMS
IPMBA Conference Coordinator

[Ed.’s Note: This article was written prior to the announcement by Emerald Expositions that Interbike, in its current format, would be discontinued.]

Interbike 2018 was held this year in Reno, Nevada, in mid- September. It was a new home for this show and it did not disappoint. For those of you not familiar with Interbike, this is where the bicycle industry and cycling enthusiasts gather to celebrate, educate, conduct business and, of course, ride. Attendees range from bike retailers, enthusiasts, importers, distributors, and non-profit groups to some of the top retailers and suppliers in the industry.

This year I was fortunate to attend on behalf of the IPMBA Board of Directors. I was somewhat skeptical when I was first asked to attend, as I would not necessarily consider myself a “bike enthusiast”. Most of my riding is done in the public safety capacity with some occasional beginner to maybe intermediate mountain biking. Bike maintenance has become a hobby of mine and I find myself enjoying that aspect more every year. IPMBA Industry Liaison James Englert can be persuasive, so he managed to convince me that this would be a great opportunity for both IPMBA and me. So off I went to meet up with Scott Bixby from the University of Buffalo Police Department.

The City of Reno and the Reno Sparks Convention Center were transformed into a cyclist’s paradise. Reno is a bike-friendly city and offers easy access to unrivaled desert and mountain trails. The exhibit hall was nothing less than amazing. There were more than 800 companies representing nearly 1000 brands all on one floor.

My entire first day was spent walking the halls and meeting with various companies, discussing their product lines, making connections and educating each other on products that could be useful in the public safety sector. If I had to guess, I probably met with at least 100 different exhibitors, offering everything you could imagine in the bicycle industry: all kinds of bikes, electric bikes, nutritional products, apparel, safety accessories, parts, tools, and more. It was overwhelming to see so many of the latest products and trends in the industry.

For me personally, it was eye-opening to be exposed to countless products that I have never encountered even after years as a public safety cyclist. The e-Bike industry is explosive, with models that I would have never imagined. Obviously, they had the electric versions of the mountain bike, the cruiser, and the like.

But from the European market, where e-Bikes are far more established as a mode of transportation, I was amazed to see several versions of cargo and family bikes. These bikes were in excess of eight feet long and probably 1-2 feet wide, with large cargo areas for moving groceries, kids, light cargo, etc. It was really interesting to test ride a bike where the handlebars controlled a wheel that was three feet forward of the rider. We tested bikes that would potentially work for public safety from a variety of vendors and met one-on-one with company representatives.

The Electric Bike Theatre was a particularly beneficial to me this year. With many departments evaluating the use of e-Bikes for their public safety cyclists, IPMBA is pro-actively trying to determine how best to serve the training needs of those agencies which adopt e-Bikes in the future. I sat in on two very interesting educational sessions.

The first was a legislative session presented by People for Bikes. This association lobbies for the bicycle industry and presented a legislative overview of a “model bill” for e-Bikes they have proposed. They are working with state legislatures towards nationwide adoption. It was a very interesting and engaging discussion as to how e-Bikes are classified in various states. Approximately 30 states have specific statutes regarding e-Bikes already, with (at press time) 16 having adopted the “model regulations”. An additional 20 have outdated laws that do not specifically address e-Bikes.

The second presentation was given by LAPD and focused on the evaluation and initial implementation of e-Bikes into their patrol fleet. The presentation covered the entire process of initial product evaluations, the RFP process, vendor selection, proposed changes, fleet testing, fleet maintenance, staff training, and staff feedback following the implementation, and evaluation of the chosen equipment. They had personnel from all phases of the process available for questions and answers.

At the conclusion of their presentation, I met with the bike training division officers for over an hour and took the opportunity to discuss the pro and cons of e-Bikes and how they adapted their standard bike training to meet the demands of the e-Bikes. On a side note, one of the officers was previously an IPMBA Instructor who attended the 2011 IPMBA Conference in Richmond with me. They were gracious enough to share details about their program, what they have learned over the last year, and how they have evolved their standard bike training program to meet the needs of the e-Bike rider. This information will be invaluable to the E-Bike Task Force as we move forward on training initiatives.

On day two of the conference, I split my time between the exhibit hall floor and the outdoor demo track. I went back to specific vendors that were either already familiar with IPMBA or those that I thought would have products our membership could use. The vendors were welcoming and open to learning about IPMBA and the sometimes unique needs of the public safety cyclist. My primary mission was to encourage them to consider attending one of our conferences as an exhibitor and/or joining our Product Purchase Program.

Secondly, I had the opportunity to meet with many companies about potentially testing their products, so hopefully these contacts come to fruition and we can see some product reviews in the coming months. There were so many amazing products already available and some just finishing R&D which I hope to see reach the market. The final part of the day was spent doing some riding. This is where I finally rode a few versions of e-Bikes, which was an enlightening experience. Scott Bixby really took advantage of the day and rode a wider range of bikes, some of which are mentioned in his article.

In conclusion, whether you are a cycling enthusiast or not, the Interbike Expo is well worth the experience. Educational sessions, the latest products and trends, networking with top retailers and suppliers: Interbike brings it all together under one roof.

Brian has more than 20 years’ experience as a field paramedic and Fire/EMS dispatcher with Cypress Creek EMS in Spring, Texas. He is the logistics coordinator for the CCEMS Bike Team and has been active on the team since 2005. He has been an IPMBA Instructor since 2007, a maintenance officer since 2008, and teaches 2-3 IPMBA Courses annually. He was elected to the IPMBA Board in 2014 and has held the positions of Membership and EMS Coordinator. He currently serves as Conference Coordinator. He can be reached at bgillman@ccems.com.

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