CABDA East 2023: A Bicycle Rider’s Heaven

By ADMIN 0 Comments

by John Barbour, PCI #1206
Princeton University (NJ) Police Department (ret.)

On March 8th and 9th, I attended the Chicagoland Area Bike Dealers Association (CABDA)’s East Coast Expo. It is a bicycle rider’s heaven. They have everything a bicyclist could want: tools, locks, helmets, mechanical bikes, e-Bikes, workshops, educational seminars, and even a small track for test riding different equipment!

One of the many things I learned when I arrived at the event, which was held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, located in Secaucus, New Jersey, is that the event was not open the public; attendance is limited to bike dealers/retailers/manufacturers, professional mechanics, professional bike fitters, businesses that organize bike tours, and other bicycling professionals. CABDA organizers include IPMBA amongst that group, for which we are grateful. Once I entered the event, I was blown away by the size of the expo center and how many vendors were in attendance.

After getting my initial sensory overload under control – from the sight of all the vendors, the sound of all the conversations, and the smell of the food from the concession stand – I began my initial lap around the expo center. I said to myself as I began walking around, “just walk up and down each aisle to see what vendors are here, and to get an idea of which booths you may not need to focus on, and which ones you will want to come back to and learn more about.” It turned out to be an effective strategy.

One of the first vendors that grabbed my attention was the XACT Company (https://us.xactnutrition.com/). They are a nutrition company that can help active people recover, hydrate, and fuel up, before and during activity. They have energy gels, protein bars (including a plant-based option), and sports hydration tabs that come in three different flavors. I was able to sample the “Lightly Lemon” electrolyte drink.

It tasted exactly how the name suggests, like water with a slight lemon taste. It would definitely be a good option for long days on the bike, whether recreational or on duty.

The next company that caught my eye was Lezyne (https://ride.lezyne.com/), a bike accessories company that offers both mechanical and electronic products. The main product I want to focus on is the Matrix Bike Tagger. This product would be beneficial to the security of public safety bike fleets. This tag can be concealed under the bike seat or behind the water bottle cage. The Matrix Tagger is also waterproof, and can be used with the Apple “FindMy” network to track a missing bike.

Another vendor I spoke with was a familiar name, Kryptonite (http://www.kryptonitelock.com), known for bike locks. I was shown a lock that I thought would be useful to the public safety cycling community: the Evolution 790 Folding Lock. The design and compact size make it ideal for patrol bags, or it can be mounted on the bike. The lock has many features that make it easy to use and differentiates it from other folding locks on the market. Visit https://youtu.be/PfIkXETMvEg for a demonstration of how the lock works.

The next vendor was another familiar name, Wahoo (https://www.wahoofitness.com/), which makes indoor trainers and bike computers. The product that I want to mention is the KICKRrollr. It is an indoor trainer. I have always wanted to use indoor training rollers, but have been afraid to try. But with the KICKRrollr, it may be worth the attempt! The KICKRrollr has what Wahoo calls the safety tire gripper, which holds the front tire stable on the rollers for a more normal-feeling ride. Indoor trainers are great way to keep the bicycling muscles in riding form during the cold winter days, and the KICKRrollr looks like it will be easy set up and use.

The final company I would like to mention is BiKASE (https://bikase.com/). This company offers a wide variety of phone holders, bike bags, and bottle and beverage wraps. I know first-hand how important it is to have the necessary storage on your patrol bike and or your personal recreational bike. They even have bike carriers for pets!

I have only mentioned a few of the hundreds of vendors that exhibited at the CABDA Expo, but it was an awesome experience and I am grateful to Maureen and IPMBA for the chance to attend the event.

If I attend CABDA expo again, I will be more familiar with the event and will plan to attend some of the many seminars given during the expo. It was a great learning experience, and I discovered that there are many new and exciting products being launched in the world of cycling.

For a full list of CABDA East exhibitors, visit https://cabdashow.com/eastexhibitors.

John is a retired police sergeant from Princeton University Department of Public Safety. He is the owner-operator of BK Bike Training and is actively seeking opportunities to teach IPMBA courses. He can be reached at Bkbiketraining @ gmail.com.

IPMBA Product Review