Most of the manufacturers booths were busy all day and the festival atmosphere lasted well after the last bike had been demo'd. The Extreme Medics in attendance reported very few injuries, mostly cuts and bruises, and even the organisers themselves had a smile on their faces.

The next event is at Coed y Brenin in two weeks time, 24th February so if you couldn't get to the first one try getting to Wales. The rest of the series is listed on the National Demo Tour's website, bikedemodays.com. See you there.

Griff.

All Terrain Mountain Bikes in Saltare are the first to step up and get really involved in running a 'proper' demo fleet with thirty bikes to chose from, road and mountain.  I have to say this is a huge commitment from these guys and they have really thrown down the gauntlet to every other dealer in the UK.  Its no easy job though, keeping that many bikes in good working order is a lot of hard work as I well know.  Well done and good luck guys!

If your looking to test ride a bike but DemoDays events cant help, take a look at the Dealer Demo Bike Fleets page and see if there's a bike waiting to be ridden near you.

I've had the dates up for a few months but now its all official. Take a look here to get all the details and a full list of the other brands attending the What Mountain Bike demo tour.

See you there.

From early February demodaze will be the place to take the new Garmin Edge 705 out on the trail (or road) to put through its paces.  The 705 is the big brother of the Edge 305 that I'm sure many of you would have already seen in the shops but with a large colour screen, hart rate monitor, cadence, 'in car style' road navigation and many more upgrades to improve you riding enjoyment and training program.

Not only will we be demoing the 705 itself but the data it records while you out can be used online on the forthcoming Gamin Connect site integrated with demodaze so you can look at where you've been, how fast and how hard you got there, compare your times with others on the course or even compare your own times and effort on different bikes! 

Bikes, lights and now GPS.  Why wouldn't you come along to a demodaze event before deciding to buy?

The feedback from the dealers was nothing but praise, they loved the bikes and what we have done to improve them over last years models with the ABP technology on the EX surprising those 'know it al'l dealers as to how well it works. But the 69ers was the range  most well received.  I think you will see a lot of dealers chosing the 69er as their personal bike this year.  You cant say farer than that!

Some Pictures to sum up the event. Enjoy.

The first of three back to back events was a small demo for Rocky Mountain Cycles (that’s a Trek dealer not the bike company).  Its getting harder and harder to fit in as many dealer demos as I’d like so we tagged this demo onto the beginning of the ‘2008 Dealer Ride Camp’,  the bikes were ready roll and I was at my favourite riding venue so why not, another days work wouldn’t hurt.

So after setting up the now half finished demo rig the guys and girls from Rocky Mountain came and got set up on the bikes ready to ride Whites Level together leaving me behind to guard the last of the bikes.  Boo, I really wanted to go with them!  Upon their return from their second lap on different bikes a pattern was starting to emerge, people were all preferring the EX over the Hi Fi.  Now this is not a surprise but it is a very different response to the demo I ran at Swinnertons only a few weeks before where the Hi Fi got the majority vote.  I think it just goes to show how different these tow ‘trail’ bikes are and how they suite different riding styles and terrain, the Hi Fi being faster and suiting the guys who still want that XC feel while the EX is more confidence inspiring and makes you want to push yourself further and play more.

A great day was had by all and I even managed to get a night ride in at the end of the day.  I need to mention the Exposure lights, they rock, they really really rock!  Good bye HID.

There are more sponsors in the pipeline so if your in the market for some lights or maybe a GPS then keep an eye on DemoDaze!

Anyway, Salts Mill in Shiply was the location for last weekends demo at All Terrain Cycles and as last year it was great weekend, sunny and warm (in November!) with the local trails in perfect condition for led rides over the glen.  I didn’t get a chance to get out on one of the led rides but I had Tony the northern Trek rep with me and this is his local area so we made for the hills early on Sunday morning and got a lap in before the demo started.  The more I ride up north the flatter my local woods here in MK feel.

A successful week end again.

A great demo, thanks to all the guys at Swinnos for getting my kit packed up while I was washing down all the bikes.

The weather was poor at best meaning the fair weather riders missed their chance to ride, on the flip side though, it gave me time to go out and ride with those few who were brave enough to chance the wet rock and descending mist.  I must admit, its been a while since I have had that much adrenaline pumping on a decent and now appreciate why riders from the lakes are such good riders!  I’ll be making sure I visit the lakes again as soon as I get time off.

The last ‘first ride’ was in the newly acquired demo wagon, another Sprinter but this time with a camper up front so I can stay on site at demos.  Sara and I stayed the night at Cannock to make sure it all worked and that I hadn’t forgotten anything I would need on a demo.  Needless to say a list was made, corkscrew at the top, you cant ‘camp’ out without a bottle of wine now can you?!

Taking along a small fleet of the ever more popular EX was the plan but I soon learned that word of the 69er had been spreading faster than had been anticipated and request after request for the 'best of both worlds bike' meant I had to get one shipped down fast!  Both the 69er and EX went down a storm, after every day it was obvious from the amount of dirt under the Trek tent that my bikes were getting used the most extensively.  A success if ever I've seen one!

Big thanks to Ian and the CTC for the great trail and Cycle Active for keeping and eye on the riders.

The past few months have been busy to say the least.  Some big consumer events, our in house show, the new bikes and some big changes at home for me.  This has all added up to demodaze taking a back seat and it all got a bit stagnant around here.

As you can see the site is now back up to date with all the new bikes and info about them, some up coming demos and I'll even write some blogs about some of the events over the past months you've missed out on. 

I'd also like to introduce you to the latest honorary member of the demo team, Ellie , shes the smaller and more troublesome of the two new ladies in my life.  Hopefully they'll be along at a demo or two to 'help out'.

Ellie on her way to school on her new 'Trek-a-Like' (sorry, you cant buy one).

Where did summer go?  After spending all winter having to jet wash and regrease every bike in the fleet after every demo, I welcomed the early warm weather this year.  Dry trails and therefore dry and clean bikes means a lot less work for me in the week, but, it was short lived as persistent rain turned the usually quick draining Sherwood into a mud fest!  The bikes held up well considering the amount of racers that were pulling out of the Marathon event due to their drive train wearing out.  I'm glad everyone demoing wasn’t pushing as hard as the racers otherwise this could have been an expensive demo.

The star of the demo this week would have to go to the new 69er who's odd looks but fantastic handling wowed riders and onlookers alike.  If you want to try the new 69er then come to Margam Park for round 3 of the BMBS.

Although not for anyone taking part in of demo, I was called over to the jump park to help a young lad who had taken a tumble over his bars on the big table top. Unfortunately he hadn’t put on his back protector and that’s exactly what he landed on! An ambulance was called but it had a long drive to get into the heart of Dalby forest so an air ambulance was dispatched and arrived in minutes, shortly followed by a regular ambulance. After a short trip up the fire road in the ‘van’ he was transferred to the helicopter and away he went. The paramedics were excellent and their response was really quick considering how remote the location was. It’s really good to know that if the worst happens, the UK has such a well prepared emergency service. Cheers guys and get well soon Josh!

The demo itself went without a hitch and the guys from Boarding Edge cycles did a great job of setting out a great demo loop making use of all the new trails recently built by the FC. Once again the Hi Fi wowed riders with its G2 handling but the star of this demo had to be the 29ers. The terrain at Dalby really suited the Paragons and with one exception all the riders were new to the big wheel revolution. Bring on the 29er Hi Fi!

Its true, last weekend there was a last minute cancellation so I got to go and play at the local freeride park, Chicksands.  Its quite flat but there are some short DH runs that are well worth a go.  Just for a laugh, Richard (Trek inside sales) and I decided to have a play with some new camera equipment to see what could be done.  Here's what we came up with.....

Solid Rock Cycles Glasgow was the location for what turned out to be a jump fest with the Fat possum proving that it’s not just an all mountain bike. In fact, all three of the Possums spent most of the day being sessioned on the teter-totter, table top and drop off.  Nice work guys!

Under skies fit for a high summer in the south of France, I took the Trek and Gary Fisher demo fleets to Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore, Scotland, for the Alpine Bikes supported Glenmore Bike Fest. Using the same testing and technical course as the informal race being held, the demo route proved popular but challenging. With a floating bridge over a lake, an indoor wooden berm and some tricky singletrack, this was a course to test even seasoned pro’s.

The folk attending the event represented a wide cross section of the riding public, from experienced trail riders to young families with kids, all intending to make the most of the facilities laid on. From the skills course and workshop training to the Alpine competitions and, of course, the demo fleets, which were kept busy all day.

A big thanks from Trek to Glenmore Lodge for putting on a great day!