NAHBS Vaporware?

[Kurt Griffin]

Hi, all—  

   A bunch of us have been ready to head to Denver in late Sept for the NAHBS event.  The NAHBS.com website is not responding.  Their last facebook post announced the event… back in January.  I saw references online to it being at the Colo. convention center, but it’s not on their schedule.  Same for the Coliseum on the north side of town.  Does anyone have any more information about this event?

   Stay cool, and keep the rubber side down!

—Kurt in Sioux Falls

[Wesley]

The January update is pinned so it will stay at the top of their page. If you scroll past it, there are plenty more updates (the most recent one is July 6). Just browsing the Facebook page, I see that there's a video where the organizer (it looks like Don organizes the show all by himself) was in the hospital for a coronary embolism in May. So that probably explains the slack organization this year. Anyway, the video from June 13 says the show is at the National Western Complex. Hope this helps, and have fun!

-W

[Wesley]

I found the website for the National Western Complex, and the show doesn't appear in their online schedule. I'm not sure what's going on. One of the Facebook posts does list a phone number for Don, if you feel like calling him to ask.

-W

[John Moore]

On another site, it has been reported that the organizer of NAHBS had fallen quite ill and unable to pull together the event this year. In a note he sent to exhibitors, he also stated that there was not enough exhibitor interest to make a go of it. 

Keep fingers crossed for next yr

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[iamkeith]

Maybe the exhibitors pre-shipped all of their bikes and they got stolen, so they have to cancel.

Bad joke.   But not really.   I hope you find out what's going on, because I might even be able to attend one of these for a change.  

In all seriousness though:  If you're not familiar with the situation in Denver the last few years, be warned and be careful!   Consider not even bringing bikes.  If you do, don't  leave them unattended for even 30 seconds, anywhere in town, or even locked to a vehicular bike rack.  Even in busy, visible spaces with lots of activity.  ESPECIALLY at the REI store.  If you're out riding on the otherwise-great trail system, stay in groups and bring you bike inside any store WITH you. 

[iamkeith]

Looks like John posted a "real" answer at the same time as I was posting a snarky one.  That's too bad, sorry to hear.  Hope the Organizer recovers and gets well.

[Joe Bunik]

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[Kurt Griffin]

John Moore <jo...@chilmarkresearch.com>: Jul 20 11:45AM -0400

On another site, it has been reported that the organizer of NAHBS had
fallen quite ill and unable to pull together the event this year. In a note
he sent to exhibitors, he also stated that there was not enough exhibitor
interest to make a go of it.
 
Keep fingers crossed for next yr

Thank you all very much for the information.  Best wishes to Organizer John, and we’ll hope for next year.  

—Kurt

[Paul Clifton]

Hey Keith,

I am not familiar with the situation in Denver. Can you provide some more context? Is it a major theft problem or is there some even larger issue? Are u-locks sufficient, or are angle grinders so common that there's really nowhere safe to leave a bike? Why Denver?

Paul in AR

FWIW - I'm surprised bike theft isn't a bigger problem here in NW Arkansas where bikes somewhat more expensive than Rivendell's get left unlocked for hours at a time. I reckon there isn't a good way to move them and the population is too small to hide easily.

[George Schick]

https://www.5280.com/2022/07/inside-the-organized-crime-ring-that-stole-nearly-1-million-worth-of-bikes-from-denver-retailers/

[iamkeith]

Sorry for causing the thread drift.  Problems in Denver are multi-faceted.  There's a big organized crime problem, targeting high-end bikes.  Geographic location combined with a population that prioritizes outdoor recreation, combined with top-down law enforcement directives have made it a lucrative epicenter for bicyclre-specific crime.  But there's also a big and growing problem with smaller-scale, local property crimes.  Politics, funding  and the inability or unwillingness to prosecute means that thieves operate with no fear.  Problems exploded after the Pandemic.   I don't think the current economic situation is going to help. 

Giant chop-shops are set up in the open;  clothes-lines are strung across bike paths, more and more homeless camps filled with bikes, brash daylight lock cutting, scaling multi-floor apartment buildings to take bikes off of porches; private garages are scoped out and targeted in the upper-end neighborhoods.   Many of the brand new, still-unfilled urban center condo and mixed use developments are plummeting in value as residents try to unload and flee.  There are literally hundreds of bike thefts a day at times.  It's still a fun place to explore by bike, but you have to be smart.  You can't, for instance, sit at outdoor bistro seating in the cherry creek neighborhood with your bike unlocked 10 feet away in a bike rack, because someone will grab it and be gone before you can hop over a rope to catch them.  And I mentioned the REI parking lot, right?  An unattended bike on a car rack won't last more than a minute there.  You still see thousands of bikes in places like the RINO district, but I think they're mostly beaters, and even those get stolen.  Ask me how I know.... :-(

I hear catalytic converters are becoming more popular, so maybe that'll take some pressure off of bikes.