Outerbike Pros & Cons

The good folks at Outerbike invited Gravelution.com down to Moab this last weekend for our first "GO" at the incredible mountain bike demo festival. It was a blast. Here is Gravelution's list of Outerbike "Pros & Cons."

Pros.

• I rode 12 different mountain bikes in 2.5 days on incredible Moab trails. You. Can't. Beat. That.
• The Outerbike food was really good . . . much better than normal catered stuff.
• When I couldn't get the bike I wanted, there were always other cool bikes sitting around. So, I never really went bike-less. I basically walked around all day thinking "oooooh, I'll ride that one!" And then I would!
• The people working the tent were really nice, patient, & willing to chat about any bike.
• I learned a lot about what different bike companies are doing to stand out, which was really cool.

Cons.

• Each morning, there is a 500 person line to get into the event. People line up at 7:00 am, and when the gates open at 9:00 am, everyone RUNS to get the bike they want. It's a little sucky to see that line when you arrive, but rest assured, it works out.
• Some bike tents (looking at you CANYON) didn't bring enough bikes. I really wanted to ride the XL Canyon Strive, and I never got on it. And that sucked.

I really can't think of anything else negative to say about our Outerbike experience. Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat. I was sad to leave on Sunday. We had an absolute blast.

And one final note, as a staunch gravel rider, I was basically one of three people in lycra the WHOLE weekend:

Me . . . in my lycra . . . on the very XC racey feeling Canyon Lux