The Cascade Bicycle Club holds the Seattle Bike Swap every February. This community event brings neighbors together to buy and sell a trove of bicycles, bike parts, clothing and accessories to help you get out and pedal around the Seattle area.
This was our first time attending the Seattle Bike Swap event. Nomadic Products was a vendor at the event selling ROK Straps cargo strap solutions and the Banana Guard. There was good attendance at the event considering the COVID-19 pandemic. The event opened to “early” ticket entry at 8 a.m. and ran until 2 p.m. Traffic was busy and constant until 1:15 p.m. It quickly slowed down around that time and many vendors began packing up.
There were incredible deals on used bikes and parts at the event. Bike shops had inventory there including LEON Cycles, a new direct to consumer e-bike shop based in the Ballard neighborhood selling NCM e-bikes. The area sales rep from GIRO Helmets who was clearing out his demo bicycle helmets with great prices. People were walking out of the Seattle Center Expo Hall with wheels, entire bikes, new helmets and the best cargo straps for bicycling from the Nomadic Products booth!
The Nomadic Products booth had our full range of ROK Straps products, including the Commuter Straps (small), Pack Straps (medium) and Motorcycle Straps (large). Some people were familiar with ROK Straps, while most discovered their existence from our demonstrations. Some liked how they simply stayed put on the bike or rack using the nylon loops instead of metal or plastic hooks. It was obvious that the bikepacking and bike touring riders found their easy adjustment of great value for their next bicycle trip.
As people passed by our booth, they scanned the table and suddenly had a inquisitive facial expression. The Original Banana Guard caught their attention. After showing them a banana in a demo model, they often exclaimed how great of an idea the product is. Many laughed once they realized the function of the Banana Guard. We turned at one customer from buying it as a gag gift for his boss to an actual useful gift for his wife who is a pilot and complains about her bananas getting squished in her bag. The Banana Guard perfectly solves that problem.
The Seattle Bike Swap was a great way to spend a Sunday in February. We met lots of bicycle enthusiasts, gained new customers and participated in an event that supports the Cascade Bicycle Club community with all proceeds going to the Major Taylor Project to empower youth through bicycling.
This was our first event as a business. We learned a lot and look forward to attending other incredible community events.
What are some of your favorite events? Let us know and maybe we’ll find a way to support them as a vendor. We are looking for events that focus on outdoor activities where people need to carry items for camping or working.
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