Northern trail Mecca Dalby Forest will be extra-busy this weekend as Saturday October 13 sees the official launch of the Dalby Bike Barn, CTC Centre of Excellence and the first Dalby mini-expo.

Dalby Bike Barn is the new bike shop and hire centre in Dalby, run as a joint venture between Pace Cycles, who have been making bikes in the area for almost 25 years, and national cycling campaign body, the CTC.

It’s a lot more than a bike shop, though. The Bike Barn will be the base for a CTC National Centre of Excellence and will host a wide range of courses intended to get more people into cycling.

To mark the occasion, Saturday’s launch will include the Dalby 13, a Northern mini cycle show where you’ll be able to see the latest gear from companies such as Dalby Suspension Service Centre, DT Swiss, Fox, Hope, Lapierre, Lezyne, Maxxis, North Face, Osprey, Pace, Santa Cruz, Scott, Six Six One, SRAM, and Teva.

There will also be the opportunity to demo bikes. Dalby’s huge trail network and the new skills area provide a perfect test venue and of course the Courtyard Cafe is right next door.

Scott are bringing 2013 bikes including the new Genius 700 model with 650B/27.5 wheels, plus the Spark and Scale. Santa Cruz will have the latest Tall Boy LT 29er, plus the latest Heckler and Nomad and others from the range.

Lapierre will have six 2013 bikes including the latest Zesty although it’s not yet confirmed whether these will be demo or show bikes.

Pace will have the latest 325.5 EXC as well as the steel RC129 29er and RC104.

Teva will have about 60 pairs of shoes to try, Osprey will have a range of backpacks that you can test and there will be lots of other parts and accessories. 

The CTC side has a new full-time development officer, 42 year old Mike Hawtin, from Pickering. Mike says that the centre, the first of its kind, will pioneer new ideas that will then be rolled out elsewhere.

“Sometimes people get a bit fearful when they hear the word ‘mountain’ in mountain biking, but in reality if you can ride a bike you can ride in the forest. My job is to break down barriers and encourage people to experience the thrill of exploring the forest on wheels, whatever their ability. There plenty of routes for all levels and biking is about fun as well as being good for you,” he says.