At risk of revealing my secret identity to anyone who met me at the show… I’ll admit I was skulking around the BC Bike Show in Vancouver last weekend. Was anything Klunky?
The BC Bike Show is a bit of a funny beast. Held annually in Vancouver, BC, it’s really just a portion of the Vancouver Outdoor Adventure and Travel Show. So while I knew that, a lot of people were expecting more than just 1/3 of Canada Place to have bikes in it…
But I wanted to check it out to see if any Klunkers were making the cut. The trend is on the rise, again, but are dealers paying attention?
So the short answer is no. Not really. But I met some cool people doing cool things that are, at minimum, Klunker adjacent. Here are the highlights:
High Velocity Stunt Team
One of the best parts of the show was cut short this year. Literally. Because for some reason they put the biggest kicker under the lowest ceiling. This convention centre has portions that are like 150 feet tall inside…
…But this year, the stunt team was literally hitting the roof tiles with some of their backflips. Couldn’t have helped the confidence! But it was still a good show on both BMX and mountain bikes. Here are the BMX’ers:
Pretty impressive stuff, even though they were hugely limited by that damn low ceiling. Hey boys, let’s get some Klunkers in the mix next year! You can ride mine!
Battleaxe Warriors
Mad respect to these folks, an artist collective, and particularly to the lovely Shawna (pictured above) who took the time to explain her community and what they do.
Not Klunkers by any means, but certainly beside us in spirit. This arm of Battleaxe builds custom lowrider bikes built with passion and intensity. A close-knit group of primarily Indigenous locals, though all are welcome who share their spirit, they not only build these bikes but support local community charities, host events and basically do cool shit 24/7.
Here are some pics I took of the Battleaxe Warriors’ work, below:
I think I’d be too worried about scuffing the paint to actually ride one of these bikes! But I respect the artistry so much. Excellent work folks.
Whistler Cap Dealer
I loved what these peeps were doing—custom top caps for your bike. I was so excited I did something dumb. More about that in a second…
But first, a bit about Whistler Cap Dealer. They sell, among other items, custom engraved top caps in a whole host of fonts and colours, with matching bolts in titanium and aluminium. And they’re local. So I decided to buy two, one for my Klunkerson and one for my cargo bike. They even let you watch the engraving, below:
Here’s my Klunker Crew cap getting made!
Now the cargo bike cap went on easy and looks sick. Right? I love it!
But if you’re smarter than me, you’re probably wondering how I plan on getting a cap-and-bolt top cap into a Klunkerson headset that very clearly doesn’t work that way. D’oh! See below for what I mean. Excitement got to me and the crowds distracted me.
I’m posting this because we all make mistakes. Yes, even Klunky D.
And also, beyond swapping out my headset which I’m not gonna do just to fit a top cap, I want to inquire to YOU if I’m missing a way of making this work. Comment below, or just laugh at me for such a rookie move.
If I can’t get it to work, maybe I’ll do a reader contest and give it away. Hey, big prize right? Well what do you expect from a hobby blog?!
Viral Marketing
Dude—did you go to the show? Did you see how I left stacks of KLUNKERS stickers around? I got rid of about 300 of them; I’m stoked to (maybe) see them around the city. But I overshot demand. I’m now left with another 250 and no events upcoming.
If you’re involved in a Klunker event and want some stickers, send me an email. I’ll mail you the lot. If I get more than one request, I’ll divide them up. If you’re reading this in the future, they’re probably gone by now… but if it’s still March 2026, hit me up!
So that’s a wrap! Maybe someone at the show will read this and get some sick Klunkers on display in 2027.
And I’m serious about the stickers—promise to distribute them and they’re yours.