The French market has yet to find cause for optimism. In that context, the financial struggles at the O2Feel brand are no surprise. The northern France-based e-bike brand and assembler has been forced to apply for insolvency in self-administration.

The Indian family-owned company Amar Wheels Pvt. Ltd. has been doing business with European companies for close to five decades. "We strive to stay relevant, which we love. The challenges are amazing and the last 10 years have been more challenging than the past 40 years. We are constantly evolving in order to stay relevant," Karan Aggarwal, director of Amar Wheel tells Bike Europe.

The on-off reporting on whether hostilities in the Middle East will end is causing significant business uncertainty. Moreover, the heavy reliance on deliveries of parts and components from Asia leads to major cost fluctuations. As this uncertainty persists, suppliers and bicycle manufacturers will factor this into their pricing. The consequences are ultimately higher costs and higher bicycle prices in stores, as evidenced by the most recent Global Bicycle Purchasing Index (GBPI).

The rumours intensified during the Accell Dealer Days and at Eurobike last week. The name of Singapore-based investment company, DuTech Holdings, was frequently mentioned as the potential new owner of Accell Group, once one of the industry's largest companies. Last Friday, DuTech Holdings officially filed a request with the German antitrust authorities for approval to acquire Accell Group.

"We want to stay on top of innovation, and we love to be leading," Avinox's Product Experience Director, Ferdinand Wolf, told Bike Europe on the final business day of Eurobike. True to his word, the Chinese drivetrain maker surprised many with the launch of its MG concept motor during the tradeshow. The progression from a shared outdoor booth in 2024 to one of Hall 12's defining exhibitors in 2026 marked a shift in how the company is positioning itself as a long-term industry player.

Brompton has brought in two new strategic investors as the British folding bike manufacturer looks to accelerate international expansion following a challenging period for sales. Decathlon Pulse, the investment arm of Decathlon, and Shanghai-based BA Capital have each acquired minority shareholdings through a secondary liquidity transaction, becoming long-term strategic partners while leaving Brompton's ownership structure and management unchanged.

UK retailer Halfords reported a recovery in its cycling business for the financial year ended 3 April 2026, with cycling like-for-like sales increasing 6.4% as the British bicycle market showed signs of improvement after several difficult years.

The highly volatile market posed a big challenge for the bicycle industry in recent years. More stability would have created room to start building on a new growth path. It appears that the market will be stable in 2026, thereby bringing the necessary calm for future recovery. "The market is steadily returning to a more normalised environment as inventory adjustments near completion," said Giant Chairman Young Liu at the annual meeting of shareholders.

Taiwan's major bicycle manufacturers — Giant, Merida and Ideal — all reported year-on-year revenue growth in May. The figures from the publicly listed companies are the strongest indication so far this year that the headwinds Taiwan's bicycle industry has been facing may be easing.

The local market is becoming increasingly important for the Suzhou, China-based e-bike motor system manufacturer Bafang. Its revenue export share has slid from 35% in 2021 to 20% last year. The total operating revenue in 2025 was RMB 1.3369 billion, down 1.47% year-on-year. The net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 102.819 million in 2025, up 61.04% compared with 2024.

For bicycle brands, sourcing teams and suppliers, the challenge is no longer simply finding manufacturing capacity. Increasingly, success depends on finding partners that can manage compliance requirements, provide transparent supply chain data, support software-enabled products and coordinate increasingly complex international operations.

Let's be honest: finalising pre-orders is the most stressful moment of a retailer's year. You commit a large part of your budget to a product you have often never seen, and then hope it arrives before the customer you promised it to loses patience - late deliveries deserve their own article. How can you enter conversations with brands as a strategic partner, rather than someone who simply takes orders?

Where last year's Women in Cycling event at Eurobike centred on the industry's gender pay gap and the launch of new national networks, this year's programme opened with a freshly released market study and pushed the conversation onto a harder question: what should manufacturers and retailers actually do about the €950 million the bicycle industry is potentially missing out on.

The 2026 Eurobike, the European International Bicycle Trade Show, drew to a close at Messe Frankfurt after four days of intensive industry exchange. Folding-bike innovator DAHON captured attention with the debut of its new 'DAHON-V' technology suite and a portfolio of new bicycles built around it.

The tables are turning in favour of China as consumer budgets tighten, Taiwan's orders dwindle, and tariffs shift the goalposts of international trade. As a result, China accounted for 47%, almost half, of all e-bike imports into the European Union in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest Eurostat data. This compares with 31% in Q1 2025 and just 17% in Q1 2024. Is this the result of a temporary glut in the e-bike market, or does it signal a more structural shift?

Even though bicycle and e-bike production in Japan dropped below the 700,000-unit mark in 2025 for the second consecutive year, and domestic shipments decreased below the 5 million mark for the first time, there are some tentative glimmers of hope in the Japanese market. First, domestic production grew by 3.4% year-over-year to 691,678 units; second, and more importantly, the import flood from China was somewhat stemmed.

Europe's bicycle markets are entering 2026 on very different footing. While Italy continues to struggle with declining sales and mounting pressure on specialist retail, the German and Spanish markets are showing signs of stabilisation as higher-value segments, particularly e-bikes, drive revenue growth. In the UK, the industry recorded its first year of growth since 2020, offering cautious optimism after several difficult seasons. Together, the latest European market reports reflect an industry still navigating post-pandemic correction, changing consumer demand and the growing importance of value-driven segments.

The e-bike market share could reach as high as 80% according to past predictions. Since the start of the sales boom more than a decade ago, it was uncertain what market share the e-bike would eventually take of the total bicycle market in Europe. The 80% outlook now seems exaggerated, as the Europe-wide market share remains stuck at just under 40%. What has put a stop to the growth of the e-bike market?

The aftermath of the COVID bubble, which hit the bicycle industry hard, also impacted Accell Group substantially. When Jonas Nilsson joined Accell Group as COO in July 2023, the company was perceived as being in a critical state. In January 2025, Nilsson took over as CEO and initiated the One Accell Strategy. In an exclusive interview with Bike Europe, he explains where the Accell Group is on the strategy timeline and what the market can expect from this once industry-leading company.

As the bicycle industry strives to better synchronise supply chains with market demand, access to reliable market intelligence has become increasingly important. The Global Bicycle Purchasing Index (GBPI) addresses this need by providing sourcing insights and a medium-term market outlook through an indicator that anticipates future industry trends. In a conversation with Bike Europe, Orbea Supply Chain Chief Officer Pablo Trujillo, explains how they manage the challenge of forecasting.

Messe Frankfurt has taken up the challenge of getting the derailed Eurobike back on track. The once-leading platform for the e-bike and bicycle industry has lost its glamour in recent years. "A key topic that emerged from the more than 50 industry expert interviews we conducted was Eurobike's lack of focus," Philipp Ferger, manager of Eurobike organiser Fairnamic, told Bike Europe in an exclusive interview. "Our first step was to put up an advisory board — a regular vehicle to exchange views with the industry for many trade shows at Messe Frankfurt."

A strong industry ecosystem thrived in Taiwan's bicycle industry for decades, enabling the successful launch of start-ups like Hyena. This ecosystem was damaged during the inventory crisis and Hyena CEO Charlie Chuang is calling for a rebuild of this system. Today, his company is one of the few Taiwan-based full e-drive system suppliers serving American and European customers.