Jan-Willem van Schaik
Editor in Chief

Editor in Chief


MORGAN HILL, USA - The question of what to do with battery recycling is increasingly becoming pressing with the rapidly growing market for e-bikes. Industry insiders have already warned for a tsunami of old and dead batteries. Rather than send them to a landfill, Specialized decided to take the next step to ensure a second life for those batteries.

DEVENTER, the Netherlands - Sports equipment, including bicycles and bicycle parts, is high on the list of most frequent product recalls. "Recently, when looking for a company that could support us by taking over the entire recall management, I could not find a suitable nor affordable company. Therefore, I decided to start my own company offering this service," explains Rutger Oldenhuis, former head of Legal Affairs at Shimano Europe.

MATTIGHOFEN, Austria - Pierer Mobility, known for their Husqvarna, R Raymon and Gasgas e-bikes and battery manufacturer Varta have joined a strategic cooperation. The two companies aim to collaborate more closely in the e-mobility sector with a strong focus on the development of highly efficient battery systems for electric two-wheelers.

EPINAL, France - The speed e-bike is an all-new category for performance brand Moustache Bikes from France. For model year 2021 the company already expanded its range with entry level models and focused on more urban bikes.

ARNHEM, the Netherlands - An electric cargo bike with a special hydrogen extender to double its range will soon find its way on the road. French Pragma Industries introduced the hydrogen e-bike already some years ago. In the Netherlands, Pragma is now cooperating with Urban Arrow and the Arnhem-Nijmegen Business school in the 'Everything about Hydrogen' Foundation to develop the HydroCargo.

NUNSPEET, the Netherlands - Shimano Service Centers and other Shimano dealers can now provide 3rd party battery services for e-bikes specified with Shimano Steps drive units. Previously dealers requiring support with such 3rd party batteries had to reach out to the e-bike manufacturer or the battery manufacturer. But now Shimano is optimising this handling process.

OSAKA, Japan - Shimano's top management is undergoing official structural changes as of today, 30th March 2021. During the General Meeting of Shareholders and the Board of Directors, new Representative Directors, including the President, have been appointed.

ANNECY, France - The strategic decision of Mavic's new owners to focus on the company's core business has implications for its distribution partners. "We have made some adjustments due to the reduction of company size and the related resources, to activate the deployment of the brand on the market," the company stated.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - From its start, LEVA-EU has argued long and hard for a review of Directive 168/2013 which has been carried out by TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) on behalf of the European Commission. Now the results have been published, LEVA-EU welcomes the conclusion that the Machinery Directive is not suitable for vehicles.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - In a joint statement CONEBI, CIE and ECF welcomed the recommendations made in the study on the e-bike and e-cargo bike sector. TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) carried out the study on behalf of the European Commission on the safety of Personal Mobility Devices (PMD).