Jan-Willem van Schaik

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands - Imports of fatbikes which do not comply with EN standards and road safety regulations has prompted the Dutch bicycle industry organization RAI Association to introduce a new e-bike quality mark. The use of illegal and tweaked fatbikes has caused a major increase in e-bike accidents and a lot of irritation amongst the Dutch public.

KOPRIVNICE, Czech Republic - The long-time experience in the production of city bikes for a leading Dutch brand, gave Bike Fun International (BFI) a strong position in the expanding urban mobility cycling market. Bike Europe talked with CEO René Gasser about the manufacturer's ambition to serve the central European markets as a leading distributor, but also how they can distinguish themselves as an OEM supplier.

SUZHOU, China - The oversupply in the industry, even for the category e-bikes, is still resulting in a slowdown in demand for component manufacturers. The excess inventory situation was already reflected at Taichung Bike Week last September but also came forward in Bafang's nine months earnings result which did not improve compared with 2023.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, USA - Pedego, the largest chain of e-bike stores in North America, has announced the appointment of Larry Pizzi as its new chief executive officer (CEO) and member of the Board, effective November 18, 2024. Pizzi joins the company with over 20 years of operational leadership experience in the cycling and outdoor industry, succeeding Brian Stech. In addition, Cliff Moskowitz will be joining the Pedego Board of Directors.

OBERWANGEN, Switzerland - Yamaha was the first e-bike brand this month which announced it was pulling out of the US market due to oversupply and slow demand. It turns out that the Japanese are not the only one. myStromer AG also announced it will discontinue its business in the US and Canada with immediate effect.

FRANKFURT, Germany - The delayed improvement in the financial position of leading players in the bicycle industry casts its shadow ahead of Eurobike 2025. The show organisation reports a shift towards more attention for the segments parts and accessories, boutique brands, services and international suppliers.

SCHWEINFURT, Germany - No other product in the industry is so sorely missing validated market data than e-bike drive systems. The market dominance of Bosch is obvious, but what about the other suppliers and how many other brands are relevant anyway?

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - Mid 2024 Giant Group's sales trend seemed to have found a way up again, but this turned out to be only a short-lived revival. In July, Giant still expected operations to improve gradually, but the financial report published yesterday of the Q1-3 results show that a full recovery takes longer than expected.

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands - Accell Group can proceed with the restructuring of its financial position as it secured sufficient support from its key stakeholders. "The implementation of the recapitalization will create a sustainable financial and operational platform to execute our strategy," reported the company today. "Approximately 80% of our senior term and revolving facility lenders have committed their support for the recapitalisation, while other key creditors unanimously back the plan."

MAINZ, Germany - For reasons of efficiency, Pon has decided to relocate the European production of Santa Cruz & Cervélo to the existing facility of Pon Bike in Emstek, Germany. The production in Mainz will be discontinued from April 2025. This was reported by the platform MTB-news.de.