Jan-Willem van Schaik

BREMBATE, Italy - Vittoria Group has reinforced its leading market position in special, hand-made cotton and silk tyres for cyclocross, track and road racing with the take-over of Dutch manufacturer, A. Dugast.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - "The recent proposal of European Commission for a new EU Machinery Legislation creates uncertainty in the bicycle industry," states the Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI). The European Commission proposes to exclude all 'vehicles which have as their only objective the transport of goods or persons' from the scope of the new legislation.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - LEVA-EU sees the exclusion of all vehicles for the transport of goods and persons from the new Machinery Directive as proposed by the European Commission as a step towards specific technical legislation for light electric vehicles.

SAALFELD, Germany - The Norwegian Buddy Electric is among the first to start distributing e-bikes with carbon-composite injection molded frames. The protected design of the 'made in Germany' frame comes from Eker Design and Buddy Electric.

LADOUX, France - Michelin has launched the Pilot SX and Pilot SX Slick, two new BMX tires in its Racing Line range. They come with competition rubber compounds, sourced from Michelin road bike tyres. Vincent Ledieu, Michelin Bicycle Business Segment Manager explains the growing relevance of BMX.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Empty warehouses and low inventory limited bicycle and e-bike sales volumes in Belgium last year. According to the national industry organisation Traxio there was great interest in cycling last year but the market increase was only 4% as there were insufficient products available.

DOETINCHEM, The Netherlands - The next edition of Bike Europe magazine (number 2/2021) is now available to read online in our digital magazine section. Some of the highlights include the interview with Emilio Lombardo, CEO of Cicli Lombardo S.p.A

WARSAW, Poland - A growing number of private equity funds see the market potential of the cycling industry on all levels. For 7Anna the take-over by Resource Partners will provide the necessary funding to implement its international expansion strategy for its brands which are part of the group: Creme Cycles, NS Bikes, Octane One and Rondo.

PARIS, France - Are integrated drive systems, with the motor and gears in one housing, the future for e-bikes? The French automotive giant Valeo is convinced of this concept. Jérôme Mortal, Electrification Director at Valeo wants to start a revolution with this advanced driver assistance system (ADAS).

REUTLINGEN, Germany - In an open publication, Bosch ebike Systems CEO Claus Fleischer, calls for a major change of the transport policy on the company's home market Germany. "We are lagging behind when looking at neighboring countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark. They can enjoy the freedom and flexibility of a bicycle or e-bike, but changes in German society are stuck on bumpy bike paths."