Rosie Burgin

BANGKOK, Thailand - As part of its ambitious growth and investment plans, tyre manufacturer Vittoria has opened a new state-of-the-art factory in Bangkok, Thailand dedicated to the production of cotton tubular and clincher bicycle tyres. The carbon neutral factory will also be at the forefront of sustainable product development.

LYNGE, Denmark - Since January 1st, 2023, all Argon 18 bikes destined for the European market have been assembled at the company's European headquarters in Denmark. The Canadian brand is also broadening its retail network by offering direct to retail sales in the UK. Other European markets are expected to follow.

HEERENVEEN, The Netherlands - Accell Group has appointed Tjeerd Jegen as CEO and Chair of the Management Board. Starting 1 November 2023, Jegen who has 25 years' experience in retail companies, will succeed Juan de Ochoa, who has been interim CEO since Ton Anbeek left the company earlier this year.

FULDA, Germany - Following an initial reluctance to join the family business, Daria Büchel is now following her father footsteps into the bicycle industry. This does not mean the industry stalwart Erhard is on the brink of retirement. Daria's primary goal for now is "to make a meaningful and effective contribution to the company." Bike Europe found out how she intends to do that.

MILAN, Italy - Tyre manufacturer Pirelli is carrying out a voluntary recall of some bicycle tyres of the type P Zero Race TLR, size 28-622. The recall refers to tyres produced between the tenth and 24th week of 2023 and is due to problems of compatibility of the tyre with some wheel rims.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - E-bike brand Cowboy has announced that one of its co-founders, Karim Slaoui, has sadly passed away. The 36-year-old died of a rare form of cancer.

SKI, Norway - At Eurobike, reTyre introduced its sustainable, rubber-free tyres made from bio-based elastomers which allow for fully reusable tyres in a closed-loop circular economy. Now, in a sign that that the industry has accepted the product, the Norwegian company is accelerating the production of its tyres by expanding its production facility.

VILLENEUVE D'ASCQ, France - Decathlon, known for its development of mid-end e-bikes and bicycles, has added an e-bike with automatic transmission to its range. "This is not just a bike. It's a statement of innovation and design that is set to change what we know about cycling," the French retail giant states.

HOOFDORP, the Netherlands - Citing "limited progress on addressing supply chain challenges, which has eroded liquidity headroom and led to deeply negative free cash flow (FCF) in 2023," the international credit rating agency Fitch has revised its outlook for bicycle manufacturer, Accell Group, downwards for the second time in months.

ORLÉANS, France - An e-bike that uses no rare earth materials… that is the concept of the Pi-Pop e-bike which uses a supercapacitor to store energy rather than rely on a standard battery pack. Being locally produced in France a third-generation design is now hitting the market with production expecting to 10-fold in 2024.