台北，台灣－去年自行車界最夯的話題可能就是VanMoof破產。在台北國際自行車展上，VanMoof共同創辦人Ties Carlier將在Bike Venture Summit登台分享他在創業過程中所學到的經驗與看法。身為當時公司垮台的負責人，他將收到什麼樣的反應？

美國，華盛頓（WASHINTON）－紐約市電動自行車電池著火事件數量增加，導致國會兩黨一致支持制定鋰電池製造標準的法規。據安全專家表示，這是限制電動自行車起火事件發生的唯一辦法。自行車產業和相關組織對該法案又有什麼期望？

Over the last few years, the international Timyo Group and its brands, Van Dijck, Keola and Muon, have gained a notable presence in the market. One reason for this impressive development is their innovative Kreutzer HyperShift drive unit, which will become even better in the future, as Timyo-CEO Steve Zhu said in an interview during the recent Velofollies show in Belgium. He also revealed that the company has big plans for its business structure.

WASHINGTON, USA - The number of e-bike battery related fires in the city of New York has resulted in bipartisan support in Congress for legislation to develop standards for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. According to safety experts this regulation is the only option to limit the number of e-bike fires. What do cycling organisations and the industry expect of this legislation?

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Bicycle Manufacturers Association (EBMA) has announced that its President, Moreno Fioravanti has died unexpectedly. At the age of 62, Moreno passed away peacefully on 17 February. He was very well known in the industry and his dead sparked a lot reactions.

NUREMBERG, Germany - Following the sale of e-bike retail chain store M-Way from Swiss retail conglomerate Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund to Swiss E-Mobility Group AG (SEMG) in September 2019, the long-awaited move into Germany has now taken place. On 6 February the company celebrated the opening of its first M-Way store in Nuremberg.

ELCHE, Spain - Team Bike S.L. is not only one of the largest and most important bicycle product wholesalers and importers on the Spanish market, but also the entire Iberian peninsula. During a visit to the 3,000 square meter company headquartered in Elche, Bike Europe learned that it has much more to offer than the in-house SRAM Iberia Tech Center and being the former birthplace of the offroad premium brand Mondraker.

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands - A newly released report is causing a stir at Dutch cargo bike manufacturer Babboe, owned by Accell Group. The existing issue with frames now turns out to be much bigger than publicly known. It has now been alledged that Babboe management knew about it, but did not report it to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).

HELSINKI, Finland - Vapaus Bikes Finland Oy, has secured a €15 million loan to drive growth and international expansion in the employee benefit bikes sector. Besides scaling up in Finland and Sweden, further internationalisation is being considered. Boasting a mature and scalable business model, the mobility service provider has seen its net revenues rise from €4.5 million in 2021 to over €30 million in 2023.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - It was probably the most discussed topic in the bicycle industry last year: the bankruptcy of VanMoof. During Taipei Cycle Show, co-founder Ties Carlier will take the stage at the Bike Venture Summit to give his view on the lessons learned from VanMoof's entrepreneurial rollercoaster. What will the reception be for someone at the helm at the time of the company's demise?

VILLARROBLEDO, Spain - "Somewhere in la Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, ..." - this is the beginning of the novel 'Don Quixote de la Mancha' by Spanish poet Miguel de Cervantes. Bike Europe didn't go in search of Don Quixote in the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha. Instead in the small town of Villarrobledo, 200 km southeast of Madrid it was time to find out what the small, custom bike manufacturer Berria Bikes S.L. has to do with Switzerland.

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands - Babboe will stop selling its cargo bikes until further notice. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority has received numerous reports of frame breakage while cycling. When asked, "the bicycle manufacturer couldn't sufficiently demonstrate that certain models do not pose any safety risks."

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Parliament's Transport Committee and EU ambassadors adopted the European Declaration on Cycling during a meeting on 14 February. The declaration is a list of commitments originally proposed by the European Commission in October 2023, including the increase of European production of a wide range of bicycles, including e-bikes and bicycles for people with disabilities.

義大利，瓦爾波利切拉（VALPOLICELLA）－Pon子公司Focus Italia Group新名稱為Pon.Bike Italia，該荷蘭自行車龍頭在買下這間義大利公司後，最後階段是品牌再造。

西班牙，馬利亞維亞（MALLABIA）－參觀自行車製造商Orbea S. Coop.時，一抵達總部便可看出他們有多麼深根在地，他們的母語是巴斯克語（Basque），第二外語是英文。Bike Europe在造訪該公司位於Mallabia的總部及工廠時，也發現這間巴斯克自行車製造商與國內外競爭者截然不同之處。

瑞典，斯德哥爾摩（STOCKHOLM）－2023對自行車行業來說是很硬的一年，供過於求、爆倉又加上消費需求減少，讓情況雪上加霜。Mips AG、GoPro Inc.和BikeBeat & Sports GmbH去年的財報，更清楚看到去年艱困的市場環境。不過，第四季的結果似乎讓人看見一道曙光。

德國，比勒費爾德／慕尼黑（BIELEFELD/MUNICH）－根據一份破產程序的中期評估報告，在Internetstores Group宣佈破產之後，他們尚未收到任何整體收購報價。這也讓人擔憂該公司旗下品牌往後是否能繼續經營，且可能面臨裁員風險。

OSAKA, Japan - The financial consequences of high inventory in the market accelerated in the fourth quarter of last year for bicycle and parts manufacturers. Shimano even reports a year-on-year decline of 24.6% in revenue and a 52.3% drop in net profit. The figures Shimano projected for 2024 don't show a positive picture either.