The Bulgarian bike sector is steadily developing these days despite the existing challenges and a serious overstocking in the local market. In fact, the industry and major local manufacturers have gone through an extremely dynamic and challenging period. After the euphoria of pandemic sales, the sector has faced supply chain disruptions, overstocking and macroeconomic headwinds. Despite the decline in sales volumes, the trend toward electric bicycles and micromobility offers some optimism, with the European market expected to double by 2030.

Pragma Industries, known for its pioneering technology in hydrogen-powered bicycles, has filed for liquidation. This move, while not entirely unpredictable given the company's admitted difficulties last year, brings an abrupt end to more than two decades of work in the fuel-cell mobility sector.

Taiwan's bicycle industry signalled that it was entering a bold new era at this year's Taipei Cycle Show. Under the guidance of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Cycling & Health Tech Industry R&D Centre (CHC) unveiled a suite of R&D achievements, highlighting the strategic integration of Taiwan's bicycle manufacturing with advanced Information and Communication Technology (ICT). A key feature was the Cycling Common Protocol Alliance (CCPA), launched to enhance system interoperability and strengthen collaboration across the bicycle and ICT industries.

The slowdown in consumer spending and market uncertainty due to the geopolitical situation is starting to surface in the financial results in the e-bike and bicycle industry. Except for the Oceanian market, Shimano reports weak retail sales worldwide. As a result, net sales in bicycle and e-bike components in the first quarter of 2026 decreased 0.7% year-on-year to 87,361 million yen (€ 471 million) , and operating income decreased 46.3% to 7,792 million yen (€ 41.7 million)

On 1 May, 2026, there will be a new CEO at Canyon. The German bicycle manufacturer has appointed Matthias Meier to take the lead as chief executive officer at Canyon Bicycles, alongside founder and Executive Chairman Roman Arnold.

Three years of declining business performance has not left the Taiwanese industry unscathed. After the sales peak in 2022, the industry waited for better days, citing excess inventory as the reason for the downturn. The Taipei Cycle Show 2026 made clear that many companies cannot wait any longer. "Nobody is able to wait any longer after three years of standstill," said Astro-Tech president Samuel Hu.

Following approval by the antitrust authorities, BMZ has been cleared to make a fresh start under new ownership and management. The battery manufacturer is now fully in the hands of SKion GmbH and founder Sven Bauer has made way for a new CEO to steer the company as it looks to expand internationally.

The debate around Eurobike has entered a new phase since German industry organisations announced they will organise "a leading international trade show" in 2027. This decision stems from a dispute between the Eurobike organiser, Fairnamic, and the German industry organisations ZIV, Zukunft Fahrrad and VSF. This latest strategic move suggests a potential return to a dual-tradeshow landscape for Europe, reminiscent of the pre-2008 era when IFMA Cologne and Eurobike operated alongside each other.

With the ongoing market correction still affecting purchasing decisions and budgets, and geopolitical uncertainty, including the war-related tensions, derailing international travel, the Taipei Cycle Show 2026 was never expected to be a loud, booming comeback edition.

Riese & Müller, German premium e-bike manufacturer, has announced its withdrawal from the United States market, choosing to "reconcentrate its resources" on developing its European sales and dealer network. Despite the recent positive policy developments for the US bicycle industry, the overall volatility of the nation's import market appears to have claimed another victim.

Sea Otter Classic 2026 caught the e-bike vibe that Europe experienced some years ago. The United States had always lagged in this market, but at the Sea Otter Classic this weekend, it looks like the US market has finally awoken and stepped on board with all things electric.

To leverage access to key investors, industry mentors, and strategic partnerships with leading brands, the Arkansas Global Cycling Accelerator (AGCA) has selected 10 companies for its 2026 cohort. The program is designed to help tech-enabled companies in the cycling industry explore business opportunities in the United States and Arkansas.

There are products in the bicycle industry whose quality is widely respected and well known among insiders, even if their name rarely appears in the spotlight. THUN is a prime example of this. But that is about to change.

Navee, best known in European and US markets for its premium e-scooters, has taken a significant step into the European e-bike market. An official launch event on 1 April in Munich, Germany, marked the Chinese mobility brand's "pedalling" debut in Europe, where it aims to compete, for the most part, in the mid-price segment with its speed-pedelec, e-bike and cargobike solutions. Bike Europe spoke to the company at the Taipei Cycle Show to find out more.

Ask ten people in a bike brand how profitable their assortment is, and you will get ten different answers. Ask the product manager and she will point to margin per unit. Ask the supply chain lead and he will talk about complexity cost. Ask the retailer, and the conversation shifts entirely to sell-through and floor turns. Everyone is right. Everyone is also looking at a different piece of the value chain. And because no one has agreed on a shared picture, the product line keeps growing — SKU by SKU, season by season — until it takes an AI chatbot to explain the difference between two models to a confused customer at home.

The United States Supreme Court decision to strike down US President Donald Trump's tariffs, followed by his swift executive order to implement new 10% tariffs, has thrown the global bicycle industry into disarray. In the wake of this political jockeying for control over imports and the billions of dollars they represent, European Union bike importers now face a complicated legal process to recover what they lost to the now-defunct IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs.

Following well-documented financial struggles over the last few years, Accell today has stated that the last debt reduction has further stabilised the company, "while additional funding enabled Accell to accelerate the execution of the final steps of its transformation." As it prepares for this season with a sharpened portfolio of new models and a significantly leaner build after divesting non-core brands, is the once mighty Accell Group now out of the woods?

The announcement earlier this year that Shimano would not exhibit was regarded as a decisive moment for the future of Eurobike. According to the Japanese component manufacturer, "the industry continues to evolve, and we are prioritising our customer- and consumer-focused events." Two and a half months later, the show reality has changed again and Shimano's European representation announced its presence in Frankfurt this June.

The growing complexity of the e-bike and bicycle landscape, across business, legal and mobility, requires industry alignment from time to time. Europe is left with some small-scale or national gatherings since the German industry association ZIV pulled out of Eurobike. The United States industry organisation PeopleForBikes developed the Bicycle Leadership Conference as the country's foremost education and networking event for the sector. Can this format be adapted for the European market?

The way power moves through a bicycle is changing. Higher torque, smarter integration, and riders demanding more from their drivetrains across every category are reshaping what the industry expects from its components. Gates has been anticipating this shift for years, and the conversation around belt drive has never been louder. The word "conversation" is intentional.