RESITA, Romania - After a gradual termination of the cooperation with sports retail giant, Decathlon on December 31, 2021, Romania bicycle assembler, NextCity had to rethink its future. According to the company, "they had assembled almost 4 million bicycles for Decathlon exclusively in the past 12 years."
CAMPIA, Portugal - Set up as a joint-venture by three Portuguese bicycle component producers and some partners, Carbon Team's new carbon frame factory in Portugal has started large-scale production. Bike Europe visited this new European carbon serial production facility,
Once upon a time, back when I was just a young lad, there was a song my brothers and I occasionally heard on the radio - a song that seemed to cast a spell over us. We didn't know what it was about, nor could we name the band, but something about it was almost magical. And this was before we'd even seen the music video! That song became iconic - a symbol of our youth - resonating with us deeply despite remaining a mystery for years.
Interesting news from Recall Land. The safety of Apple's iPhone 12 has come under scrutiny, as per findings from French regulatory authorities. Their testing revealed that this particular smartphone model did not comply with the legal limits set for radiation emissions. This news is notable not only for the reported safety issue, but perhaps even more so for the safety issues that went unreported.
STAVENGER, Norway - Podbike, the four-wheeled e-bike manufacturer, has announced its bankruptcy filing, citing an "extended period of financial constraints." The Norwegian company had previously capitalised on a niche in the e-bike market with its four-wheeled, human-powered e-bike that encased the driver in a small pod.
ARDOOIE, Belgium - Björn Gast was welcomed to the Curana leadership team this month as Head of Sales and Product, a move Curana says marks an important milestone for the manufacturing company. Curana touts itself as a leading developer of high-end bike accessories with over 40 years of industry experience, building its reputation for quality and design.
MADRID, Spain - The Spanish bicycle industry closed 2024 with a decrease in turnover for the third consecutive year. In line with neighbouring markets, the turnover in the Spanish cycling sector remains above pre-pandemic levels but contracted by 6.5% in 2024, to €2.3 billion including parts and accessories. Revenue from e-bike and bicycle sales make up 56% of this total value at €1.3 billion in 2024.
TREVIGLIO, Italy - As Bianchi celebrates its 140th anniversary, the Italian brand is entering a new phase of growth under new leadership. The brand has announced the appointment of Alberto Cavaggioni as CEO to oversee the company's product innovation and international expansion, effective 17 March 2025.
LONDON, UK - The UK Government has accepted the recommendation to revoke anti-dumping and countervailing measures on imports of Chinese non-folding e-bikes to the UK. The measure which came into force from 7 February 2025 will open the market to cheaper e-bikes.
EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands - Shimano Europe is extending its cooperation with GXO, a company that manages outsourced supply chains and warehousing, to perform logistic services across Europe. The component manufacturer will now move its warehouse operations in Belgium to GXO's facility in Venray, the Netherlands.
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan exported 47% less e-bikes across 2024, the preliminary custom statistics show. With just under 365,000 units leaving the nation's shores in a year, this is the lowest volume since 2018. The export value also dropped 43% year-on-year meaning the economic ramifications must still be being felt throughout the supply chain.
NUNSPEET, The Netherlands - Dutch e-bike brand Stella has been declared bankrupt, the appointed administrator Frans van Oss has confirmed. Coming quicker than expected, the bankruptcy follows the request for a delay in payments last week. Now all eyes are on a possible restart of the financially troubled e-bike manufacturer.
KATOWICE, Poland - Technical expertise and efficiency take centre stage at one of the sppot's BIG3 events - Get Technical. This year, the event will be hosted by partners, Wagner, in Poland from November 20th to 21st.Wagner will also open its doors to its new state-of-the art-facility.
REDDITCH, England - With a current strategy of "controlling the controllables," the UK's largest bicycle retailer Halfords continues to face challenging conditions. With poor weather conditions in spring and summer affecting sales, the retailer failed to meet pre-COVID sales levels in its cycling department in the first 26 weeks of the current financial year which started 1 April.
MADRID, Spain - Retail giant Decathlon and trade association AMBE have joined forces to promote the use of bicycles as a means of transport, leisure, tourism and sport. With this collaboration, the company and the association seek to develop common strategies that promote the use of bicycles and share market strategies.
UTRECHT, The Netherlands - Following the issues with cargo bike brand Babboe earlier this year, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) is now conducting investigations into the safety of multiple cargo bike brands. Vogue Bike has confirmed that information has been requested regarding "technical specifications of products."
ROOSENDAAL, The Netherlands - Timyo, the Dutch-based company that designed, developed and jointly manufactured e-bikes under its brands Van Dijck, Keola and Muon, has been declared bankrupt this week. The company had been struggling with issues for some time, including technical defects in e-bike components. However, continuation of the Van Dijck and Muon brands is already in place.
ANTWERP, Belgium - Drivetrain brand, Classified has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Dennis Weijers as chief commercial officer (CCO). Weijers joins Classified from Shimano Europe, where he served as director of marketing.
TREVIGLIO, Italy - Bianchi has officially inaugurated its new production plant inside the renovated facility in Treviglo. The new production line boasts a manufacturing capacity of 500 bicycles per shift and was built according to innovative operating logic and productivity processes developed by Bianchi. On hand at the inauguration was new appointed CEO Marco Gentili who takes over the position from Fabrizio Scalzotto.
BATH, England - Cycling marketing agency Shift Active Media's inaugural 'What's Next?' report in 2023 which uncovered the value of marketing investment during a downturn is returning this year with a webinar to launch the new findings. Aimed at enabling cycling brands to navigate the challenging landscape in 2024, the webinar presented by CSO Doug Baker is open to the whole cycling industry.
