ZEIST, the Netherlands - "It seems like almost everyone is playing the game now," e-commerce specialist, Scott Montgomery says when looking at the direct to consumer (D2C) activities of the top 10 bicycle brands in the US. In this first podcast from Bike Europe, he explores the changing bicycle retail market and paints a picture of how e-bikes, bicycles and accessories might be sold in the future. Listen to the podcast via Spotify, Apple, SoundCloud and Google Podcasts.

SUZHOU, China - Bafang introduces its new 3-speed automatic gear hub. This intelligent-acting hub takes over the manual process of changing gears in accordance with the speed. Weighing only 1.7 kg, this 80Nm hub can be supported by both chain- and belt-driven motors.

Lithuania may not be on the radar of many bike industry manufacturers but the increasing number of international bike businesses there certainly suggests it should be. High added manufacturing value at reasonable cost, governmental aid and ease of startup are all cited as strong incentives by Invest Lithuania, the government arm tasked with attracting new businesses.

MONTREAL, Canada - Dorel Industries has completed the sale of Dorel Sports, its bicycle segment, to the Dutch mobility group, Pon Holdings. For the sale price of US $810 million, Pon now has brands including Cannondale, Schwinn, GT, Caloi and Mongoose in its hands.

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands - The manufacturer of bike parts and accessories, Accell Bike Parts, has launched an online platform in the UK market. The Bike@Home knowledge platform will provide blogs, DIY videos and direct links to over 200 bicycle dealers

CHICAGO, USA - SRAM's Force derailleur gearing range is their second most premium offering, sitting just below the extremely pricey Red family of options. So for serious road riders the new SRAM Force XG-1270 10-30 cassette might be interesting as well.

HANNOVER, Germany - France is the next target market for German retailer, Leisger, which operates Leon Cycle brick and mortar e-bike shops and online platforms. Created in 2014, this chain launched in Germany with the opening of shops in Hannover and Munich.

WUXI, China - Chinese electric-two-wheeler giant Yadea Technology Group Co., is hoping to make a global splash with its newly unveiled product mix. Under the slogan 'Electrify your life' e-scooters and e-bikes are now being included in the company's global portfolio in addition to e-motor scooters. This move is aimed primarily at the Western e-mobility market.

HARD, Austria - Austria's second-largest bicycle producer Simplon Fahrrad GmbH has set the course for further growth: the company's parent Simplon Holding has acquired a neighbouring property to facilitate an "almost doubling of the existing production capacity". Due for completion by the end of the year, the new site will also house a large experience centre.

MILAN, Italy - The exponential increase in e-cargo-bike use for personal mobility and logistics has paved the way for a growing demand for safety and manoeuvrability. Blubrake has now developed the first anti-lock braking system for e-cargo bikes.

One of the main concerns when having a bike is bike theft. This is a main problem in the world and something worth fighting, which is what PentaLock has done. "Having a collaboration with a former bike thief, the company discovered what to do to prevent bike thefts. This has later developed into a bike lock, which every bike thief would fear," says Emil Norup, CEO and co-founder.  

OBERWANGEN, Switzerland - myStromer AG enjoyed clear business growth in 2020 with continued market share increases for its speed pedelecs, particularly in the Netherlands. There, the market share for Stromer grew by 19%.

RAVENSBURG, Germany - ZF Friedrichshafen AG has acquired all shares of the joint venture ZF Sachs Micro Mobility GmbH. The previous shareholders BMZ GmbH and Gustav Magenwirth GmbH & Co. KG (Magura) have transferred their shares to ZF Friedrichshafen AG.

MILAN, Italy - Pirelli has launched a new tubeless tyre dedicated to maximum performance and professional competitions. It will spearhead its range of tyres dedicated to road racing bikes. Two models are available: the all-around TLR and the SL version. Developed with the teams of the current female and male road racing world champions, the new tubeless tyres will be immediately available on the market.

ITTIGEN/BERN, Switzerland - The World Federation Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) is conducting a series of surveys to better understand the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sporting goods business.  "The results of our May pulse survey show that COVID-19 is, as expected, having a sustained negative impact on our industry," comments WFSGI President & CEO, Robbert de Kock. But the results also revealed some positives.

ANNECY, France - Mavic's future remains uncertain after it was put in receivership on 2 May 2020 by the Commercial Court of Grenoble. Currently, the process is handled by Thevenot Partners and AJUP. Some projects have already been submitted but the one led by the French business lawyer Didier Poulmaire stands out.

WIESBADEN, Germany - On the occasion of the World Bicycle Day on 3rd June, the German Federal Office for Statistics (Destatis) announced some interesting national retail data, including bicycle retail sales figures. Destatis compared March 2020 with April 2020 sales. In comparison with other retail sectors IBDs are definitely on the sunny side of life.

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands - Pon Holdings, which includes the Pon Bike Group, has reported an improvement in the group's financial results compared to 2018. Both the turnover and the profit of the company increased in 2019, but the group has followed other large companies and decided to postpone the dividend this year.

MILTON KEYNES, UK - Major UK 'click and collect' retailer Argos recently confirmed today that it will join the Bicycle Association's Cycling Market Data Service.

POSCHIAVO, Switzerland - Repower, a Swiss manufacturer and distributor of green electricity, recently displayed the latest addition to its electric mobility ecosystem called Homo Mobilis.