ZEIST, The Netherlands - 2022 continued on a high for e-bike and bicycle manufacturers and retailers as the pandemic continued to push demand. But as the year draws to a close and eyes look to the future, a more uneasy feeling is settling over the industry as inventory becomes the hot topic. Bike Europe looks back on the main stories which attracted interest this year…
A key element for the success of German company, Akku Vision, a leading e-bike battery producer, is the high standards maintained when it comes to the functional safety of its products.
CONTEC is ready for the next biking season. The parts and accessories brand, affiliated with Hermann Hartje KG, has expanded its product range with novelties. The focus here is on comfort solutions for e-bikes, bikepacking and tubeless.
VARESE, Italy - The traditional Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. is entering the highly dynamic market for electric bicycles. As part of the planned brand extension the first e-bikes are now rolling into the market. E-scooters should follow very soon.
LA FLECHE, France - Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, French e-bike manufacturer Néomouv concluded 2020 with a turnover of €10 million and a production of 10,000 e-bikes, but this could have been much more. Philippe Vaxelaire, the CEO of the company, explains that he chose to reduce components purchases and production fearing a drop in the sales. A boost in production is planned for 2021.
DOETINCHEM, the Netherlands - With so much development currently happening in the bicycle industry, Bike Europe asked designers Bastiaan Kok and Peter van der Veer to take a look into the future. They explored 9 trends which they see as where developments in bicycle design and two-wheel mobility in general may be heading.
GRÄFELFING, Germany - With four new jobs in the field of e-mobility that have been created over the last few months, K.W. Hochschorner GmbH - founder and long-time supplier of e-bike components, as well as a specialist for training computers and navigation, Ciclo (formerly Ciclopsort) - is setting its future course.
IRVINE, USA - For over four decades, Fox Racing has been the global leader in motocross and mountain biking protective gear and apparel. Last year, industry insider Jeff McGuane joined the brand as CEO. "Once we had set our sights on the future of Fox, we invested in talent and culture."
"Promote yourself to a wider audience," said Fiona Bull, Programme Manager at the World Health Organization (WHO) at last year's World Cycling Forum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Her presentation has been going through my mind a lot in the past months. All media reported on the cycling boom in many cities as people are looking for alternative means of mobility in the post-corona era.
SCHWÄBISCH-GMÜND, Germany - Bike supplier Advanced Sports GmbH invited their main international sales partners/agents and IBD partners to its house show at the end of July. Visitors had a chance to see what's in store for the around 180 season 2021 Breezer, Fuji and SE Bikes bicycle models.
LONDON, England - E-bike manufacturer Volt has opened its new UK manufacturing facility in Milton Keynes. The move represents a significant investment by the firm in UK manufacturing, and centralises its production in a facility with the capacity to build up to 25,000 e-bikes per year.
SANDVIKEN, Sweden - GSD Global, an engineering and design consultancy company which creates premium e-bikes, has paired with additive manufacturer, Sandvik to develop a 3D printed titanium motor node, which "can reduce costs by up to 75% and offer substantial quality and sustainability improvements as well."
MUNDERFING, Austria - In a move to give the company's fast-growing e-mobility segment even more clout, on 25 February 2020 Austrian Pierer Mobility AG (former KTM Industries AG) established Husqvarna E-Bicycles GmbH as a wholly-owned subsidiary with headquarters in Munderfing, Austria.
MUNICH, Germany - ADAC, Germany's automotive and mobility club, and the largest in Europe with 21 million members, has partnered with the start-up Rydies to launch a monthly e-mobility subscription service called e-Ride. The service will offer e-bikes and e-mopeds for use throughout Germany.
BERLIN, Germany - Hopefully soon to be seen in the centers of many cities; the TRIPL urban cargo e-3wheeler. Developed by a Danish energy company named EWII and made by Govecs. Unlike other e-cargo bike designs this TRIPL is a lean and light electric freight vehicle.
NUNSPEET, the Netherlands - The company claims to be e-bike market leader in Holland with a 2018 sales total of about 65,000 units. And further fierce growth is expected as Stella's e-bike activities will no longer be limited to the Netherlands in 2020.
LONDON, UK - Renowned consultancy firm Deloitte has published a study named 'Discover the Future' in which it presents detailed expectations for the new decade. These expectations are presented for six different sectors/topics, which are to have the greatest impact on society and business in the coming ten years.
AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands - Dutch e-bike maker QWIC has received 10 million euro in growth capital from De Hoge Dennen Capital, the investment vehicle of the Netherlands based De Rijcke family. The investment makes it possible for QWIC to meet its international ambitions and to develop e-bikes of the next generation.
AMERSFOORT, the Netherlands - Is it the weather, or the economy, or just the plain truth that e-bikes are like iPhone: everybody wants one? Fact is that after the January to September selling-season for bicycles the results show that interest - and with that sales - of e-bikes remained unrelentless huge.
ÁGUEDA, Portugal - Miranda showed at Eurobike a prototype of a power meter which the Portuguese components manufacturer will be releasing to the market shortly. The Miranda Power Meter stands out as it designed to seamlessly integrate with e-bikes.
