DHAKA, Bangladesh - A growing number of suppliers of bicycles and various components to the European market have recently invested in production in Bangladesh. The country is already home to a few key global bicycle joint ventures. Now other Asian suppliers to Europe are also investing into production facilities considering low cost of production like low labor costs and duty exemptions for exports to Europe.
FRANKFURT, Germany - Giant Group paid considerable attention to its ESG efforts on its booth at this year's Eurobike. One of the features was the Pre rCarbon push bike, the "r" signifying recycled versions of raw materials. Weighing around 2.4kg it is Giant's first ever complete bike application using its recycle long carbon fiber manufacturing technology.
LEUVEN, Belgium - High-quality, low weight bicycles with a high performance are high on the wish-list of many cyclists. Carbon material ticks most boxes on this list, except that carbon frames show brittle fractures and are vulnerable to direct impact. To address the weak impact resistance of carbon, Rein4ced has introduced a hybrid material and innovated the production method.
SYDNEY, Australia - The photos of landfills with carbon bicycle frames which did not pass the production tests or were at the end of their life cycle went viral some years ago. The contradiction between the environmentally friendly image of the bicycle and the single-use carbon frame is striking. Researchers at the University of Sydney have developed new methods to solve this major source of waste.
LITTLE ROCK, USA - Time Bicycles is investing $6.5 million to build the largest carbon fibre bicycle factory in the US. Located in South Carolina, this new facility will extend the capabilities of Time's European factory and will be used to manufacture high-end carbon fibre bicycles and componentry.
CHANGHUA, Taiwan - The production of carbon frames is extremely labour intensive. "No matter where we have produced over the years, carbon frame production relies on a highly handcrafted process," explains frame builder Astro Tech CEO Samuel Hu. At Eurobike 2022, the company will officially launch their latest innovation that could "revolutionise carbon frame production".
