As the world's leading bicycle component supplier, there is no better thermometer for the industry than Shimano. For fiscal year 2025, the Japanese manufacturer reported a 2.7% increase in net sales in bicycle components - a slight glimmer of hope that an industry rebound is imminent.

For many in the bicycle industry, the third quarter financial results make uncomfortable reading. Despite optimistic signs in the first and second quarters, most Q3 results show that attaining financial stabilisation is still out of reach. As revenues drop, repeated streamlining and cost-cutting measures are being taken to ensure the health of companies in the bicycle industry supply chain. This sentiment is also echoed in the second results of the Global Bicycle Purchasing Index (GBPI), a new initiative between Bike Europe, Eurobike and IFH Koln.

Today, Poland is a European manufacturing hub for bicycles and e-bikes — not a niche player but one of the continent's top producers. Polish factories produced around one million bicycles annually in the early 2020s, putting the country among the EU's five largest producers and giving it a meaningful share of regional supply chains.

The international bicycle industry, once heralded as a long-term growth story thanks to the e-bike boom, now finds itself grappling with uncertainty. Tariffs, shifting trade flows, regulatory ambiguity and fragile consumer demand are reshaping strategies across the value chain. Four leading manufacturers — Bosch eBike Systems, Schwalbe, Bafang and Velo —paint a picture of an industry both challenged and transformed, where resilience increasingly depends on innovation and adaptability.

Will the e-bike market in Europe ever reach a market share of 70% or even 80%, as predicted by industry insiders during the boom years of 2017-2019? An overview of e-bike market share by sales volume in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Switzerland clearly shows a slowdown in sales, and even a contraction in some markets, but there are some silver linings. This online magazine examines the current sales trends across Europe.

Bike Matrix, Noca, BikeFolder are just a few of the new ventures that have emerged over the past few years with a focus on data management in the bicycle industry. These companies have clearly identified a gap in the market at a time when digitalisation is becoming increasingly relevant in the value chain. The automotive industry has successfully automated data management, but the bicycle industry lags behind, impacting revenues, value chain transparency, and growth. Is change coming?