Bike Europe, 2015, issue 12

Volume 19, nr. 12 December 2015

Trade Journal for the Bicycle, E-Bike & Scooter Market

Vittoria’s Rudie Campagne on:

E-Bike Type Approval Effective from 1 January 2016 LAWS & REGULATIONS

P. 10

‘The Leap Forward with Graphene’ MARKET REPORTS GREECE, SPAIN

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MAKING ALLOY FRAMES IN 5 MINUTES P. 17

INTERVIEW

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Creating supply chain flexibility with bicycle and parts production in various European regions

Second ‘Bike Valley’ in Europe to Emerge DOETINCHEM, The Netherlands – Along with the set-up of a Bike Valley in Portugal, plans for a 2nd bicycle and parts production centre in Europe are taking shape. This one is to be located in Romania.

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ast month some ten prominent component makers, mainly from Taiwan, visited Romania. Here they were updated on the Bike Valley plans which include the foundation of a major bike production unit for Decathlon.

Also present were two Romanian government Ministers who explained more about the incentives for foreign companies that want to settle in Romania. As reported on extensively by this trade journal; Bike Valley Portugal is currently being constructed with new bicycle production facilities as well as parts production including the fully robotized manufacturing of aluminium frames. Bike Valley Romania is not that far yet. But the plans are taking shape, as Decathlon’s Purchasing Director Didier Morelle told Bike Europe. He said that Decathlon is to build a facility here capable of producing well in

excess of one million bikes. “Inside or nearby this facility parts makers could settle their production. This is what has been proposed to the parts makers that visited Romania last November.” Decathlon’s Purchasing Director stipulated further that taking into account the investments needed for parts production like for instance tyres, more than only Decathlon for nearby customers are needed. But they are there; not only in Romania, but also in the neighbouring countries like Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Hungary. “Taking the bike makers in these countries into account, some

UCI to Continue Disc Brake Trials in 2016; Approval Planned for 2017 AIGLE, Switzerland – The official approval for using disc brakes in road race is planned for 2017. For 2016 the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) decided to continue the trial of disc brakes in professional road racing.

This was decided end of November in a joint meeting by the UCI and its stakeholders, riders, mechanics, organisers, neutral service providers, teams and the bicycle industry, represented by the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI). The trial only includes the professional

riders. Initial trials were carried out in August and September 2015. After extensive discussions with its stakeholders, the UCI has decided to allow the use of disc brakes by riders across all divisions of UCI professional road teams. UCI states that, “the use of disc brakes will be carefully monitored throughout the year with a view to definitively allowing them to be used in professional road cycling from 2017.” Following the decision to further test disc brakes, the UCI has modified articles 1.3.017 and 1.3.020 of its regulations relating to frames and forks. These changes will take effect from the 1st of January 2016. The UCI has also approved several modifications to its regulations with regards to saddles and wheel safety characteristics.

4 to 5 million bikes are produced here,” said Morelle. As well as creating supply chain flexibility, Morelle also regards the set-up of Bike Valleys in Europe as highly important because of, “the end of the anti-dumping duties on Chinamade bicycles imported into the EU by 2019.

Having close to market production and supply chain flexibility in place is a valuable weapon.

In particular as we do not want to have the European bike market being changed in the way the Japanese, Mexican, or US markets transformed due to ultra-cheap bikes from China.”

More on page 17

BIKE europe December 2015

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BUSINESS Jack Oortwijn, Editor in Chief

2015

3rd Manufacturers’ Forum on excellent lean production; increasing speed to market, making money on waste and more.

This Forum, organised by the World Federation Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI), closed earlier this month in Hong Kong. It presented valuable insights for the future direction of manufacturing sporting goods as well as bicycles, with three main topics; excellent lean production; increasing speed to market, and ‘circular economy’.

An extensive report can be read in Bike Europe’s January/February 2016 edition.

Photo Bike Europe

ZEG Awaits Approval for Kettler’s Bicycle Division Takeover COLOGNE, Germany – ZEG is changing its strategy of focus on retail. Bicycle manufacturing comes now into play as well with the announcement of Europe’s biggest dealer cooperative intent to take over Kettler’s bicycle division, including the company’s Hanweiler, Germany based bike factory.

Jo beckendorff

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ccording to the ZEG press release, “the acquisition is conditional upon the approval of the transaction by the relevant competition authorities.”

ZEG has been a long-time partner of the struggling outdoor furniture, fitness equipment, toys, and aluminium bicycle manufacturer Heinz Kettler GmbH & Co. KG. Detailed terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Kettler bicycles has been known for innovation

and quality,” notes ZEG Managing Director Georg Honkomp. “We want to continue the tradition of the ‘Made in Germany’ brand and keep its staff on board. As part of that strategy we are investing in production in Germany.”

To handle production, sales and distribution ZEG already founded a new subsidiary named Kettler Alu-Rad GmbH. With this acquisition the German powerhouse is again investing in a strong traditional brand. In 2013 Cologne-based ZEG acquired Wanderer and in 2014 Hercules.

Both German brands are known for their long term tradition.

Ongoing reorganisation For Heinz Kettler GmbH & Co. KG the sale of the bicycle division is a milestone in its ongoing reorganisation. Since September 1, the manufacturer has been working on an insolvency plan ‘in self-administration’ which offers the company options for recapitalisation in order to avoid bankruptcy. At an October 28 staff meeting it was already being said that a future solution for the Hanweiler-based bicycle factory in

the German state of Saarland could be ‘realised on a short-term’ suggesting that Kettler expected to continue to produce bicycles and that the job cuts were not going to take place.

Other interested parties According to a report in the ‘Saarbrücker Zeitung’ the German dealer cooperative ZEG was mentioned as one of the favourite buyers at that time. Also US private equity investor Carlyle contacted the Kettler creditors. Carlyle was said to take over the company’s debts, amounting to €12 million from the Commerzbank. Noted by ‘Ispo News’ – Carlyle is known for its strategy to buy debts against company shares.

Company owner Dr. Karin Kettler (daughter of company founder Heinz Kettler) and the Kettler management state that, “the insolvency plan is scheduled to be finalised together with the creditors at the end of this year. Kettler wants to restart as a leading manufacturer of outdoor furniture, fitness equipment, and toys within three remaining business divisions early 2016.”

Which development had the biggest impact on the bike sector in Europe in 2015? Was it the fact that e-mountain bikes established themselves as the new, promising category, which undoubtedly will bring significant success in the near future? Or is it all the initiatives to establish supply chain flexibility? One thing is very clear; the latter (with more going on than only Bike Valley Portugal, as is reported in this edition’s cover story) is an outright trend reversal.

And it brings more, much more, than just lead times being shortened from months to days or hours.

What supply chain flexibility and increased speed to market brings I learned earlier this month at the WFSGI Manufacturers’ Forum. It generates higher sell-throughs, lower markdowns, increased inventory turns, and reduced obsolescence. These are benefits for not only manufacturers, but also all distribution channels, and IBD’s in particular.

A big contributor to bringing production back to Europe and the creation of the Bike Valleys is the over 20 percent drop in exchange rate of the euro against the US dollar. That greatly enhances the competitiveness for production taking place in Europe compared to that in Asia. In my opinion that’s the most significant 2015 development. And it is not expected to change next year or the year after. In fact production in Asia is only becoming more expensive. Happy holidays! jackoortwijn@vakmedianet.nl

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December 2015 BIKE europe

FINANCIAL

Stock Markets Not Rattled by Paris Attacks MUNICH, Germany – While October showed clear signs of a promising year-end rally the listed companies in the bike industry could not continue the ongoing uphill trend in November. Nevertheless the best news is that the stock markets reacted only shortly on the Paris terror attacks on November 13, proving that this horrifying event hardly affected global stock markets.

Jo beckendorff

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he good news is that the remarkable quick rebound of the stock markets is a clear sign of an overall confidence in the economy. In the trading days right after the tragic weekend of November 13-15 the European stock markets and the French CAC40 index in particular were up about three percent. The listed companies in the bike industry were not among those ‘winners’.

As already noted in the October stock market analysis, the global turmoil and crises did not stop investors piling into stocks. On the other hand investors got cautious and picky. Defence and aerospace related companies traded close to record highs in

the week after the attacks in Paris and other businesses, including the bike industry were second choice. This doesn’t mean that at the end of the year the bike industry stock chart companies won’t ride on the ongoing rally track again. They were only put on hold due to investors’ temporary focus on defence and aerospace companies.

What does it mean in detail? Only eight of the all in all 24 listed companies ended up with November share value increases. Most striking is Zoom maker HL Corporation’s 26.4 percent share jump.

Note that in the previous month shares of this Shenzhen-stock listed Taiwanese company already reached a 32 percent share value increase.

The majority of the listed companies experienced share value decreases in November. Luckily most of them were single-digit drops only. Two of them, Taiwanese bike manufacturer Giant and UK car maintenance and cycling retailer Halfords, ended up with two-digit share value drops in November.

Japanese Tsunoda shares have not been traded for a while. According to the latest news dated September 8, these shares are outstanding which means that the shares have been authorised, issued, and purchased by the investors and are held by them. Tsunoda Co. Ltd.’s average diluted shares outstanding for the quarter that ended in September 2015 was 4.8 million. For this reason the Tsunoda listing will not be shown anymore in the Bike Europe listing next year.

Bike Industry Stock Chart Company Name

Rate 30/11/2015

Compared to 31/11/2015 (in %)

Market Capitalization 01-01-2015*

52-weeklow

52-weekhigh

Accell Group NV, Amsterdam Araya Industrial, Osaka Asahi Co., Ltd., Osaka Atlas Cycles (Haryana) Ltd., Bombay Compass Diversified Holdings, New York Dorel Industries Inc., New York*** Fox Factory Holding Corp., New York Giant Mfg Co. Ltd., Taipei Halfords Group PLC, London HL Corporation, Shenzhen**** Ideal Bike Corporation, Taipei Jinshan Co. Ltd., Shanghai** KMC (Kuei Meng) Int’l Inc., Taipei Lee Chi Ent. Co. Ltd., Taipei Merida Ind. Co. Ltd., Taipei Morita Holdings Corp., Tokyo Munjal Auto Industries Ltd., Bombay Samchuly Bicycle Co. Ltd., Seoul Shimano Inc., Tokyo Sun Race Sturmey-Archer Inc., Taipei Tandem Group plc, London Tsunoda Co. Ltd., Tokyo Tube Investments of India Ltd., Bombay Zhonglu Company Ltd., Shanghai ** * Source: Corporate Information

EUR 20.20 JPY 143 JPY 1,269 INR 208.70 US$ 16.05 US$ 22.88 US$ 17.83 TWD 245.50 GBP 372.80 CNY 10.68 TWD 16.70 US$ 0.91 TWD 131.50 TWD 11.85 TWD 181.50 JPY 1,279 INR 76.55 KRW 17,550 JPY 18,270 TWD 14.65 GBP 187.50 JPY 416 INR 402.30 US$ 3.19

+ 6.3 - 2.1 + 6.5 - 2.2 - 2.8 - 9.0 + 0.7 - 10.2 - 14.3 + 26.4 - 6.1 + 6.3 - 1.5 - 4.4 - 4.7 - 1.5 - 2.2 - 5.9 - 4.7 + 11.8 - 2.8 +/- 0.0 + 1.2 + 12.3

EUR 330.90 mn JPY 10.17 bn JPY 28.85 bn INR 766.48 mn US$ 887.81 mn CAN$ 1.31 bn US$ 597.74 mn TWD 101.27 bn GBP 918.05 mn CNY 3.15 bn TWD 2.07 bn CNY 1.50 bn TWD 13.43 bn TWD 3.13 mn TWD 62.94 bn JPY 52.21 bn INR 5.53 bn KRW 236.76 bn JPY 1.46 tn TWD 667.50 mn GBP 4.90 mn JPY 1.70 bn INR 64.80 bn CNY 3.49 bn

EUR 12.75 JPY 132 JPY 1,037 INR 155.00 US$ 9.70 US$ 22.14 US$ 13.52 TWD 215.00 GBP 355.00 CNY 5.61 TWD 11.20 US$ 0.59 TWD 118.74 TWD 9.40 TWD 145.00 JPY 1.010 INR 67.00 KRW 17,550 JPY 13,240 TWD 11.00 GBP 100.00 JPY 328 INR 313.00 US$ 1.30

EUR 20.56 JPY 203 JPY 1,530 INR 279.00 US$ 17.57 US$ 35.62 US$ 18.98 TWD 323.50 GBP 563.51 CNY 16.54 TWD 18.90 US$ 1.49 TWD 164.06 TWD 16.15 TWD 263.50 JPY 1,328 INR 122.90 KRW 17,850 JPY 20,200 TWD 18.70 GBP 205.00 JPY 450 INR 439.90 US$ 5.26

** Chinese Jinshan (former Phoenix) and Zhonglu (former Shanghai-Forever) rates in US$, company value in CNY *** Canadian Dorel rates in US$, company value in CAN$ **** Taiwanese HL Corp. is listed at the Shenzhen stock market in China, company shares andvalue in CNY) y share and value Composed and Copyright by: Jo Beckendorff

Relocating production from China to France

Easybike Opens New E-bike Factory in France SAINT-LÔ, France - Supported by the local community as well as regional authorities, Easybike built a brand new factory completely dedicated to the production of e-bikes.

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he capacity of the new factory is 20,000 units for 2016, which is to increase to 60,000 in 2018. According to a report in the French L’Usine Nouvelle, “The construction of the factory was arranged by the city of

Saint-Lô who invested €3.9 million in the project, while the department of Manche contributed €300,000. Easybike, who will lease the facility, emphasises the special character of this public-private partnership.”

In the press release, the Easybike facility is presented as, “One of the largest e-bike dedicated factories in Europe.” It measures 4,100 square metres and includes two assembly lines, two paint shops, and a fireproof building to store batteries. According to Easybike’s marketing and communication manager Sylvie Woroniecki, “The e-bikes made in Saint-Lô will range in price between €1,600 and €3,500 for the icon-

ic Solex brand and between €1,600 and €4,000 euro for the Matra range.”

“The choice for Saint-Lô is no coincidence,” said Woroniecki. “In 2013 Easybike acquired folding bike specialist Mobiky-Tech based there.

When Easybike also bought Solex with the ambition to relocate the production from China to France, Saint-Lô was our first choice. Also the Matra-branded bikes, which were added to the group in December 2014, will be assembled in the new factory.” Easybike will employ some 40 people in Saint Lo for production and R&D. Another 30 people will be based in the company’s head office in Paris.

The new plant was opened last November 24. Photo Easybike

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BUSINESS

Shimano Continues Double Digit Growth in Third Quarter OSAKA, Japan – Shimano managed to continue its double digit growth in the third quarter of 2015 just as it did in the first two quarters of the year. As a result, for the first nine months of 2015, net sales increased 19.0% to 286,840 million yen (€2,166 million) while operating as well as net income increased with even bigger numbers.

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himano’s operating income increased 35.7% to JP¥65,087 million (€491mn). The company’s ordinary income increased by a huge 74.2% to JP¥84,007 million (€634mn), and net income increased even bigger with 86.7% to JP¥ 64,715 million (€ 489mn).

About sales of bicycle components during the first three quarters of 2015 Shimano says in its financial statement, “In Europe sales were brisk thanks to good weather, retail sales have been strong with brisk sales of high-end models centring on ebikes.” On its sales in emerging markets Shimano says, “Retail sales of sports bicycles in China have

3rd Quarter Trading Update: E-MTBs Are Accell’s Ace HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands – Accell, the holding company for numerous bike companies, recorded continued growth, against the background of a European bike market Accell Group’s CEO René Takens characterises as slightly increasing in 2015.

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n the third quarter of this year Accell grew in virtually all countries and booked a higher result.

E-MTBs in particular contributed to the strong results. E-bikes as well as high-end sports bikes are again Accell’s main growth driver. E-MTBs are specifically named as the category that saw strong growth in sales. In particular the company’s German and French brands Haibike, Ghost, and Lapierre contributed to the positive development of the holding company’s results.

On the company’s third quarter results CEO René Takens commented, “The positive trends seen in the first half continued into the third quarter as well as in October. Our turnover and profits were up, due in part to the growing proportion of electric bikes and higher-end sports bikes in our sales.

The e-bike market is dynamic in many European countries and we are seeing our sales increase in those markets. In the Alpine countries in particular, we see strong growth in the sales of performance E-mountain bikes. Accell Group is a trendsetter and market leader in this special category of electric bikes, which are sold under the brands HaiBike, Lapierre, and Ghost. Based on these developments, we are expecting a growth in turno-

ver and profit for the full year 2015.”

Asked what he means with a ‘dynamic e-bike market’ in many European countries, Takens said, “It means that these markets are finally moving. For years hardly anything happened in France, the UK or Italy with e-bikes. That situation changed.” This meant that Accell’s turnover in e-bikes increased in virtually all European countries. Regarding the US, Accell’s press release on the third quarter results says, “The market for e-bikes in the United States is growing but remains modest.”

Results of reorganisations In past years Accell has been working on reorganisations in various countries, such as the integration of the bike production of Sparta and Batavus in one facility in the Netherlands. According to CEO Takens the reorganisations resulted in a drop in operating costs. Regarding other financial indicators the Accell press release says, “Accell Group had a good product mix with higher levels of added value than in the same period of 2014. The US dollar exchange rate had a greater than usual impact on working capital. This is partly due to the conversion of inventories and receivables in dollar countries and partly due to an increase in the cost of components purchased in dollars.”

For the medium to long term the holding company’s outlook is positive. “There is a structurally healthy demand for bicycles for mobility, health and active sports purposes. This will continue to boost the sales of e-bikes and sports bikes, especially in the higher segment.” In 2014, Accell Group realized a profitable turnover of €882 million. E-bike sales accounted for 41% (2013: 35%) of the holding’s overall turnover in bicycles.

been below the previous year’s level, reflecting the economic slowdown. On the other hand, growth of sales of sports bicycles in other promising emerging markets, namely Southeast Asia and South America, has continued to be relatively robust. In these market conditions, full model changes of Deore XT and Acera mountain bike components and Tiagra road bike components, which were launched during the first half, were well received and order-taking remained brisk. As a result, net sales from this segment increased 21.0% from the same period of the previous year to JP¥ 237,738 million (€ 1,794mn).”

Herrmans Opens Shanghai Warehouse JAKOBSTAD, Finland - Bicycle component producer Herrmans will open a warehouse in Shanghai to meet increasing demand for faster deliveries from OEM customers in China. The warehouse will be fully operational in May 2016.

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e have chosen Shanghai for our new warehouse as we can now reach any destination on China’s east coast within two days,” said Herrmans Sales Director Ronny Höglund. “With the new warehouse we will reduce our lead times substantially.”

Handled from Finland “Our aim with the bonded warehouse is to increase supply chain efficiency for all Chinese OEM’s who export bicycles. The 3,000 square metre warehouse is situated only five kilometres from the Shanghai Waigaoqiao (WGQ) seaport. What products are in stock will depend on customer demand and their forecasts, but will at least include grips, lights, reflectors and rim tape. The complete operation, including ordering and invoicing, will be handled by Herrmans’ head office in Jakobstad, Finland,” says Ronny Höglund. Finnish Herrmans is the leading European manufacturer of grips, rim tapes and reflectors, as well as a major producer of bicycle lights and chain guards.

European E-Bike Training Project TWIN GAND, Belgium - The TWIN project, aimed at developing electric bike training for dealers that has been funded with support from the European Commission, officially finishes at the end of this year. In a webinar the consortium presented the results of the project to the electric bicycle business.

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he completion of TWIN is near and the outcome is positive to the extent that the consortium is currently looking into ways of continuing the work. In the meantime, the official presentation of the results has started. The main target group of the TWIN project consists of training institutes in the European Union. They gathered for a 2 day workshop on November 18 and 19 at Innovam (automotive and 2-wheeler training centre) in the Netherlands. The interest in the workshop was extremely encouraging. The TWIN consortium welcomed more than 20 participants from 11 different member states.

Bike Europe Chief Editor, Jack Oortwijn, and Shimano Europe PR Officer, Ben Hillsdon, both presented a keynote speech. Jack Oortwijn started his presentation by saying that the workshop participants had chosen the right business to be in.

He concluded, “Twin is striving to support other countries in raising the knowledge level. I am convinced this will greatly benefit the industry.”

The consortium was especially pleased with the positive feedback of the participating training institutes. The overall majority is considering joining TWIN, because they are convinced that the initiative can be a major contribution to the development of electric bike training in their country. This proves the need and the potential for European harmonised training.

After the TWIN project In the webinar Ramon Salceda from Innovam and TWIN partner Annick Roetynck, presented the TWIN output, i.e. the competence profile, the online assessment tool and the 4 days’ training for dealers and mechanics. They also provided details on how the work will be continued after the TWIN project. For any further details on the project, please contact Annick Roetynck, email twinproject@telenet.be; tel. +32 9 233 60 05.

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December 2015 BIKE europe

BUSINESS Explanation on what graphene brings to tyres, carbon wheelsets & frames, textiles, and e-bike components

Vittoria To Start a True Cycling Revolution LOMAZZO, Italy – The claims are big.

It’s said to be magical, revolutionary, and even comparable to the invention of plastic. We’re talking about graphene. The fact that the two scientists who invented it were awarded with the Nobel Price in 2010 indicates there’s some substance to the hype. The same goes for the ₏1 billion subsidy the EU has available for developing applications. Graphene has now made its entrance in the bike industry.

Jack oortwijn

H

ow it made its entrance was made clear last October during a visit to high end tyre maker Vittoria and to Directa Plus; the company that in June of 2014 opened “The graphene Factory�, the largest European industrial production unit for pristine graphene nanoplatelets. Here it was shown what integrating graphene into tyres and composite material for carbon wheel sets brings Vittoria. And it’s possible other companies in the bike industry will be integrating graphene,

as it brings unprecedented features to carbon frames, other composite products, textiles, as well as electric (e-bike) parts – because graphene is also a superconductor.

Changing the tyre recipe Integrating graphene into Vittoria’s tyre compounds or composite materials like carbon fibre, textiles and other products is what it is all about.

It’s definitely not like adding powder or carbon black to tyre compounds. It is in fact coming on top of carbon black and the Directa Plus and Vittoria people now working for years with graphene say, “Unique is that graphene has the ability to bond on an atomic level with other materials.

With this dissipation graphene is able to manipulate the shape of particles in various materials.�It took Directa Plus and Vittoria about 4 years to get that dissipation process well established in 4C (4 compound) tyres. And in particular in such a way that the two companies now say that they changed the recipe for making tyres. It results in what Vittoria calls a game-changer as their tyres are now ‘intelligent’.

Intelligent tyres The unlocking of the properties of graphene in combination with rubber is resulting in compounds that become harder and softer, depending on the needs of the rider. Vittoria claims, “If the tyre is rolling straight, the rubber is

MAX drive system Powerful. Smooth. Silent.

With graphene Vittoria tyres are now intelligent. Rolling straight, the compound is at its hardest for low rolling resistance. When braking or cornering, the compound softens for more grip.

Photo Bike Europe at its hardest and offers low rolling resistance. If the rider brakes, accelerates or corners, the compounds soften and offer significantly more grip.�

Additionally, Vittoria says it has achieved major improvements in durability and puncture resistance for its graphene-enhanced range, which is called Intelligent Tyre System (IT’S).

Vittoria’s new Corsa Speed (Tubeless ready) with graphene has been measured at 40 percent less rolling resistance compared to the same product without graphene. According to Vittoria, elaborate independent testing clearly proves it is the fastest tyre in the world. “The new Corsa has 19 percent less rolling resistance compared to the same product without graphene. In combination with the most flexible Aramid-enhanced cotton casing ever developed, this product is the best performance tyre in the world overall.�

Graphene enhanced E-MTB tyres Unprecedented features come also when graphene is used in (electric) MTB tyres. In particular as the increased strength allows the tyres to resist damaging of the tread and knobs due to the added acceleration torque of MTB electric motors in the new products e-Goma and e-Barzo. For regular electric bikes the new Vittoria tyres with graphene allows for longer battery life in urban usage, due to greatly reduced rolling resistance. The new Revolution offers fast-rolling comfort on any bicycle and, claims Vittoria, truly excels on ebikes. Vittoria introduced graphene-enhanced

carbon wheels for high performance road and MTB wheels in 2014. They are also said to reach new heights. “With the application of graphene, the natural properties of carbon are pushed in lateral stiffness, impact strength, weight reduction, and heat dissipation. The features of carbon are now extended to withstand the high pressure of tubeless mounted tyres even under heavy braking circumstances.� Vittoria will soon launch full carbon clinchers that can be mounted as a tubeless system. Next to that there are much more graphene enhanced products to come in the next years.

More on this wonder material can be read on the next page.

New Factory for Graphene Enhanced Tyres and Wheelsets In January 2013, Vittoria opened a $11 million compound factory. Here Vittoria is the first to produce on an industrial scale and use graphene for both bicycle tyres and carbon wheels. In addition to the factory’s core activities in the Vittoria group, it is also the selected manufacturer for the high performance products of many renowned cycling brands (Michelin, Specialized e.g.).

MAX – the powerful drive system Compatible with all customary frames Low maintenance and easy to install

High-performance drive unit

Easy to use HMI unit

Durable battery pack

Compact modular design

Versatile, easy to read controller

Different power packs available, max. 690 Wh

www.szbaf.com

Your dream. Our goal.

Vittoria’s graphene-enhanced carbon wheels also reach new heights in lateral stiffness, impact strength, weight Photo Vittoria reduction and heat dissipation.

BIKE europe December 2015

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INTERVIEW Vittoria Group Ltd. President Rudie Campagne on the application of graphene in cycling products:

‘The Leap Forward in Key Performance Areas’ LOMAZZO, Italy – Vittoria President Rudie Campagne came into contact with graphene some five years ago. Since then, it took him, “On a complex journey to unlock the potential benefits of graphene with rubber”. Now he hopes to enjoy the first-to-market advantage. But only for the time being, as he expects many key cycling industry players will also embrace the usage of graphene soon enough. jack oortwijn

There are not a lot of people that know about graphene and its remarkable features.

How did you come to know about it?

A few years ago I met this great Italian entrepreneur, Giulio Cesareo, at a business event. He is the founder and CEO of Directa Plus, a company that manufactures graphene. At this time, I also was not aware of the existence of graphene, so Giulio explained that this revolutionary new material was in theory the best material known in the world of science. We continued the conversation after the event and decided to explore the potential benefits of graphene for the cycling industry together. It has been a unique and complex journey ever since we started to collaborate in 2009. Now our joint efforts are delivering cycling tyres and wheels with a performance level that has not been seen before.

In various Vittoria press releases it is said that graphene is to bring about a revolution in cycling. How will it do that?

Vittoria believes that the introduction of graphene in cycling products is one of those rare and irreversible trends. Once people experience the benefits of the added graphene, they will continue to use products with this unique material. Because of the leap forward in key performance areas (speed, grip, strength, durability etc.) we are convinced it is inevitable that many other key players in the industry will also start using graphene, thus starting a revolution in cycling.

Looking at your investments in for instance the new compound factory in Thailand, which is capable of processing the graphene material in tyre compounds, you are very confident in the success that adding graphene will bring for the tyres and carbon wheels you produce. Why? In all fairness, expanding the compound expertise was always going to be a great investment for Vittoria, with or without the successful addition of graphene. We simultaneously invested in a four-headed extruder, which allows us to precisely place 4 different compounds in a tyre tread for optimised benefits of each compound in the right area. Our confidence in graphene developments was inspired by the great material properties itself, but our investment in the compound factory was not a single-minded gamble.

benefits of graphene with rubber. In that sense, we were not able to schedule a specific time-tomarket strategy at any point until we saw the first positive impact in our test results. Of course we were hoping to see an immediate result, but our knowledge of compound research and development already taught Vittoria to be patient.

So, adding graphene to compounds or to carbon fibres is not just like adding powder?

On the contrary. It is a very exact material science where you must create a proper balance and achieve the desired dispersion of the graphene platelets inside the partner material. The application process details of graphene in both rubber and carbon are well-guarded secrets, like the recipe for Coca-Cola.

As a private label producer Vittoria also makes tyres for the world’s biggest brands.

Do you offer the graphene technology to your private label customers?

Not at this moment. Vittoria has invested a lot in the development and will enjoy the first-tomarket advantage for the time being. As mentioned, we expect many key cycling industry players to embrace the usage of graphene soon enough. Vittoria will simply carefully consider the timing of offering this ability but it is clear that we will share this technology eventually with others to create a new standard for materials and better product performances.

There’s special mention of grapheneenhanced compounds for e-MTB tyres. What effects does this material bring to this specific category?

Traditional mountain bike tyres are clearly not optimised to deal with the acceleration torque of such bikes, resulting in significant tread damage especially at the base of the knobs. We decided to start a special project for this purpose, to investigate if we could use graphene to add strength in the desired areas for this category of

‘Many other key players in the industry will also start using graphene, thus bringing a revolution to cycling’

In January 2013 you opened the graphene compound factory in Thailand. Last October Vittoria launched its Intelligent Tyres made with graphene. Did it take longer than expected to integrate graphene in the compounds in such manner that all graphene’s favourable features are triggered? And why did this take so long?

bikes. We were able to address both the tread damage issue from acceleration torque as well as the greatly improved resistance to general wear and tear. The E-Barzo and E-Goma are the first end results of this special Vittoria project.

It was never a certainty that Vittoria and Directa Plus would be able to unlock the potential

The simple answer is yes, graphene has a significant positive impact on carbon and therefore

Vittoria also uses graphene in carbon wheels. Can it be used in composite frames?

“The introduction of Graphene in cycling products is one of those rare and irreversible trends,” says Vittoria Group Ltd. President Rudie Campagne Photo Bike Europe composite frames could benefit equally from the improved properties. As I mentioned, Vittoria created a special project for e-MTB and any frame builder would need to do the same to investigate how to get the most out of the addition of this material. Again, precise material expertise is required to unlock the different positive properties of graphene in the right areas of the frame for ultimate performance improvements.

Next to tyres and carbon wheels what other applications in two-wheeler products are possible when it comes to adding graphene to get the best features?

Basically, Vittoria and Directa Plus have found the right application process for rubber and carbon. All two-wheeler products that use these materials can be improved with the use of graphene. Of course the development won’t stop there and the research on new application processes with different partner materials for graphene continues.

I can imagine that with the multimillion investments you made you have also made agreements on exclusive distribution in and outside Europe with your graphene production partner?

Vittoria and Directa Plus agreed on an exclusive partnership for all two-wheeler products. This allows Vittoria to closely collaborate with Directa Plus, without immediate concerns of direct competitors. The two companies also work together in an Asian joint venture, which was cre-

ated to respond to graphene-related opportunities in this important geographic area of the global market.

On a longer term, let’s say 3 to 5 years; will the graphene tyre compound technology also be available for other companies?

Even today, there is nothing to stop other companies from developing graphene tyre compounds. Although the partnership with Directa Plus is exclusive, there are other companies in the market that offer (pristine) graphene.

The time these other companies will need to reach that point of success is what determines their time to market, not Vittoria’s co-development and exclusivity arrangement with Directa Plus.

I heard that already the biggest smart phone producer in the world contacted you on using graphene?

Yes, this is correct. Because Vittoria is one of the first companies worldwide that has managed to launch commercial products that contain graphene, it makes sense that companies reach out to benefit from the insights that Vittoria and Directa Plus have gained.

Where will graphene be by the end of this decade; by the end of 2020?

My best guess is that material scientists will manage to unlock a number of additional applications for different materials, beyond rubber and carbon.

ZUMBA

The new line of bb-sets

‌ jointly engineered with Gates Corporation and Universal Transmissions in order to perfectly match the new Gates CDN belt drive system.

fair and square

BIKE europe December 2015

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MARKET REPORT GREECE/SPAIN Average retail price still declines

Greece Bicycle Market Stabilises in Volume ATHENS, Greece – The cycling industry has not recovered from the harsh reality of the Greek economy, however the statistics show that the decline in sales is not as big as it was. The imports and exports data show that bicycles remain popular despite the economy, but the effects of the dramatic financial situation of the country can still be felt.

Grega Stopar

T

he country finds itself in constant turmoil and in the media spotlights. Focusing on the cycling market in the Greek economy, the latest Eurostat statistics show that the

Greek Bicycle Market 2012 - 2014 Import quantity (units) Import value (€) Export quantity (units) Export value (€)

2014

2013

2012

120,946

129,141

199,609

11,588,169 13,615,443 15,610,875 14,909

15,866

9,722

2,202,181 3,503,866 2,084,568

Source: Eurostat

bicycle imports have once again declined in 2014 by 6.3 percent in volume (was 35.3 percent in 2013) and 14.9 percent in value (was 12.8 percent in 2013). The average import price per unit is now €95. Bulgaria is still the main trading partner in terms of import, although the volumes dropped by 55,000 units in 2013 to 36,000 in 2014. At the same time Turkey sold 28,368 bicycles to Greece last year, almost double as much as in 2013. Taiwan and Italy are the next biggest suppliers, though with much lower quantities and at a higher average price.

Growing import from Turkey The shift of bicycle imports from Bulgaria to Turkey also reflects the financial situation of the country. The average price of a Bulgarian made bike is over €80, while those from Turkey have an average price of just €52. It only speeds up the downward price spiral of bicycles. Industry insiders estimate that less than 200,000 bikes were sold in Greece last year. Not surprisingly the sales of accessories and soft goods are also dropping. According to a reliable source the whole market is about 45 percent smaller in turnover than in 2011. Still the Athens Bike Festival manages to attract over 35,000 visitors and some 65 exhibitors representing the local industry. In the cycling hype which emerged after the financial crisis, a lot of new bicycle stores were

The e-bike market is still slow in Greece, also due to the bad publicity it got because of the import of low-quality entry models from China, but now the market is turning around thanks to e-bikes like the Ideal Orama with Shimano Steps.

Photo Grega Stopar opened as cycling was seen as a cheap alternative for mobility. But this trend faded away and most of those stores are now gone.

Export partners Although Greece is not a real bicycle-producing country, it still exported 14,909 units in 2014, some 1,000 units or 6 percent less than in 2013.

More dramatic is the drop in export value, from €3.5 million in 2013 to €2.2 million last year.

Greece’s main trading partners in bicycles are still: Cyprus, Germany and the Netherlands. On the export market Nikos Maniatopolos S.A. still plays a major role, while also some small brands emerge and try to get a foothold on foreign markets and showed their products on Eurobike.

More Diversity in the Use of Bicycles Should Increase Sales

Spanish Market Open to New Challenges SPAIN, Madrid – In the recently published study called the ‘Spanish Bicycle Barometer’ the cycling advocacy organisation Red de Ciudades por la Bicicleta (Network of Cycling Cities) showed that more than eight percent or 3.8 million people use their bike every day while almost half the population in the country calls itself a frequent bicycle rider.

Carlos Núñez

T

he national association of manufacturers, importers and distributors in Spain, AMBE, reports a stable market at 1,088,548 bicycles in 2014 generating a turnover of €490 million. The average price of bicycles sold in Spain is now 450 euro. Including all P&A sales and other income sources related to bikes at IBDs and other distribution channels, total turnover of cycling products stood at €1,354,500.

The Spanish bicycle market consists of two big categories: mountain bikes and kids’ bikes. The total fleet contains some 22 million units. For this year the AMBE members expect the market to grow again thanks to the close cooperation between the industry organisation and advocacy groups in the development of the ‘National Cycling Plan’.

‘Parliamentary Cycling Group’ Cycling in Spain is still mostly seen as a sport and most people don’t see it as a form of transportation. Of all the daily and weekly riders some 43 percent of the people use their bike for sports, about 16 percent to go to school and 39 percent only cycle for leisure. According to the Spanish Network of Cycling Cities the biggest challenge for the advocacy organisations and the cycling industry is to promote commuting by bike. According to the Red de Ciudades por la Bicicleta study only 1.6 percent of the total population of 46 million people in Spain commutes by bike.

In an effort to convince policy makers on the importance of the promotion of cycling the advocacy organisations have achieved two main successes this year. Last February they celebrated the creation of a ‘Parliamentary Cycling Group’. For this month’s general elections this group wrote a cycling promotion paragraph to be included in all the party’s programs. The second important achievement came last September when the National Traffic Authority, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Affairs, Bicycle Friendly Cities Net, Federation of Municipalities and National Bicycle Board jointly decided to develop a ‘National Cycling Plan’.

Last December 4th the Ministry of Employment and Social Security organised a conference on healthy living in general and cycling to work in particular. All leading Spanish companies were invited in order to learn about the benefits of

Barcelona is one of Spain’s cities which invested in cycling infrastructure for tourists. cycling for the health of their employees.

Cycling is thus becoming an important theme, also because of the tremendous smog problems in Madrid last November and December when the local authorities had to issue firm traffic restrictions and advise people to leave their cars and use other modes of transport including the bicycle.

Cycling opportunities Nevertheless a huge cycling infrastructure investment program is still needed to seriously

Photo Bike Europe

increase bicycle usage. Some cities like Seville, Barcelona or Vitoria already did. Those investments in combination with stimulating programs allow thousands of people to get out of their car and ride their bicycles safely.

The Spanish tourism industry has also shifted its focus to cycling tourism. Some success stories can be seen in Mallorca, Ainsa Zona Cero, Canary Islands and Camino de Santiago. They have created a momentum and policy makers see the potential of this kind of tourism for the creation of jobs.

December 2015 BIKE europe

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LAWS & REGULATIONS New type-approval for electric bicycles becomes effective on 1 January 2016

All Rules and Regulations for (Speed) E-Bikes BRUSSELS, Belgium - Since a few years, there is widespread confusion in Europe about the rules and regulations governing electric bicycles. The wildest stories and strangest assertions are going around. Some people in the business still believe for instance that electric bicycles with assistance above 25 km/h are illegal. This article presents all rules and regulations governing electric bicycles including speed pedelecs, also called speed e-bikes, in Europe.

Annick Roetynck

A

nother striking example of crazy stories and strange assertions is that some dealers ask their customers to sign statements through which they acknowledge that their so-called speed pedelec, which has not been type-approved, may not be used on public roads. Or so-called speed pedelecs are advertised on the Internet as “tested by TÜV” and therefore totally street legal.

turer produces technically safe vehicles. Also, technical rules define the different categories of vehicles. These regulations are determined by the European authorities. Having the same technical rules for all 28 member states should make manufacturers’ and importers’ life much easier and production more cost-efficient. They have their vehicle tested and certified by one organisation only and they subsequently obtain access to all 28 member states at once.

On the other hand, there is a set of rules, which is aimed at regulating the use of the vehicles.

These rules are meant to ensure the safe use of the vehicles. They comprise aspects such as driving licences, age limits, insurance, traffic rules, … and helmets. Some of these rules, such as those for driving licences, are set at EU level.

However, most of them are determined by the member states. This explains for instance why in some countries you can ride certain electric bicycles without a helmet, whereas other member states require you to wear a moped helmet.

Or why in one member state you can use a speed pedelec on a cycle path, whilst that very same practice is forbidden in another member state.

The first set of technical regulations contains the primary rules, because the technical regulations determine the categorisation of the vehicles. The second set of rules, governing the use of the vehicles, is fully linked to and determined by this categorisation.

Two sets of regulations All the above assumptions and assertions are utterly wrong. Bicycles with assistance above 25 km/h are perfectly legal, provided they comply with all rules and regulations. Dealers who make their customers sign the above-mentioned statement are committing an illegal act.

If ever their customer gets involved in an accident, the dealer as well as his supplier will be taken to court. The same goes for companies supplying and selling so-called speed pedelecs or speed e-bikes, which are declared “street legal” as they have been “tested by TÜV” or any other testing organisation for that matter.

All rules and regulations governing electric bicycles can be subdivided into 2 groups. On the one hand, there are the technical regulations, which are designed to ensure that the manufac-

Technical rules The general technical rules are quite clear. The central legislation for these technical rules is the type-approval for two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles. This legislation excludes only one type of electric bicycle from type-approval, i.e. “pedal cycles with pedal assistance which are equipped with an auxiliary electric motor having a maximum continuous rated power of less than or equal to 250 W, where the output of the motor is cut off when the cyclist stops pedalling and is otherwise progressively reduced and finally cut off before the vehicle speed reaches 25 km/h.”

As a result of the above exclusion pedal cycles with pedal assistance up to 25 km/h and maximum continuous rated power up to 250 W may

Welcome to Taipei Cycle Show Booth No. L1011~L1016

not be classified as a moped or a motorcycle.

This opened the door for member states to classify the vehicles as bicycles. It also opened the door for the development of a technical regulation, which was specifically designed for these electric bicycles by means of the European standard EN 15194. That technical framework is much simpler than type-approval. Manufacturers just have to ensure that their vehicle complies with the technical requirements of EN 15194. They are entitled to use the procedure of self-certification, which means that their own declaration of compliance is sufficient. They are entitled to use a testing organisation but this is not a legal obligation, except in France. Also, the standard applies to the vehicle as a whole, not to separate component parts. As a result, the

‘The new type-approval for electric bicycles looks to become effective with some serious questions left to solve.’ manufacturer is free to change the components on his vehicle and, in repair, components may be freely replaced by the same or another component.

Vehicle AND component type-approval Type-approval is a whole different framework altogether. Following this legislation, the manufacturer has to have a type of his vehicle tested by a ‘technical service’. This is an organisation or a body accredited by the type-approval authority of a EU member state as a testing laboratory, which is entitled to carry out the tests prescribed by the type-approval legislation in order to establish that the type complies with the law. What’s more, the type-approval does not only concern the vehicle as a whole but also many of its components. Consequently, if the manufacturer changes a component, which is regulated by type-approval by a different com-

ponent, the approval of the original type is no longer valid and the manufacturer has to go through type-approval again. Also, retailers are not entitled to replace type-approved by nontype-approved or different components. They may only use identical type-approved components. The list of components subject to typeapproval is in Bike Europe’s Whitepaper on E-bike Regulations, which is published on www.bike-eu.com Whereas electric bicycles with assistance up to 25 km/h and a maximum continuous rated power up to 250 W come with a fairly informal ‘declaration of conformity’, all other electric bicycles that are in the type-approval have to be delivered with a ‘certificate of conformity’, which is fully regulated by the type-approval legislation. This explains why statements on the Internet such as “tested by TÜV and therefore fully street-legal” do not exactly meet the legal requirements for electric bicycles in the type-approval.

In-depth review The first exclusion of electric bicycles from the type-approval legislation happened in 2002, in Directive 2002/24/EC. When this Directive was being prepared, attempts were made to obtain exclusion of all electric bicycles irrespective of their maximum speed and motor power. This would have allowed for a general exclusion of electric bicycles from type-approval legislation and it would have paved the way for appropriate and accurate regulations in concertation with the business concerned. However, at that time the European authorities decided only to exclude bicycles with pedal assistance up to 25 km/h and maximum continuous rated power of 250 W. Those were the specifications of the vehicles on the market at that time. Arguments that one day vehicles with different specifications would come on the market fell on deaf ears, but came true a decade later.

In 2009, the European Commission started an in-depth review of the 2002 type-approval legislation. The European Twowheel Retailers’ Association (ETRA) put the request for excluding more types of electric bikes than just 25 km/h – 250 W, back on the table. At the same time, the retailers’ association made the

BIKE europe December 2015

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LAWS & REGULATIONS European authorities aware of the fact that technical requirements for mopeds and motorcycles were not necessarily suitable for electric bicycles. The Commission agreed to negotiate on these technical details and adopted for quite a number of them adapted rules. Originally, the most critical parts for electric bicycle safety, i.e. frames and forks, were not considered in the type-approval. The Commission remedied this by introducing the frame and fork test of EN 15194 in the legislation.

Separate category By 2013, speed pedelecs proved to be a potential success. Industry associations COLIBI and COLIPED (currently united in CONEBI) submitted to the European Commission a proposal to create a separate category for these vehicles in the type-approval. However, the proposal came too late. The vehicle categories had been defined in the framework Regulation 168/2013, which had been approved by European Parliament and Council. No new categories could be introduced anymore. The only solution was to have a mention of so-called speed pedelecs in one of the Regulations in which the Commission sets out the technical details for the typeapproval. Consequently, Regulation 3/2014 on vehicle safety requirements contains the following: “Cycles designed to pedal of vehicle category L1e-B shall have a mass in running order ≤ 35 kg and shall be fitted with pedals enabling the vehicle to be propelled solely by the rider’s muscular leg power. The vehicle shall feature adjustable rider positioning in order to enhance the ergonomic posture of the rider for pedalling. The auxiliary propulsion power shall be added to the driver’s pedal power and shall be less than or equal to four times the actual pedal power.”

Factor 4 ETRA opposed the article because there was no scientific proof that factor 4 in that definition was necessary to ensure a safe vehicle. Factor 4 could make it impossible for some people to use speed pedelecs. If you are obese, physically unfit and you live in a hilly area, you may not be able to put enough power into your bike to obtain sufficient assistance from the motor to go uphill. The association also argued that the definition with factor 4 created a legal bottleneck for other types of electric bicycles, such as bikes that can work without pedal assistance. ETRA and the European Commission reached a twofold compromise.

In Regulation 3/2014, the following paragraph was added: “The limitation to ‘four’ of the ratio of auxiliary propulsion power and actual pedal power for cycles designed to pedal set out in Annex XIX should be subject to further scientific research and assessment. Upon availability of scientific data and statistics on vehicles placed on the market, the ratio ‘four’ referred to above may be revisited in a future revision of this Regulation.” Secondly, the European Commission confirmed that electric bikes that could work without pedal assistance would come under category L1e-A.

Helmet issues The new type-approval becomes definitely effective for electric bikes on 1 January 2016.

However, there is a transition period until 31 December 2016, which allows manufacturers to choose between the 2002 system and the new system. In the new type-approval, there are 2 categories that can accommodate electric bikes.

L1e-A is for “powered cycles” with a maximum speed of 25 km/h and maximum 1 kW of power.

L1e-B is for “mopeds” with maximum 45 km/h and 4 kW. The mention of “cycles designed to

pedal”, as explained before, comes under this category.

It is unclear how the member states will rule on the conditions for use of these vehicles. Some ministries still seem totally unaware of the issue of electric bikes in type-approval. Others have started up a decision process. The German and Dutch ministers seem to be in favour of a moped helmet. The Belgian minister has been advised that a bicycle helmet should do the job.

All this concerns so-called speed pedelecs. So far, nobody seems to be aware of the L1e-A category. No statements have been made so far about helmet obligations for this category. In the meantime, some helmet manufacturers are ready for possible moped helmet obligations on speed pedelecs. Both Cratoni and Abus have developed a pedelec model that complies with standard ECE 22.05.

Unsolved problems The details of the type-approval have been elaborated by the European Commission and laid down in 4 separate Regulations. They deal with environmental and propulsion performance, vehicle construction, functional safety and with administrative requirements.

Whereas the framework Regulation is difficult to change, these Regulations can be quite easily modified. That is why the Commission is continuously talking to the Members States and the stakeholders in the Motorcycle Working Group on necessary corrections, amendments, etc.

In that framework, there are still quite a few issues on the agenda for electric bicycles. One of which is the categorisation of electric bikes that have a so-called throttle. The member states have asked for clear guidelines. It seems that the European Commission is willing to exclude pedal assisted bikes with throttles up to 25 km/h – 250 W. All other throttle operated bikes would come under L1e-A and require type-approval.

A second, very important issue is the categorisation of so-called speed pedelecs that do not comply with factor 4. The question is whether they can be type-approved as L1e-B, whilst falling outside the scope of the mention on cycles designed to pedal. The Commission has not yet given its final opinion on this.

Scientific research Finally, there are a number of editorial issues brought up by AVERE, the European electromobility association. For instance, L1e-A is not subject to factor 4, but L1e-A vehicles have to be tested on factor 4. So far, the Commission has refused to correct the mistake, arguing that the test may yield interesting information on factor 4. Type-approval is an expensive procedure. The question is whether manufacturers will be happy to pay for tests that have little to do with safety. The same goes for the test on peak and maximum power. With the maximum continuous rated power set at 4 kW for L1e-B, speed pedelecs are in theory allowed 1.5 time more peak power, that is 6.4 kW. It is quite pointless to put electric bikes through a test to make sure they don’t exceed 6.4 kW. As for maximum power, this term is not defined anywhere in the legal texts and no limit values have been set. Still, the current regulation imposes a test.

As for factor 4, the University of Hamburg-Harburg published a first study in October 2014.

This study does not conclude that factor 4 is an absolute requirement to guarantee a safe vehicle. It does conclude: “A limitation to a factor of 4 for the auxiliary power by electric assistance as scheduled in regulation (EU) No 3/2014 proved to be very reasonable.” AVERE finds this conclusion unconvincing and has therefore started up a cooperation with the universities

The new type-approval becomes definitely effective for electric bikes on 1 January 2016. However, there is a transition period until 31 December 2016.

Photo Bike Europe of Brussels and Leuven with a view to carrying out further research into factor 4.

The next Motorcycle Working Group meeting was scheduled for 15 December; after the print deadline for this Bike Europe issue. If the Commission does not clarify the outstanding issues

at that meeting, the new type-approval for electric bicycles will become effective with some serious questions left to solve.

More on the 15 December Motorcycle Working Group meeting will be in Bike Europe’s combined January/February 2016 edition.

w w w . s u n n y w h e e l . c o m . t w

Stable, Smoother, Softer, Stronger, Lower Friction, Lighter Weight, Eco-Friendly.

Wish All Our Friends, Customers & Competitors Merry Christmas & Happy New Year !

SEE YOU LATER IN 2016 02 - 05 MAR @ K0416, Taipei Cycle Show 06 - 09 APR @ K0022, Taipei AMPA 06 - 09 May @ E0711, Shanghai Bicycle & Motor Fair

BIKE europe December 2015

13

BUSINESS A vision of the future of the global cycling industry:

Cycling 4.0 Is About Creating New Markets LYON, France - While many from inside and outside of the cycling industry are rushing to get a piece of the market that already exists there are other forward thinking players that are trying to create a new one. But, many of these forward thinkers are making high-risk business decisions with little or no qualitative or quantitative data to support their assumptions.

Patrick Keating

I

nstead, they are rushing into the market armed only with a lot of passion and, in many cases, small piles of crowdfunding money with little or no knowledge of where the market is really going in the future. To help reverse this high risk/low data situation for these entrepreneurs and corporate development managers we’ve developed a vision of the future of the global cycling industry Cycling 4.0. The table from Cycling 1.0 to Cycling 4.0 shows where the industry started, where it is now and where it is heading for.

From Cycling 1.0 to 4.0 Returning to where the 1890’s ‘bicycle boom’ started is the same as where 80 percent of the population of the major markets of North America and Europe live today – urban areas. While many think the urban market is all about city bikes this is far from the truth. Urban areas will encompass all two, three and four-wheel cycling vehicles for basic transportation, fitness and leisure and commercial usage in concentrated locations. As a result, efforts are being made to integrate all of these cycling vehicles segments into the infrastructure of global urban areas in different ways including dedicated urban cycling parks. Combined with the convergence of connectivity, data, electronics, software, sensors and shared mobility you have the future of cycling - Cycling 4.0.

While the current leading players in the global cycling industry value chain will continue to dominate the market in the short-term, especially upstream in the component and frame manufacturing, emerging players will begin to disrupt this part of the value chain in the medium and

long-term. These emerging players will mainly come from the automotive sector where OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers are increasingly focused on adding two, three and four-wheel cycling vehicles and components to their product lines as they realize the ‘urban transportation revolution’ upon them.

A view of this emerging competitive landscape is shown in the image ‘current and emerging OEMs and Tier1 suppliers’.

Of course, in the medium and long-term, these emerging players and many newly-formed companies around the world, will become armed with new product design and manufacturing technologies along with fully automated versions of these platforms. As a result, they will be able to cost-effectively enter the component and frame building segment of the global cycling industry with these platforms that had, in the past, shifted mainly to the Asia-Pacific region beginning in the 1970s and 80s.

Which business and revenue model While we have mainly discussed the future of the upstream segment of the global cycling industry value chain involving design and manufacturing we haven’t forgotten the downstream segment of it. For many traditional distributors and retailers the changes coming in this segment of the market are creating a whole range of reactions from fear and panic to confidence and organised efforts to capitalise on these changes. While it is unclear which business and revenue model will dominate in the short-term it is clear that there is a paradigm shift occurring with the growing use of the internet e-commerce and social media platforms coupled with new retail formats leading the way.

While the Audi City Concept developed by Audi as part of its 2020 vision is revolutionising retailing of automobiles with its mass customisation platform this is not a new concept for the global cycling industry. It was in 1996 that the National Industrial Bicycle Company (NBIC) of Japan created the Panasonic Ordering System (POS) and unveiled it to customers in Japan. Under POS, Japanese consumers were guaranteed that custom-made ‘Panasonic’ bicycles would be delivered in two weeks.

Moreover, the custom-made Panasonic bicycles were priced at about 20 to 30 percent higher (depending on the particular model and features selected) than ‘comparable’ Panasonic bicycles produced in the mass-production factory. NBIC revolutionised the Japanese bicycle industry with its mass customisation platform.

OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers from the automotive sector are increasingly focused on adding two, three and fourSource Velo Capital Partners (VCP) wheel cycling vehicles and components to their product lines.

Evolution of Cycling 4.0 Cycling vehicles:

Cycling 1.0

Cycling 2.0

Cycling 3.0

Cycling 4.0

1800s – 1930

1940 – 1970

1980 – 2010

2010 - 2030 2, 3 and 4 wheel road/off-road de-

2, 3 and 4 wheel

2, 3 and 4 wheel ped-

2, 3 and 4 wheel road/

designs

al cars designs

off-road designs

signs

Major uses

transportation/

transportation/lei-

transportation/leisure/

transportation/health

leisure

sure/fitness

fitness

Industry

vertically integrat-

major components

globalization

ed OEMs

supplier founded

mass produced,

lighter materials com-

composites, drive train

convergence of connectivity, data,

low mechanical

bined with low-medi-

electrification, hydrau-

electronics software, sensors and

technologies

um mechanical and

lics, electronics and

shared mobility

electrical technologies

software integration

Technology

convergence of cycling, technology and telecom industries

Size of industry

USD 100 million

USB 1 billion

USD 100 billion

USD 205 billion (2030 estimate)

Sales in units

1-10 million

10 – 50 million

100 – 190 million

200 – 300 million (estimate)

New suppliers?

Last, but not least, don’t forget the rise of private and public bike sharing platforms which, in the short and medium-term, will also factor into these changes. While recent history has shown that these platforms only increase cycling and sales of cycling vehicles there is real concern regarding the possibility that the sharing economy, backed by millions from financial and strategic investors, could disrupt things differently.

Players from the technology industry such as Apple and Google (who has backed Uber), who are both continuously looking at ways to enter into the automotive industry, have been looking at the global cycling industry too. Google has its own bike

sharing system for the massive corporate campus it has at its headquarters in Silicon Valley.

In summary, we have only shared a limited amount of the vision that we have of Cycling 4.0.

But, the future is clear, in that change will come and, with it, different players with different levels of resources and visions for the future of cycling.

While it is important to remember that we are just at the beginning of another hype cycle related to several emerging trends and that many of these trends will never grow into real markets.

But, the real overall trends, such as the rise of electric-assist cycling vehicles have ‘crossed the chasm’ and are now entering into the mainstream markets.

14

December 2015 BIKE europe

PRODUCT REPORT TAICHUNG BIKE WEEK

Shun Shing to Develop Narrow-wide Light Weight Crankset Called Wilma Wilma is the brand name of Shun Shing Industrial’s lightweight carbon range.

The companyproduces bicycle drive components, OP cranks, chain wheels, and BBPs. The latest addition to its product range is the direct mount 70 percent oval and narrow-wide chainwheel.The crankset fits 10 and 11 speed drivetrains and is Shimano compatible. The chainwheel is made of 7075 aluminium and has a bolt circle diameter (BCD) of 96 mm.

Mac Mahone Eleven-Speed Crankset Mac Mahone’s eleven-speed Wolf crankset has been designed for riding in the most extreme conditions.

The Wolf B.B. axle integrated crankset comes in three crank lengths between 170 and 175 mm and is made of 7050T6 while the crank arm is hollow forged 6066T6. The chainwheel is available in six sizes from 28T to 38T. The 32T set weighs 562 grams. The Wolf has a black and red colour combination in Mac Mahone’s typical stylish design. This XC crank set might also get a downhill version next year. Named Hound, the chainwheels are also available separately in a narrow-wide tooth configuration designed for 1×11 set-ups without the need of a chain guide.

Modus’ Boost Hub Range To meet the growing market for wider wheel sets, hub manufacturer Modus developed the ‘Boost’ range.

The Modus Boost line should provide more stiffness thank to the wider flanges and hubs.

The OLD for the front hub is 141 mm and 148 for the rear hub. These wider Boost hubs will be available throughout the Modus products range and on all levels. The JA276CR as shown on the image comes with four pawls and the same number of seals. It weighs just 318 grams.

Hebie Introduces Chainlooper Chain Protection for Kids’ Bikes Following the success of the Chainglider, Hebie developed an new kind of chain protection for kids’ bikes.

The Chainlooper provides an all over protection from the chain as it completely covers the chain.

A series of protectors make up the Chainlooper. At Taichung Bike Week Hebie presented the prototype and the final product will be on the market in four configurations: 15 and 17 teeth freewheel, a 16 teeth coaster brake hub, and a 14-16 teeth coaster brake hub.

Gearsensor Gives E-Bikes Smart for Reducing Wear & Tear Kun Teng Industry Moves Freewheel to Shifting LETOHRAD, Czech Republic – Czech Bottom Bracket: Direct Drive company Agentura REPRO Ltd. Why not move the freewheel to the bottom bracket? With that idea, Kun Teng Industry developed the Direct Drive.

The Direct Drive has a fixed rear hub construction which reduces tolerances to a minimum, optimises the drive forces and weight distribution. The freewheel construction is integrated in the crankset with a reliable ratchet clutch and fits any standard BB-30 frame. Kun Teng claims it has multiple advantages thanks to its simplicity, such as like 20% more torque, direct power transfer, and improved stiffness.

Samox E-bike Specialist in Cranksets Samox manufacturer Chuan Wei presented itself as the supplier for cranks and chainwheel for e-bike systems.

In close cooperation with Bosch, Brose, and Bafang the company developed a range of cranks and chainwheels. Thanks to an extralarge offset they are also suitable for E-Fat bikes. Samox also produces custom made spiders for Yamaha and Panasonic e-bike systems. These vary mainly thanks to the different axes used by the Japanese e-bike system suppliers. For Bosch Samox even brings a narrow-wide spider version on the market and a ‘one piece’ CNC machined spider with chain protection.

develops, produces and sells a unique processor-controlled device which allows for reducing or cutting off the motor power during shifting.

More than 20 e-bike brands will be using gearsensor.com for MY2016, for example the Cycleurope brands Kildemoes and Puch as well as Multicycle, M1 Sporttechnik, Ordica, O2feel, Qwic, Diavelo, Lectric Cycles, Axevo, and other brands. Gearsensor.com is also strongly established in the European, US, and Australian mid-drive conversion kits markets.

Gearsensor.com is based on an intelligent shifting sensor fixed on the shifting cable, reducing or cutting off the motor power when the rider shifts. Because of specific differences in shifting systems gearsensor.com is producing two different versions. The first version is GS-I which is focused to be used on internal gear hubs (IGH) equipped e-bikes. The second versionisGS-D,targeting e-bikes with derailleurs.

The development of gearsensor.com products started in 2011. Mass production started in the second half of 2014. Gearsensor.com is compatible with the below listed mid-drive unit of Bafang Max drive, Bafang BBS (BBS01, BBS02, BBSHD), binova flow, cleanmobile, Dapu, Ebond and Mpf drive. Currently gearsensor.com is working on compatibility with other European, US and Asian manufacturers of mid-drive units. Apart from the roughly 20 current e-bike brands, many other brands are testing gearsensor.com for MY2017. Gearsensor.com is not specified only for e-bike manufacturers, but it is also specified for mid-drive conversion kit markets. Currently new gearsensor.com models are under development. These new models will not replace current models, but will extend gearsensor.com’s range of products. New models are going to keep the fundamental gearsensor function, reducing or cutting off the motor power during shifting. In addition the new models will offer data storage and processing capabilities important for controlling mid-drive units. The new models will also offer other possibilities to transfer data and support new communication protocols.

Gearsensor.com is based on an intelligent shifting sensor fixed on the shifting cable, which is reducing or cutPhoto Gearsensor.com ting off the motor power when the rider shifts.

BIKE europe December 2015

15

BUSINESS High-end hub factory with 100,000 unit capacity:

Lien-Chin CNC Factory Evolved into Hubsmith FENGYUAN DISTRICT, Taiwan “Design innovative hubs and develop creative solutions,” was the motto for Johnny Lai of Lien-Chin while establishing the premium Hubsmith brand in 2010.

Lai already had nearly thirty years of experience with his CNC factory, as a supplier for several wellknown hub brands. To point out the exclusiveness of the hubs, the company introduced a range of highend wheel sets this year as well.

of the production is made for the US market.

The Hubsmith product range includes hubs for road, road disc, MTB, single speed, mini MTB, fat bike, and trials. Hubsmith develops freehub bodies which are compatible with Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo, and Brompton.

Lien-Chin is particularly proud of its consecutive Taipei Cycle d&i iF design awards. Between 2013 and 2015 the Hubsmith brand was recognised three times for its innovative features. The first one was the patented steel wear plate on the freehub body to prevent wear. One year later Hubsmith developed the award winning ‘one way adjustable gap system’ allowing the use of only one spoke length. Last year Hubsmith introduced the lightweight carbon fibre hub tube with hollow design flanges.

jan-willem van schaik

T

oday Hubsmith operates 14 CNC machines with an annual output of approximately 100,000 units, of which half is Hubsmith branded. About 50,000 units of the company’s total hub production is exported while some 25,000 units go to Asian markets like China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. With 40 percent of the production volume Europe is another important export market for Hubsmith. The company’s main OEM market in Europe is Germany while the hubs are also supplied to the aftermarket in mainly Italy and Belgium. The final 10 percent

Entering wheel set market As part of a group of journalists who joined the TAITRA Media Tour last October I was not shown around in the Lien-Chin factory to my regret, but the company claims to produce everything in-house and by hand. The only exception are the bearings, which are sourced in Japan at EZO. According to Lien-Chin EZO uses an advanced milling process technology resulting in the smoothest possible running bearings.

It was said that the Lien-Chin production floor is laid out as a boutique for hub manufacturing.

Lien-Chin strategically chose to stay in Taiwan and not to move a part of their production to

“We want to keep quality control in our own hands and be sure that we supply the best possible final product to our customers,” said Johnny Lai, owner and general manager of Hubsmith.

Photo Hubsmith China, like so many other Taiwanese part and component manufacturers have done in the past two decades.

“We want to keep quality control in our own hands and be sure that we supply the best possible final product to our customers,” said Hubsmith owner and general manager Johnny Lai. To guarantee the best possible quality, all Hubsmith designs are fatigue tested at the Cycling & Health Tech Industry R&D Centre (CHC) in Taiwan.

To grow and diversify its hub business Hubsmith has introduced a range of wheel sets in a selective product category. Based on the concept that minibike riders, like folding bike users, would prefer to upgrade to light weight, smooth running and easy to maintain wheels, Hubsmith developed a complete range between 349 and 455. The full range features carbon rims or carbon fibre covered aluminium rims as well as exclusive Hubsmith hubs.

16

December 2015 BIKE europe

BUSINESS ‘To stay in Taiwan meant we had to step up our quality control and production efficiency’

Taya Chain Optimises its Production System TAINAN, Taiwan – Handling more than one million parts every day in their main Tainan factory is one of the challenges Taya Chain must meet to guarantee a smoothly running production. While the company manufactures chains for different applications, the monthly output of bicycles chains alone reaches three million units. jan-willem van schaik

F

ounded in 1969 Taya Group’s history goes back to the bicycle and motorcycle chain division of the Japanese manufacturer Tsubaki Chain Co. Still proud of its Japanese roots, Taya developed a complete range including chains for bicycles, motorcycles, fitness bikes, and garage doors as well as a high-end surface treatment business throughout the years. Today the company operates four factories. Three high-end Taiwanese facilities in Tainan and Kaoshiung and a plant in Tianjin, China.

“Twenty years ago we decided to maintain our R&D and high and mid-end production in Taiwan and not to move this to China like so many

other companies in the bicycle industry did,” said Jill Wu, now manager marketing and sales of Taya Chain who will soon be appointed general manager of the company by her father and founder of this chain manufacturer. During our factory tour in the company’s operation headquarters in Tainan, she told why the decision to stay in Taiwan worked out so well. In quality this decision paid out in four consecutive Taiwan Excellence Awards from 2011 to 2014. Back in 2006 Taya Chain already received multiple awards for its first ‘environmentally friendly’ anti-rust chain.

“Our decision to keep our focal point in Taiwan also meant that we had to step up our quality control and production efficiency,” explains Wu. “To improve the product quality, we set up our own Taya Excellence Production Centre operation in 2009. For the 9 to 11 speed we also introduced the bicycle chain traceability which allows people to trace the source from raw material to finished product.”

It all resulted in what Taya Chain calls the ‘Taya Chain Production System’, which describes the production process from incoming raw materials to packaging. “We put a lot of effort in creating efficiency and compared to 20 years ago we can reach the same production levels with 50 percent less manpower. We were able create this high level of automatic production thanks to visual management, so all stages in production

The ‘Taya Chain Production System’ describes the production process from incoming raw materials to packaging.

Photo Bike Europe

can be seen on a panel. When problems occur the operators can act instantly and solve the problem.”

In Taya’s main Tainan factory the company has four production lines. One each for 11, 10, 9, and 8 speed chains. The same goes for the quality control and packaging lines.

To improve the quality of the chain surface treatment and to grow its surface treatment

business for third parties, Taya Chain operates a dedicated anti-rust coating factory. Some of the technologies used in this factory are the Greener Surface Treatment (GST), Diamond Hard Tech (DHT) and the colour coating. The environmentally friendly GST can handle up to 1,000 hours of salt spray testing compared to 45 hours for normal nickel plating. DHT is used for high-end advanced bicycle chains.

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BIKE europe December 2015

17

BUSINESS Italy’s Bike Machinery involved in set-up for Portuguese Triangles’ fully robotized aluminium frame factory

Making Alloy Frames in Five Minutes BAGNATICA, Italy – How the Portuguese Triangles factory will be making aluminium bicycle frames with German car technology becomes clearer with the preseries production start only a few months away. That the facility would have 2 production lines, each with 10 welding robots, was published earlier by Bike Europe.

But, “the key point in the production process is not the robotized welding. It’s how alloy frame-tubes are prepared for that process.” jack oortwijn

T

hat’s according to Luigi Seghezzi, CEO of Italian Bike Machinery. He is heavily involved in the Portuguese aluminium frame production project initiated by Rodi, Miranda, and Ciclo-Fapril. These Agueda, Portugal based companies are investing €14 million in the frame facility, which will have an initial capacity of 450,000 aluminium frames. Setting-up aluminium frame production in Portugal is widely recognised as a major move towards adding flexibility to the supply chain of the bike industry in Europe.

Know-how in bikes It’s ambitious. Something big and totally new for Europe. That’s how bike industry veteran Seghezzi typifies this aluminium bike frame factory now being established in Portugal. One of the initiators of this project – rim maker Rodi – turned to Bike Machinery for assistance as well as for machinery. “They turned to us because Rodi has no background in frame-making. What we offer is our know-how for bikes,” says Seghezzi. In particular for the robotized welding, Rodi, Miranda, and Ciclo-Fapril are working closely with a leading expert in the automotive industry. But there’s a big difference in the automated manufacture of car chassis’ and bike frames.

Tube preparation machinery Next to know-how Bike Machinery is also providing the tube preparation machinery for the frame-making installation. These machines take care of cutting, shaping, and all other operations that have to take place on the alloy tubing before the robotized welding can take place.

These operations are key in the automated process, emphasizes Seghezzi. “Done correctly the robots will accept the tubes for welding.”

Also, Bike Machinery is providing machines for checking and correcting the right alignment of the welded frames. This takes place two times during the welding process. With the purchasing of these machines a total investment of some €2 million is involved. The entire frame

Luigi Seghezzi, CEO of Italian Bike Machinery, is heavily involved in the Portuguese aluminium frame production project initiated by Rodi, Miranda, and Ciclo-Fapril.

Photos Bike Europe production process including tube preparation is completely automated. Operation at each station takes less than 30 seconds. The robotized MIG-MAG pulsed welding takes a bit longer, but overall production time for a complete frame is limited to 4 to 5 minutes. Bike Machinery also makes about 250 standard machines for bicycle manufacturers that vary from (race) frames & fork-making machines right up to assembly lines. Nowadays the company concentrates on the EU and South American markets.

The aluminium frames are manufactured by robotized MIG-MAG pulsed welding within 4 to 5 minutes.

BBB Cycling, Chris Koppert and Marc Roelofsen:

‘Great Opportunity To Be Part of Pon Holdings’ LEIDEN, the Netherlands – The early 2015 acquisition of Dutch BBB Cycling by Pon Holdings, already owner of Gazelle, Derby Cycle, Cervélo, and Santa Cruz, marked the start of a hectic year for BBB Cycling, including the passing of co-founder Frank Moons.

Annemarie Visser

N

ow known as full-service supplier, BBB Cycling started in the earlier nineties with wholesaler Augusta as the Benelux representation of the German company Augusta by Chris Koppert. Frank Moons has been involved in this project from the beginning and became co-owner at a later stage. In the early days Augusta Benelux obtained exclusive distribution of known A-brands before the company started its own brand BBB in 1998.

“It was not easy to create a new brand in the busy bicycle market but we started successfully with our Augusta Benelux dealers,” explains Chris Koppert, who recently announced his resignation. “Today BBB Cycling has a global distribution and is sold in 45 countries by 21,000 shops. No less than 80 percent of its turnover is generated by export. BBB Cycling operates its own logistic centre in Taichung, Taiwan as the company mainly sources in Asia. For its 40 product categories BBB Cycling sources from 80 factories. Thanks to Pon we can make big

steps forward. Before Frank and I did each project step by step,” notes Koppert.

“We simply couldn’t handle more. Being part of Pon makes it possible to handle more projects at the same time thanks to the company’s expertise reaching from North America to China.

BBB can now handle these markets simultaneously. In early days BBB was only distributed in the Benelux and we started with the products we liked the most ourselves as avid cyclists: sun glasses, brake pads, neoprene shoe covers and cycling gloves. In 2004 BBB already generated the far majority of Augusta’s turnover.”

Spirit Chris Koppert attributes the success of the brand to the spirit in his team which consists of avid cyclists. Also Koppert’s successor Marc Roelofsen was part of that team in the early days. “We developed the right products for cyclists, which were all designed and tested by ourselves. We soon had a proven track record and we can deliver nearly 100 percent in time, also during peak-season. And we were among the first with a shop-in-shop concept. Our mission was to provide a sales tool to a retailer and not just a product. Our concept helps the dealer to generate business, making it a great b2b instrument.”

Marc Roelofsen, who recently took over from Chris Koppert, adds, “We feel like having a responsibility on the shop floor. BBB has an added value for the consumer, in the Benelux and certainly abroad. Our image as a Dutch company in the cycling industry helped us to grow the export market. The export also

General Manager Marc Roelofsen (right) recently took over BBB from Chris Koppert. multiplied our turnover and created larger budgets for marketing and product development. We also expect synergy effects of the acquisition of BBB Cycling by Pon Holdings. For example Santa Cruz and Cervélo are great sparring partners in product development for MTB and road race. Except from that all companies remain autonomously. We see it as a great opportunity to be part of Pon Holdings as they are a long term investor and want to ahead in the bicycle industry.”

Roelofsen adds, “Pon also wants us to expand in existing and new markets. In the next years we will focus on North America, in line with

Photo:Roel Dijkstra

Pon’s strategy. Thanks to Santa Cruz and Cervélo, both based in North-America the knowhow, the market expertise, the customers and the distribution is there. This is a very big advantage for us. On brand level our mission is to create and maintain an image so the consumer really want our products. So far we have been successful in that. As a result we don’t have a lot of competition from web shops like Chain Reaction and Wiggle. On the other hand we are very active on-line with e-commerce, on-line marketing and on social media. The on-line consumer can easily find us to get his unique BBB products.”

18

December 2015 BIKE europe

SHOW NEWS & PEOPLE

CALENDAR

Cube Pulls Out of Eurobike WALDERSDORF, Germany – Large crowds in hall B1 always marked the Cube booth at Eurobike. But those days are over.

Cube was founded in 1993 and was an innovative German brand with a new market approach, which increased its business in the same years of the rampant growth of Eurobike.

Cube points out that Eurobike’s announcement to adjust the show concept with the addition of an extra consumer day and cancellation of the

demo day was not of any influence on their decision.

According to Cube founder and owner Marcus Pürner, “The success of our concept with a showroom at our headquarters in Waldersdorf confirmed the path we chose. We moved our product presentation on requests of our partners and it gives us the opportunity to present our company to as many partners as possible.

Even for those from overseas. Last year most of them visited our product presentation (in) early August before their visit to Eurobike a month later.”

Frontman of European Bike Industry Brian Montgomery Passed Away PARIS, France – For years he was top of mind for lots of executives in the European bike sector, as well as the ones in Asia.

Last November the chairman of the European Bicycle Manufacturers’ Association (EMBA) Brian Montgomery passed away. He led this effective trade bloc for over thirty years. EBMA was and is the stakeholding contact in Brussels for the European bicycle industry. Montgomery triggered many investigations and reviews by the European Commission – building cases against China’s illegal trading practices, as well as for other Asian countries. His record of vic-

tories in anti-dumping and trade defence proceedings, 15 in total, is legendary in Brussels.

After being COLIBI President in the late 80s, Montgomery founded EBMA in 1990, and worked for the association up to his demise. Before he worked at BH in Spain and he contributed to the creation of the Cycleurope Group.

Brian Montgomery (81) passed away in his home in Marly, close to Paris. On Tuesday 24th November his funeral was held in the presence of many relatives and friends. The bicycle industry was represented by Jerome Valentin, President of Cycleurope France and Unicycle, Manuel Marsilio of CONEBI, and Moreno Fioravanti on behalf of EBMA.

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BIKE europe Trade Journal for the European Trade in Bicycles and Scooters Bike Europe will be published 10 times in 2016 © 2016 Vakmedianet Hanzestraat 1 7006 RH Doetinchem The Netherlands Phone: +31 88 584 0675 E-mail: marianvanderzalm@vakmedianet.nl

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Editors Jan-Willem van Schaik janwillemvanschaik@vakmedianet.nl Phone: +31 88 5840 619 Hedwig Berendsen - Hooman HedwigBerendsen@vakmedianet.nl Phone: +31 88 5840 661 Annemarie Visser AnnemarieVisser@vakmedianet.nl Phone: +31 88 5840 676 Subeditor Hugo Claver Design Colorscan B.V. Correspondents Belgium/EC: Annick Roetynck, Canada: John Palmer, Czech Republic: Milan Motl, Finland: Heikki Kuva, France: Isabelle Lebœuf, German speaking countries: Jo Beckendorff, Italy: German Eslava, Poland: Marek Utkin, Portugal: Alexandre Silva, Russia: Andrei Khorkov, Slovenia, Baltic States: Grega Stopar, South East Asia: Satnam Singh, Spain: Ivan Perez Cudrada, Switzerland: Peter Hummel, Taiwan: David Frazier, United Kingdom: Paul N. Blezard, United States: Gary Boulanger, South Africa: Ron Thompson, Electric vehicles: Susanne Brüsch For all your advertising requirements contact: Sales B2B Lucas van ‘t Hoff Phone: +31 06 53709687 lucasvanthof@vakmedianet.nl

Kevin Mayne, Cycling Industry Club

International Shows January 15 – 17 Velofollies Kortrijk, Belgium 24 – 27 ISPO Munich Munich, Germany

Bringing Cycling on the Agenda The world’s eyes were looking at COP21 in Paris. ECF and CIC have been working hard to bring forward the role of cycling in saving the climate, as well as creating jobs, and producing innovation and growth.

ECF and CIC asked for more investments to increase cycling and grow the market globally: in the recent Global High Shift Cycling Scenario study, which ECF cocommissioned, it is shown that cycling can cut energy use and CO2 emissions of urban transport by up to 10 percent by 2050 compared to current estimations, while saving society trillions of dollars.

Via the hashtag #WeAreTransport various leaders pledged their commitments towards green transport during and after COP21. With these kind of commitments, the organisations expect a decisive top-down push for bikes and e-bikes, unlocking great potential for the industry with the approach: Think global, act local: the real change occurs on the ground.

The future trends will be presented at Velo-city Global 2016. Come to Taipei two days before the Taipei Cycle Show and enjoy specially tailored Industry Days. Here you will discover today where the market will be tomorrow. Top industry figures such as Anthony Lo from Giant and John Burke from Trek will speak about the economics of cycling, the role of advocacy in growing the market and why successful policies are needed to increase sales for everyone.

Register via www.velo-city2016.com.

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February 10 – 14 f.r.e.e Munich, Germany 11 – 14 The London Bike Show London, United Kingdom 27 – 1 Velo-city Global 2016 Taipei, Taiwan March 2 – 5 Taipei International Cycle Show Taipei, Taiwan 4 – 6 Velo Park Moscow, Russia 11 – 13 Copenhagen Bike Show Copenhagen, Denmark 18 – 20 Berliner Fahrradschau Berlin, Germany

April 14 – 17 Sea Otter Classic Monterey, USA 15 – 17 Bespoked Bristol, UK May 6–9

China Int’l Bicycle & Motor Fair Shanghai, China

June 28 – 30 Eurobike Media Days Kirchberg in Tyrol, Austria July 30 – 31 Prudential Ride Cycling Show London, UK August 31 – 4 Eurobike Friedrichshafen, Germany September 19 – 23 Interbike and Outdoor Demo Las Vegas, USA 22 – 25 Cycle Show Birmingham, United Kingdom October 18 – 21 Taichung Bike Week Taichung, Taiwan

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Let’s communicate in the Bicycle & Scooter Market!

Company Name : GUMONDER INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Brand

: GMD

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Front Forks Seat Posts Rear Shock Suspension parts Scooter Shock

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Company Name : MEGA COMPOSITE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

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Taichung City 43443, Taiwan (R.O.C.) Postal code + City : 43443 Taichung

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Postal code + City : 50241 Changhua Hsien

Fax

: +886-2-87921259

Country

: Taiwan

E-mail

: eric@irwin.com.tw

Telephone

: +886-49-2522259

Website

: www.irwincycling.com

Fax

: +886-49-2526719

: Wheel Components

E-mail

: yungfang@yungfang.com.tw

Website

: http://www.yungfang.com.tw

Categories

: City and Trekking Bike Components

Accessories

Categories

Company Name : NECO TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY CO., LTD Contact

City and Trekking Bike Components e-Bike Components

: International Sales

Address

: No. 190 ZhongZheng Road, Wufeng District, Taichung City 41362, Taiwan.

Accessories Company Name : Kind Shock Hi-Tech Co., Ltd.

Company Name : Formula Cycling Contact Position

Contact

: Grace Chen

Position

: Director of Sales & Marketing

Address

: No.72, Kung Ming South 1st Rd An-Nan District Tainan City Taiwan

: Filip Carpentier : Managing director

Postal code + City : 70968 Tainan Country

: Taiwan

Postal code + City : 8906 Elverdinge

Telephone

: +886-6-2568575

Country

Fax

: +886-6-2567293

Address

Telephone

: Veurnseweg 528 : België : +32 (0)57 48 75 00

: Lizzy Lee/ Kelly Shih

Position

E-mail

: kssale@kindshockglobal.com

Fax

: +32(0)57 48 75 01

Website

: www.kssuspension.com

E-mail

: info@formula-cycling.be

Categories

: Dropper & Suspension Seat post

Website

: www.formula-cycling.be

Accessories Rear Shock

Categories

: Fietsen & fietsonderdelen

Front Fork Handlebar

Postal code + City : 41362 Taichung Country

: Taiwan

Telephone

: +886-4-23323966

Fax

: +886-4-23322866

Company Name : Zhongce Rubber Group Co., Ltd.

E-mail

: neco@necoparts.com

Contact

: David Fan

Website

: http://www.necoparts.com

Position

: Sales Director

Categories

: Frames & Frame Components

Address

: No. 1, #1 Street, Xiasha, Hangzhou, China

Transmission Components

Postal code + City : 310018 Hangzhou

Wheel Components

Country

: China

Handlebar, Saddles and Pedals

Telephone

: +86 571 86815955

Cables & Grips

Fax

: +86 571 86053191

City and Trekking Bike Components

E-mail

: sales2wheels@zc-rubber.com

e-Bike Components

Website

: www.chaoyang.com

Accessories

Categories

: Wheel Components

This environment, this trail and this ride have contained all of the ingredients— countless tiny details that have created the perfect day. It is a feeling that will keep us returning for years to come.

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