Eurobike: Looking ahead to the 2015 model year, the e-bike market will remain dynamic, exciting and diverse. Many new developments, which up until now could only be seen as prototypes, will be presented at the Eurobike 27 from August 30th to 2014th in a state ready for series production.
The fact that the automotive supplier Brose recently celebrated the start of production of e-bike drives in Berlin is also an example of an important trend in the e-bike segment: after a handful of suppliers split up the market for drive systems in recent years have, the 2015 model year is characterized by a new variety. Well-known suppliers also play a role here: Brose, for example, which received a lot of praise from experts for its mid-motor system in the run-up to the Eurobike, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of components for automobile construction with annual sales of 5 billion euros. The mountain bike specialist Rotwild and Bulls, a brand of the ZEG purchasing association, will be presenting the first e-bike models with a Brose drive at the Eurobike.
Equally well known is Continental AG, whose Contitech division recently took over a successful German supplier of e-bike drive systems. In future, the products will be offered under the new Contitech brand. The Continental subsidiary already presented a belt drive for bicycles at the last Eurobike. In the future, the company will offer e-bike drives and belt technology from a single source.
Yamaha was one of the early pioneers in the e-bike market as early as 1993, and the company withdrew from this market in Europe before the turn of the millennium. At Eurobike 2013, Yamaha once again presented its own e-bike drive system, which was primarily used by bicycle manufacturer Giant this season. From the coming model year, another well-known bicycle manufacturer, the Winora Group, is jumping on the Yamaha bandwagon: starting in autumn, the Haibike brand will be offering the new SDURO line, which converts the high-torque and at the same time very compact middle motor from Yamaha into sporty mountain bikes, cross and trekking bikes integrated.
The established providers are also drawing attention to themselves. Not only will Bosch be showing the new Nyon display at Eurobike, which provides the rider with a wealth of interactive information in the style of a smartphone, including navigation, but the e-bike supplier is also cooperating with the bicycle component manufacturers Shimano, Sram and NuVinci . The result is a new technology for controlling the e-bike drive and gears together.
The first electric racing bikes rolled out of the shops this year, while for 2015 the number of mountain bike models with electric drive continues to grow. If you look around at the bike fair, you will see many full-suspension off-road bikes with electric pedal power assistance, which do not shy away from more demanding trails with their comparatively low weight, quite powerful chassis and high-quality equipment.
At the KTM stand at the trade fair, a mountain bike with a Bosch drive will be on display for the first time, which, with 24-inch wheels, is aimed at the still untapped target group of older children.
At Haibike, on the other hand, the target group of short people and young people is addressed with mountain bikes with 27,5-inch wheels and the particularly small frame height of 35 cm.
Anyone who wants to experience the trends in the e-bike market first-hand will almost inevitably be heading to Friedrichshafen again this year from August 27th to 30th. Again this year, over 1280 exhibitors from 54 countries will show their innovations for the coming bike season.
Further information at www.eurobike-demoday.com and at www.eurobike-
show.com.
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