TAICHUNG, Taiwan - Following allegations by LeMonde Diplomatique about indicators of forced labour according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) in the Taiwanese bicycle industry, the trade association Taiwan Bicycle Association (TBA) felt the urge to respond. "Taiwan as the crucial global supply chain has the responsibility to do things right in every aspect and we appreciate your effort in providing us the guidance and advice regarding the foreign labour issues," the TBA told Bike Europe.

EMSTEK, Germany - Pon-owned brand Kalkhoff is transitioning to low-temperature powder coatings in the painting process at its bicycle factory in Germany. This reduction in temperature brings significant benefits in terms of energy consumption and reduces CO2 emissions.

NEUMARKT, Germany - Last December, Belgium-based European investment company Gimv NV acquired an undisclosed majority stake in German bicycle and outdoor lighting producer Lupine Lighting Systems GmbH.

ZEIST, The Netherlands - "Data is the missing piece of the narrative, and there is a basic need for standardisation in the bicycle industry," declared speaker Bartek Czerwinski during the Cycling Industries Europe (CIE) hosted webinar on Digital Solutions for the Cycling Industry. Here, newcomers in the industry explained their ideas for creating a level playing field to bring the bike industry up to a digital level in line with its automotive counterpart.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - The number of new product introductions on tradeshows has always been a leading indicator of business performance. After some years of an extremely low level of new product introductions, the number of participants for the 2025 Taipei Cycle awards is growing again, marking an important development.

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - Frame manufacturer Astro-Tech Co., Ltd. has clearly outlined its strategic direction for its future development initiative. Astro-Tech president Samuel Hu gave Bike Europe a look into what these plans entail, which includes the construction of a new production facility in Vietnam, where Astro-Tech has been producing frames for 24 years.

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - Any frequent visitor of bicycle industry factories in Taiwan, has seen that a lot of the workers come from countries like Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand or Indonesia. Often the signing in the factories is multi-lingual to facilitate the foreign workers. In a recent publication, LeMonde Diplomatique reports that they have found indicators of forced labour according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), particularly in the Taiwan bicycle industry.

MADRID, Spain - Following a dip in 2023 after two very successful years, bicycle production in Spain rebounded in 2024 with a 2.9% year-on-year increase in volume. Despite the value of the output dipping slightly, the Spanish industry is proving to remain robust compared to pre-pandemic levels.

ANNECY, France - After 10 years of research and development and a €19 million investment, active mobility developer, Cixi has announced that its Pers chainless technology is ready to hit the market. The first four bicycles featuring PERS technology will be available for purchase at this year's Eurobike.

It's no secret that cycling in nature has its benefits, from getting fresh air to improving one's overall health. But proper mountain bike trails don't just appear by themselves. They take careful consideration and planning. That's why Shimano has pledged a sum of 10 million USD to global trail building projects over the next 10 years.

OSLO, Norway - The innovative software of BikeFolder might potentially create so much relevant data for the industry, that Shimano Nordic announced a partnership with the start-up in the Nordic region. BikeFolder offers a solution for bicycle manufacturers that gives them insights into where their products go once they leave the factory and what happens during their lifecycle.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The reaction to the EU's recent decision to extend the anti-dumping and countervailing measures against imports e-bike from China doesn't come near the heavy discussions six years ago when the measures were implemented for the first time. For that reason, LEVA-EU now draws attention to the cheap and non-compliant e-bike from China and the complex exemption processes for 'made in China' e-bike components.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - When the new battery regulation came into place in August 2023, a lot of attention from the bicycle industry was given to 'Article 11' on repairability. The European Commission has now published guidelines to facilitate the introduction of this part of the regulation, and specifically the much-discussed topic of single-cell replacement.

LONDON, England - Following a public consultation process, the UK's Department for Transport has decided against implementing new legislation for e-bikes in the country. Under discussion were raising the maximum continuous power classification of e-bikes from 250 watts to 500 watts and allowing throttle assistance up to 25 km/h on e-bikes without the need for type approval.

VELDHOVEN, the Netherlands - Darfon, announced the appointment of René Timmermans as European-based director of OEM/ODM, effective immediately. In this role, René will be responsible for the management of all commercial matters involving Darfon Energy, Astro Tech and Kenstone, bringing a wealth of expertise and leadership experience to the team.

MADRID, Spain - Two Rotor Bike Component founders have launched a new performance cycling brand. Pablo Carrasco and Ignacio Estelles merged their vision and manufacturing expertise carbon manufacturer YMA to develop bicycle components. QO's first product line is a series of carbon fiber cranksets on display at Velofollies earlier this month.

KORTRIJK, Belgium - Is Belgium the 'most promising market' amidst the other European markets where companies are struggling with financial burdens and slow demand? "2024 has not been a crisis year for the bicycle industry," said Paul Glorieux, secretary general of the Belgium industry association Traxio-Velo at the presentation of the 2024 market statistics.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan exported 47% less e-bikes across 2024, the preliminary custom statistics show. With just under 365,000 units leaving the nation's shores in a year, this is the lowest volume since 2018. The export value also dropped 43% year-on-year meaning the economic ramifications must still be being felt throughout the supply chain.