It’s been per week since Eurobike, and I’m left eager about takeaways from this yr’s present.
We’ve written solely a handful of pure Eurobike new product tales this yr. And that’s not as a result of there wasn’t fascinating tech to find at Europe’s largest and, realistically, the western biking trade’s final remaining commerce present. There have been loads of cool new bike tech tales and a good quantity of our signature bike rumors. And we’ll hold sharing extra of each within the coming days.
For me, it was nonetheless very a lot a productive present. I had a number of days full of conferences, and bought sneak peeks of some fascinating new merchandise, each from exhibitors and non-exhibiting present guests.
However, I’m left questioning if the heyday of massive bike trade commerce reveals like Interbike and Eurobike is really now a factor of the previous?
Why was there an enormous biking trade commerce present to begin with?
I’ve lined Eurobike personally for the previous 13 years, earlier than that, having first been to Interbike in my store rat days greater than a decade earlier. My Bikerumor colleagues had reported on Eurobike for five years earlier than me, for the reason that early days of the positioning, in truth. But, the 2026 Eurobike simply seemed totally different.
This yr’s present was much less about established bike & element manufacturers, which had fashioned the bottom of a lot of these reveals for many years.
These huge manufacturers had been what had all the time ensured a excessive variety of industrial guests – the product managers, distributors, store homeowners, and producers who got here collectively to make actual enterprise offers. That, in flip, additionally made it priceless for smaller – typically extra nimble, generally extra revolutionary – manufacturers to indicate off their subsequent new tech on an enormous stage, to a prepared viewers. Everybody throughout the biking trade would coalesce in a single place for per week, see what one another had been engaged on, and easily have a standard place to satisfy and catch up.
Plus, for us, it had the tangible advantage of tons of latest bicycle merchandise available and on show in a single place. Good for biking media to see all of it, take footage of the following finest merchandise for the approaching yr, after which share it with our rapt viewers world wide. It was the one week annually after we would see probably the most new product – multi function handy location.
2026 Eurobike present was type of dominated by outsiders
However this yr, the avalanche of latest product launches merely wasn’t on the present. Extra of it was really piling up in our inboxes again on the workplace.
2026 was extra a present of some key gamers seeking to disrupt the biking world, whereas trade stalwarts waited within the shadows to see what would possibly occur subsequent. Avinox and Canyon had been undeniably the busiest exhibitors in Frankfurt this yr, though they had been removed from the one ones exhibiting off new tech.
Avinox made waves teasing their MG Idea, a mixed ebike motor and gearbox. But it surely’s probably not very near being prepared for customers, and even the press, to experience. And the rumor within the halls was they solely determined to indicate it off comparatively final minute, as soon as they heard that within the sales space reverse them, fellow Chinese language ebike motor maker (for manufacturers like Aventon, for instance) Gobao could be exhibiting of their very own mixed motor & gearbox, fairly a bit additional alongside in growth. However Avinox nonetheless had loads to indicate off to the trade, as nearly each premium eMTB maker has been clamoring to get bikes with their wildly-powerful new 1500W, 150Nm M2S powertrain.
As for Canyon, why did a consumer-direct model present as much as a Enterprise-To-Enterprise (B2B) occasion? Clearly, Canyon was flexing, too. Whereas just about each standard flagship bike model stayed away, Canyon confirmed off how they’ve constructed their model into a worldwide chief in innovation – with thrilling street, commuter, cross-country & eMTB idea bikes on show, plus a tease of a number of unreleased bikes quickly to launch. No different exhibitor at Eurobike had anyplace near the amount of latest product innovation on show. And Canyon isn’t even promoting to bike outlets or distributors. Complete energy transfer.
Who was at this yr’s present, who wasn’t, and why?
Loads of different long-running Eurobike exhibitors had been nonetheless on the present, too. TRP celebrated their twentieth anniversary. Rotwild celebrated 30 years. Plus manufacturers like FFWD, Hope, Intend, Nukeproof, Prologo, Ridley, and Rohloff all had cool new stuff to share.
However notably absent (or largely so) had been the whole SRAM household, Shimano, Campagnolo, DT Swiss, all of massive tire makers, the primary German distributors, and critically, the 2 huge German biking trade teams who’re placing collectively a competing commerce present subsequent summer season.
Does a B2B commerce present even make sense anymore?
On the present the overall consensus, from these within the trade who make shopping for choices, sounds like every industrial commerce present is much less and fewer related, as main bike manufacturers aren’t making element or manufacturing choices at a midsummer present. And bike outlets & distributors merely don’t place orders for the following yr at one huge present the place they will evaluate choices side-by-side.
But, manufacturers nonetheless wish to be seen.
They want customers to know that they’ve new merchandise, and get enthusiastic about shopping for new stuff. So, whereas B2B issues much less for bike manufacturers, they do wish to be seen at extra native B2C (Enterprise-To-Client) reveals. That’s why shopper ‘Pageant Days’ at Eurobike have been a factor preserving the present going. And naturally manufacturers need the biking press to indicate up at these reveals to put in writing about all their new merchandise.
However though industrial gross sales aren’t occurring a lot on the commerce present anymore, the face-to-face conferences we had in Frankfurt nonetheless felt essential. I spoke with a number of present attendees – each exhibitors and types simply visiting – who defined how very important it’s for them to have the ability to meet with their suppliers and manufacturing companions in a single discussion board. That’s a service present organizers nonetheless want to determine tips on how to fulfill.
B2B vs. B2C vs. separate media launches?
And from a media perspective, traditionally, the massive commerce reveals are our best option to get plenty of new product info in a brief timeframe. We get the possibility to talk with the folks behind new product growth, to carry these new merchandise in-hand, to make our personal dedication of how fascinating or worthwhile they’re to put in writing about, and we don’t must journey from model to model to take action. The difficulty is, recreating that at a bunch of smaller reveals makes a lot much less sense.
This yr at Eurobike I noticed unreleased gravel & commuter tires, glimpsed probably game-changing gravel wheels, one of many first correctly revolutionary bike racks I can keep in mind, a resurgence of the mix of ebike motors with a gearbox, plus just a few unreleased race bikes, and extra Avinox-powered eMTBs than you would shake a stick at. No different discussion board can match all that into just some days.
I additionally fondly keep in mind just a few years of Eurobike Media Days, which was solely manufacturers showcasing new merchandise for the biking press to check out. No B2B or B2C offers being made. However, apparently that wasn’t commercially sustainable, both.
Will Bikerumor be there to cowl the following tradeshow?
And with that, I’ll admit that our crew begins to really feel a little bit of commerce present fatigue.
As the massive reveals get smaller, smaller reveals develop into extra related for brand spanking new product launches. And we really feel strain to be in lots of locations without delay to not miss the following smartest thing to share with you expensive reader – even when a lot of that’s strain we placed on ourselves, to not miss something. FOMO kinda is on the root of our MO.
This yr we’ve already been to Taipei Cycle in Taiwan, Sea Otter Basic in California, and Eurobike in Germany, to this point. We’ll in all probability head a minimum of to Sea Otter Europe in Spain, MADE in Oregon, and Bespoked in Germany earlier than yr’s finish. And we’ve turned down loads of reveals previously 12 months: CyclingWorld, Riva Bike, Roc d’Azur, Roleur Stay & Velofollies to call just a few… to not point out just a few nationwide reveals you possible haven’t ever even heard of.
Realistically, a great commerce present takes us two weeks to cowl in our nerdy tech type. And there are solely so many weeks within the yr to suit them in, amongst all our different new bike tech protection – product information & in-depth critiques.
The place does Eurobike go subsequent?
This yr, Eurobike was a lot smaller in bodily dimension than in years previous – all the way down to about half as many exhibition halls in comparison with final yr, virtually a 3rd of what it was just a few years earlier than. That’s a transparent development exhibiting the decline within the industrial viability of holding a single main commerce present. However Eurobike hasn’t fairly given up but.
They are going to be again subsequent yr in 2027, however in all probability smaller once more. And, again to the normal Eurobike timing of the primary week of September – the 1st-Third – prefer it was for greater than a decade.
After that, there won’t be a Eurobike present in 2028. The present organizers have simply introduced that they may transfer to a biannual schedule – on one yr, off the following. Their rationale appears to be that there’s not sufficient curiosity to do it yearly. However I can’t think about how the trade gained’t merely transfer on to the following platform in the event that they disappear for even one yr.
And that’s the place In the direction of Tomorrow matches in – or fairly Twrds Tmrrw, as a result of there’s a premium on vowels, or one thing foolish, like that.
Is Twrds Tmrrw the following step ahead?
That is the impartial commerce present being organized in Cologne, DE subsequent summer season by the German Biking Business ZIV affiliation. It’s a direct response to Eurobike not making an allowance for the precise wants of the bike producers, distributors & retailers – particularly these within the German market, residence to Eurobike for greater than 3 a long time. In the intervening time, as an outsider, it feels very very similar to the German market saying that they aren’t proud of Eurobike attempting to cater to extra of a world viewers. However Germany may be very a lot the most important participant within the biking trade in Europe, with the best buying energy, so it appears unusual that Eurobike didn’t deliver their trade affiliation to the desk to determine a means ahead.
So in 2027, simply days after Eurobike ends in Frankfurt, Twrds Tmrrw will start in Cologne, lower than 200km away September 6-Eighth. Whereas it’s shut sufficient for attendees to go to each, and a weekend separates them, it’s too shut for large manufacturers to realistically exhibit at each.
So the bike trade goes to must determine: Do you stick to the previous present you recognize? Or decide to a brand new, presumably extra forward-looking tradeshow?
I hope we don’t must cowl each. But it surely’s trying like September 2027 goes to shake up how we cowl the trade’s new product showcase in Europe!
