It’s been every week since Eurobike, and I’m left occupied with takeaways from this 12 months’s present.
We’ve written solely a handful of pure Eurobike new product tales this 12 months. And that’s not as a result of there wasn’t attention-grabbing tech to find at Europe’s largest and, realistically, the western biking business’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 maintain 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 obtained sneak peeks of some attention-grabbing new merchandise, each from exhibitors and non-exhibiting present guests.
However, I’m left questioning if the heyday of massive bike business commerce reveals like Interbike and Eurobike is really now a factor of the previous?
Why was there an enormous biking business 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, because the early days of the location, actually. But, the 2026 Eurobike simply regarded completely different.
This 12 months’s present was much less about established bike & element manufacturers, which had fashioned the bottom of a majority of these reveals for many years.
These large manufacturers had been what had all the time ensured a excessive variety of business guests – the product managers, distributors, store homeowners, and producers who got here collectively to make actual enterprise offers. That, in flip, additionally made it worthwhile for smaller – usually extra nimble, typically extra modern – manufacturers to point out off their subsequent new tech on an enormous stage, to a prepared viewers. Everybody throughout the biking business would coalesce in a single place for every week, see what one another had been engaged on, and easily have a typical place to satisfy and catch up.
Plus, for us, it had the tangible good thing about tons of latest bicycle merchandise readily available and on show in a single place. Good for biking media to see all of it, take photos of the subsequent finest merchandise for the approaching 12 months, after which share it with our rapt viewers around the globe. It was the one week every year after we would see essentially the most new product – multi function handy location.
2026 Eurobike present was form of dominated by outsiders
However this 12 months, 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 trying to disrupt the biking world, whereas business stalwarts waited within the shadows to see what would possibly occur subsequent. Avinox and Canyon had been undeniably the busiest exhibitors in Frankfurt this 12 months, although they had been removed from the one ones displaying off new tech.
Avinox made waves teasing their MG Idea, a mixed ebike motor and gearbox. Nevertheless it’s not likely very near being prepared for shoppers, and even the press, to experience. And the rumor within the halls was they solely determined to point out 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 can be displaying of their very own mixed motor & gearbox, fairly a bit additional alongside in improvement. However Avinox nonetheless had lots to point out off to the business, as just about 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 typical 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 retailers or distributors. Whole energy transfer.
Who was at this 12 months’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 principally so) had been your entire SRAM household, Shimano, Campagnolo, DT Swiss, all of massive tire makers, the primary German distributors, and critically, the 2 large German biking business 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 final consensus, from these within the business who make shopping for selections, sounds like several business commerce present is much less and fewer related, as main bike manufacturers aren’t making element or manufacturing selections at a midsummer present. And bike retailers & distributors merely don’t place orders for the subsequent 12 months at one large present the place they’ll examine choices side-by-side.
But, manufacturers nonetheless wish to be seen.
They want shoppers 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-Shopper) reveals. That’s why shopper ‘Competition Days’ at Eurobike have been a factor preserving the present going. And naturally manufacturers need the biking press to point out up at these reveals to jot down about all their new merchandise.
However although business gross sales aren’t occurring a lot on the commerce present anymore, the face-to-face conferences we had in Frankfurt nonetheless felt crucial. 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 how you can fulfill.
B2B vs. B2C vs. separate media launches?
And from a media perspective, traditionally, the massive commerce reveals are our most effective strategy to get a lot of new product data in a brief timeframe. We get the prospect to talk with the individuals behind new product improvement, to carry these new merchandise in-hand, to make our personal willpower of how attention-grabbing or worthwhile they’re to jot down 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 12 months at Eurobike I noticed unreleased gravel & commuter tires, glimpsed probably game-changing gravel wheels, one of many first correctly modern bike racks I can bear 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 only a few days.
I additionally fondly bear 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 subsequent tradeshow?
And with that, I’ll admit that our staff begins to really feel a little bit of commerce present fatigue.
As the massive reveals get smaller, smaller reveals turn out to be extra related for brand spanking new product launches. And we really feel stress to be in lots of locations directly to not miss the subsequent neatest thing to share with you pricey reader – even when a lot of that’s stress we placed on ourselves, to not miss something. FOMO kinda is on the root of our MO.
This 12 months we’ve already been to Taipei Cycle in Taiwan, Sea Otter Basic in California, and Eurobike in Germany, to date. We’ll most likely head no less than to Sea Otter Europe in Spain, MADE in Oregon, and Bespoked in Germany earlier than 12 months’s finish. And we’ve turned down a variety of reveals prior to now 12 months: CyclingWorld, Riva Bike, Roc d’Azur, Roleur Dwell & Velofollies to call just a few… to not point out just a few nationwide reveals you seemingly haven’t ever even heard of.
Realistically, a very good commerce present takes us two weeks to cowl in our nerdy tech type. And there are solely so many weeks within the 12 months to suit them in, amongst all our different new bike tech protection – product information & in-depth opinions.
The place does Eurobike go subsequent?
This 12 months, Eurobike was a lot smaller in bodily measurement than in years previous – all the way down to about half as many exhibition halls in comparison with final 12 months, nearly a 3rd of what it was just a few years earlier than. That’s a transparent development displaying the decline within the business viability of holding a single main commerce present. However Eurobike hasn’t fairly given up but.
They are going to be again subsequent 12 months in 2027, however most likely smaller once more. And, again to the standard 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 12 months, off the subsequent. Their rationale appears to be that there’s not sufficient curiosity to do it yearly. However I can’t think about how the business received’t merely transfer on to the subsequent platform in the event that they disappear for even one 12 months.
And that’s the place In the direction of Tomorrow suits in – or relatively Twrds Tmrrw, as a result of there’s a premium on vowels, or one thing foolish, like that.
Is Twrds Tmrrw the subsequent step ahead?
That is the impartial commerce present being organized in Cologne, DE subsequent summer season by the German Biking Trade 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, house to Eurobike for greater than 3 many years. For the time being, as an outsider, it feels very very like the German market saying that they aren’t proud of Eurobike making an attempt to cater to extra of a global viewers. However Germany may be very a lot the largest participant within the biking business in Europe, with the best buying energy, so it appears unusual that Eurobike didn’t convey their business 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 giant manufacturers to realistically exhibit at each.
So the bike business goes to must resolve: Do you stick to the outdated present you recognize? Or decide to a brand new, presumably extra forward-looking tradeshow?
I hope we don’t must cowl each. Nevertheless it’s trying like September 2027 goes to shake up how we cowl the business’s new product showcase in Europe!
