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Offering bigger wheels for mountain bikes was overdue, according to suppliers. This created new buying incentives. And now? "26 inches are dead", says a representative of the industry in accordance with lots of other suppliers. Many insiders of the sector think that the smallest wheel size will have only a right to exist in the entry-level segment. But at present, no one knows whether or not the 29ers or the 27.5ers are the future size. Both sizes are available for the moment. To complete the confusion, a few manufacturers fall back on 26 inches. As the retail sector wishes no more than two wheel sizes, the confusion continues. And most of the fatbikes, the new bicycle type, roll on 26-inch wheels. Read further below which size your supplier will offer in future.

For many manufacturers the end of the e-bike demand has not yet been reached. And some of them state that already 50% of the turnover is made with e-bikes. To date one had focussed on the group of the 50 years old and older. Now younger target groups are to be mobilised for electric bikes. Commuters are another group which shows an important potential. The manufacturers of accessories also discover these possibilities and offer more and more e-bike-specific products on the market. But there are also people who have a cautionary word: "You should not forget the normal, everyday turnover providers", states a supplier. The opinions of the manufacturers on the further development are controversial, as the following SAZbike forum shows.

Reproach: Questionable results, arbitrary criteria, sensationalist [nbsp]headlines

SAZbike spoke with bicycle expert Dirk Zedler (managing director of Zedler - Institut für Fahrradtechnik und –Sicherheit) about the latest e-bike test of the German foundation for comparative testing (Stiftung Warentest). What the graduate engineer claims most is above all the non-transparency of test criteria, which are neither displayed to the manufacturers nor to the public. Furthermore, Zedler criticises the editorial realization of the test. However, the expert also reminds the manufacturers of their responsibility: The results of the brake tests, for example, are identic to his own findings, and the test hardness for monotube frames is another point that is approved by Zedler.

The current bicycle-standard has been smiled at by most bike dealers and manufacturers. The reason being: the minimum demands are very low, a high-quality bicycle is much better – or is supposed to be at least.