All about bicycles, electric-assisted bikes, technology and safety in the press

In our daily work as we deal with bicycle safety, technology and user manuals we come across lots of safety risks. The most frequent ones are published in articles of the leading German special-interest magazines TOUR – Europas Rennrad-Magazin Nr. 1, BIKE – Das Mountainbike Magazin Europas Nr. 1 and E-Bike – Das Pedelec-Magazin to make this information important for the sector accessible to a wider public.

For many years now the Eurobike Show Daily accompanying the annual international Eurobike Show has given us the opportunity to publish our perspective on major developments in the cycle industry in full-page articles.

We also speak regularly in independent lectures about all topics relating to bicycle technology and bicycle market. In addition, we are regularly cited by further special-interest magazines or trade journals as well as more and more by radio and television and in their media reports, which shows us that we are completely right with our information. The section NEWS informs you about the latest news from our specialist fields. The reports and publications of this section are listed chronologically or according to topics of interest.

RadMarkt 04/2012
Reading time 1:45 minutes

Dirk Zedler: New players on the e-market

The e-bike market develops at such a rapid pace that it attracts even participants from other sectors. Therefore the bicycle expert Dirk Zedler fears a basic change of the balance of power and has gathered for this purpose a few data.

In doing so he subsumes groups with divergent interests under the general term "offender": The automotive economy with the intention to sell e-bikes, the energy companies aiming at cultivating their image, the testers and certifiers hoping for a service business prescribed by the legislator (without having the expert knowledge), and the insurers invoking the accident potential of e-bikes on the basis of their business interest.

With regard of the automotive industry Zedler compared staff and turnover figures of companies from the bicycle and the automotive sector – with foreseeable result and an interesting assortment (with Ford, without Pon). But what do these figures indicate in fact? When provoking such scenarios, it is often pretended that the large groups would throw money around, to invade small sectors without any calculation of profitability at all.

Zedler's to-do-list includes well-known elements: Lobby work, unity, professionalization. But how much room is there still for improvement? Is the often heard assumption of the missing systematic lobby work correct at all? There is presumably more than there is known in general; the selective communication behind closed doors is often the most effective one. What is however correct, is Zedler’s statement with regard to the automotive lobby’s capability to get their hands on the funds supporting e-mobility.

Professionalization can be continued, but the huge advances in development have already taken place, says Zedler, who sees the cycle sector in branches like carbon far ahead of BMW and others. As concerns unity, it is above all the patent disputes between Canyon and Cervélo that annoy Zedler: "It only makes the lawyers richer and blow resources you could use much more reasonable." In this point, he is right; Apple and Samsung are doing just the same and are successful nevertheless; but they can afford it.

Author: Michael Bollschweiler

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