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.

www.matthias-gastel.de 2016/10/17
Reading time 1:30 minutes

Visiting a bicycle tester

"We are working for the good bicycle"

Dirk Zedler doesn’t lack self-confidence. In addition, he finds clear words to explain the tasks of his company, which is not really easy: "We think about bicycles all day long." The success proves how right the managing director of "Institut für Fahrradtechnik und -Sicherheit" in Ludwigsburg is. I visited the company together with the local representatives of the Green Party.

24 full-time employees and 40 freelancers prepare expert reports, test new bicycles and write user manuals. Zedler comes straight to the point: "We work for the good bicycle." The turnover of the small, but growing company recently reached 1.6 million Euro. The average plus has stabilised between 20 and 30 percent. Around ten percent of the turnover is invested into research and development, for example for the development of new test machines. Just a stone’s throw away from the current building the new one grows up. It will solve the limited space conditions and provide space for further growth.

At present, the company’s heart is in the basement. There bicycle frames, seat posts and other bicycle parts are mounted on self-built machines hammering or stretching these parts to test their load bearing capacity by order of the manufacturers. In cases between bicycle or bicycle part manufacturers and customers the institute preserves evidence or prepares an expert report. Zedler writes manuals for the users to avoid application errors as best as possible. These manuals comprise the knowledge gained from many tests and 900 expert reports prepared every year.

This was an extremely innovative company to visit with a highly motivated and bicycle enthusiastic team.

Author: Matthias Gastel
Photo: Zedler

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