11 bicycles and accessories for World Bicycle Relief

In 2016 employees of Zedler-Group took again part in the cycle tours Sachsenheimer Lichtenstern-Tour and Ludwigsburger Barock-Rundfahrt (RTF) together with business partners, families and friends of the company. Even persistent rain and temperatures just above 10 degrees Celsius could not keep participants from riding 40 to 208 kilometres. The all in all 46 participants collected 4,922 km on both Sundays and earned 30 cents per kilometre that will be donated, just like in the previous years, to World Bicycle Relief.

With this donation the project will be able to buy 11 new, solid Buffalo bicycles and a whole lot of accessories for Africa. Furthermore, the Zedler team won the cup for the largest group for the sixth time in a row at RTF in Ludwigsburg.

Managing director Dirk Zedler: "We are happy to have earned bicycles for Africa this year again that will allow more than 50 Africans to travel to work or to start a training and thereby improve their lives a little."

"Very good" and "good" for your customers

Owner manuals from Zedler-Institut tested by German product testers Stiftung Warentest

This year, too, Stiftung Warentest (StiWa) tested electric bicycles, including their manuals (test 07/2016). The results were again a rollercoaster of emotions for many manufacturers.

It is known that we do not fully approve of test methods and results of Stiftung Warentest. We often criticised them openly and harshly in the past. Irrespectively of this, the results of our manuals were consistently at least "good" – as they had been in the previous years, too.

If you also want to be a winner when it comes to owner manuals, get in touch with us. We are looking forward to working with you on the perfect solution with regard to your types of bicycles, quantities and budget.

Guidelines for the replacement of pedelec/e-bike parts up to 25 km/h (15 mph) updated

The German bicycle associations VSF and ZIV updated the guidelines for the parts replacement that were drawn up together with Zedler-Institut in 2015 in order to provide bicycle retailers with some information to follow when replacing parts of e-bikes and pedelecs up to 25 km/h (15 mph). Furthermore, these guidelines have just been approved of by the umbrella organization for German industry guilds (Bundesinnungsverband für das Zweiradmechaniker-Handwerk), as well.

There have been no changes in recommendations as far as the choice of components is concerned. Explanations were added to categories and contents, however. The guidelines are now containing additional information on why the replacement of certain components is subject to certain conditions and what retailers have to take into account when replacing parts.

The luggage carrier is a very good example: It was often not clear to retailers why luggage carriers were category 2 replacement parts that must only be replaced on the vehicle manufacturer’s approval. The revised guidelines provide the information that luggage carriers directly affect the load distribution on the bicycle and therefore can have a positive as well as negative influence on the riding behaviour.

Restructuring in the Zedler-Group: Expert reports to be delivered by "GDFS"

Continuous growth of all business fields with meanwhile more than 800 expert reports per year, an above-average growth of our test laboratory activities and a growing number of employees are the reasons to adjust the individual business fields to current conditions. On August 1, 2016, GDFS (Gesellschaft der Fahrrad-Sachverständigen mbH), the limited liability company of bicycle experts, therefore commenced operation.

Dirk Zedler: "Since 1993 my name has been standing for the highest competence level in expert activity in the bicycle sector. Thousands of expert reports for courts, insurance companies, legal and natural persons have contributed to profound clarification of failure cases, the settlement of liability losses, burglary damage and theft; not only in Germany, but also well beyond the borders. In addition, a broad public among consumers meanwhile benefits from our expertise that has grown over the years. To many people I am known as expert on television or as author of specialist books."

However, the only things that will change are the company’s legal form and name. The quality of our expert reports and our employees will remain the same and founder Dirk Zedler stays in the company. In his position as managing director his year-long experience will be fully at the experts’ disposal.