News
2026 Latz Report Yearbook – Time for You to Take Action!
We’re currently working on the 2026 Latz Report Yearbook trade directory for the Australian Bicycle trade. This will be the 31st edition of the Yearbook since we launched it in 1996. Over the decades the Yearbook has become a much loved and used resource, particularly for its main intended end users, bicycle shop owners and…
Aussies at Taipei Cycle
Taipei Cycle was noticeably quieter this year. Unlike most previous years, show organisers did not publish attendance data immediately after the show and, two weeks later, have still not responded to my direct request for information. But for many years Australia has been a top 10 country customer for the Taiwanese bicycle industry in terms…
Taiwan Bets On 32 Inch MTB’s
It’s been another tough year for the Taiwanese bike manufacturing industry. With things starting to get desperate, they’re piling their chips onto black 32 and crossing their fingers… Times have been tough for the Taiwanese bicycle industry, which for the past 30 years has been a key supplier of high end bicycles and components to…
Gary Fisher – “Father of the Mountain Bike” – Still Riding in Style
At age 75, Gary Fisher is still fighting fit, riding regularly and spinning yarns. Although the prestigious Smithsonian Magazine named Gary Fisher the “Father of the Mountain Bike”, and Fisher was certainly a key player at its birthplace, in reality there was no single inventor of the mountain bike. It was gradually developed by a…
Will Australia’s E-Bike Regulations Ever be Fit for Purpose?
Welcome to the messy, piecemeal and sometimes contradictory labyrinth of rules and regulations that currently “govern” the importation, sale and use of e-bikes in Australia. There are a lot of unhappy Australians at the moment when it comes to regulations for e-bikes in general and fat bikes in particular. The bicycle industry is not happy…
Exhibitors Look to the Future Despite Smaller Eurobike
Frankfurt, Germany The European bicycle market took a battering last year, with sales for the 2024 calendar year down significantly, particularly when measured by value. But early figures from the first quarter of 2025 are showing a strong recovery and there was a sense of optimism at this year’s Eurobike show. For a combination of…
Latest New Products from Taipei Cycle. 2025 Yearbook – last call for updates!
Welcome to this special edition of the Latz Report newsletter! In my “final” Latz Report Newsletter just before Christmas 2024 I gave myself some “politicians’ wriggle room” in saying that I may publish an occasional on-off newsletter. For 2025 my plan is to publish a grand total of two newsletters: the one you’re reading now…
New Products from Taipei Cycle 2025
Taipei, Taiwan Each year members of the bicycle industry from around the world gather for the annual Taipei Cycle exhibition. It’s a big show! By the numbers, visitors saw 980 exhibiting companies filling about 60,000 square metres of space across three huge exhibit halls. Taipei Cycle doesn’t just showcase Taiwanese manufacturers. There are dozens of…
Aussies at the Show
Taipei, Taiwan It felt like attendance numbers overall were down slightly at this year’s Taipei Cycle. In previous years, the show’s organisers were always prompt in publishing detailed attendance data. This year, despite multiple searches, I can’t see any such announcement, and other international cycling trade media have also reported not having seen attendance data.One…
Inside SRAM’s Factory. – New A$800 Million Factory Coming Soon
Taichung District, Taiwan Taiwan is an island that lies just 180 kilometres off the coast of mainland China. The entire island is barely more than half the size of our smallest state, Tasmania. Two thirds of Taiwan is covered by extremely rugged mountains, ranging up to almost 4,000 metres high. That’s great for providing some…