Exclusive Interview with an Aussie Bike Expert Stranded in Taiwan

Aldo Contarino would be best described as an inventor and manufacturing expert who’s been in the Australian bike industry for over three decades.  Through his Quantum Bicycles workshop in Perth, he and his team have manufactured and repaired frames and taken on all sorts of tricky jobs that most bike workshops would pass on.  He’s…

Inside Information: Trade Show Wars and Industry Trends in Europe

Pre-covid, many Australian bicycle industry members made an annual pilgrimage to Eurobike, hosted by the scenic, small city of Friedrichshafen, Germany. Recently major changes been announced regarding the dates, ownership and host city for Eurobike, which will be hosted in July in Frankfurt from 2022. Plus, there’s a huge new competitor, in the form of…

E-Bikes Attract More Women – Study Suggests

A new study of electric bike use in New Zealand has found that pedal assistance has acted as an enabler to empower women to ride. Ebikes could be the catalyst for bike retail environments becoming more female friendly. Part of the reasoning for the shift put forward by the bike shop managers interviewed for the…

Latest Data Reveals Bike Boom’s Scale in Europe

If Australian dealers needed any further explanation of why bikes have been in such short supply, it’s just arrived in the form of a major annual report by CONEBI, the Confederation of European Bicycle, E-Bike, Parts & Accessories Industries. The report collates the sales data of all 27 European Union countries, plus the UK (which…

Giant Profit!

Giant Factory

The global Covid-induced bike boom has seen Giant Group’s net profit grow by almost half in 2020.  Net profit for 2020 was up 46.7% over 2019. It reached NT$4.95 billion (A$228 million). This was based upon total sales for 2020 of NT$70 billion (A$3.22 billion) meaning that the net profit percentage rate was still a quite modest 7.1%.  Giant said all its…

What Do Tesla’s Battery Day Announcements Mean for Ebikes?

After months of largely Coronavirus induced logistical delays, on Tuesday 21st September, Tesla finally presented their much hyped and anticipated ‘Battery Day’ as part of their annual shareholder meeting. You can watch the event here. But to summarise the long and detailed technical presentation into a single graphic, please refer to the summary slide from…

How Fast Will Ebike Sales Grow?

Manuel Marsilio General Manager of the Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI) has predicted that the European ebike market will triple in the next five years. Last year 2.5 million ebikes were sold in Europe. Mr Marsilio is predicting annual sales of 7.5 million units by 2025. Latest sales figures show that 920,000 ebikes…