Updates from the Show Daily team
VOX POP
How are market prospects looking at Taipei Cycle?
Andrew Huang
Managing Director, Scada
We’re very busy this year at the show. Compared to just two meetings last year, we have over 25 meetings lined up. We’re fortunate to be focusing on mid- to high-end products and overstock is less of an issue now. Plus, we’ve recently shifted our production from one shift in the past year to two shifts already, so that’s definitely a promising sign for the year ahead.
Luke Musselman
President, GoodYear Bike
We’re cautiously optimistic about the market’s development for us, considering tires are a consumable products and the fact that we’re still like a start-up - being only just over 5 years old. We are developing and extending the range with more new exciting products coming up later this year.
Coco Pai
CEO, Marwi Group
We expect the challenges we’re facing in the industry to continue at least for another six months to a year but we’re keeping our focus on innovation as we’re still very optimistic about market prospects. We’ve just changed our motto - to ‘Passion beyond pedals’ - to show that our focus is not only on the products but also on the production side. Improved efficiency, increased research on materials improvement, and so on.
Daniel Brauer
Brand Manager, Jagwire
Despite the industry facing its fair share of challenges, we’ve been fortunate in experiencing fewer hurdles, largely due to the nature of our products. We keep expanding our product range from cables and cable housing to other essential service parts for bike shops. With the strong focus on the environment, after improving our packaging, we are gradually stepping up our research efforts on cable housings and other plastic parts, albeit one small step at a time.
King Ku
Project Manager, Profile Design
The Taipei Cycle Show is an excellent place for engaging with our customers and privately unveiling our latest innovations, since it’s timed just a few months ahead of Eurobike. Our steadfast commitment lies in the realm of high-end products, with an ongoing emphasis this year on refining our carbon footprint. Specifically, we're directing our efforts toward optimizing the seamless finish of our carbon components, reducing the need for excessive coatings and minimizing waste.
David Prosser
North American Director of Sales & Marketing,
Sun Race / Sturmey-Archer
Even though traffic has been decent, our initial impression is that we’re seeing less visitors from Europe and North America. We’re staying firmly focused on drivetrain parts, cassettes, internal hubs and so on, and the market will still be challenging in the OE segment. However, we’re maintaining our position in the aftermarket segment.
Tim Bayley
Head of International Sales Europe & APAC
Muc-Off
It’s our first time participating at Taipei Cycle. As we’re trying to expand in the Asian market, it’s definitely a good way to meet and develop our customer base. For the year ahead, we will continue to focus on offering solutions that support bike shops with full workshop solutions to provide better efficiency and customer experience.
Max Gatti
PR & Sales Manager,
Guee
The high-end bar tape business remains good and we will keep focusing on innovation going forward. Also, since our products are essentially made of TPU and other rubber materials, we are dedicated to intensifying efforts to minimize our environmental impact, in line with market expectations.
Kevin Huang
Vice General Manager
Ballistic e-bike - Bixetec
The industry has had its challenges, but as we focus on e-bike frame manufacturing and despite the decline, there is definitely a permanent need for innovation and new designs for e-bikes, especially in the categories of cargo and cross city bikes. We’re continuously focusing on our R&D to meet market demands.
What’s grabbed your attention at Eurobike?
Gert-Jan van Breugel,Modyn
Managing Director, Netherlands
I would say the massive amount of cargo bikes. Last year it was already a trend, but it looks like every brand now has a longtail or something in the cargo segment, carrying kids, or carrying groceries. Very interesting to see how that develops and if it’s also picked up by the consumers. That’s for sure something to look out for. What also strikes me is that we’re also exploring different frame technologies, in terms of aluminum extrusion, we’re looking at sheet metal, carbon plastic. There will be more options for consumers in the future.
Simon Jensen
Freelance consultant, Denmark
I think this bike here (pictured) is quite amazing. It’s an add-on bike. You can transform it – if you have an old bike, you can make it into a cargo bike. I also like this slogan on the frame: “upgrade, don’t replace.” Every time you want somebody to buy a new bike, you should be asking, why don’t you use the one you have? This product makes that possible. I’m a consultant for people who own shops, I give them good advice. I think I’ll put this one on the list.
Dominika Psiuk
Oxygen sports and advertising, Poland
There are some things that are not in Poland yet. For example, boxes for bikes, where you can put the plastic box outside of the house, like a kind of a garage without the garage. We don’t have it in Poland, so it’s great. There are also special stickers for bikes, which light up in the dark, and you can order your own sign, or your own company name for it, so that’s a great idea too.
Luke Beale, owner
Level One Engineering/ Tenet components,USA
The weather! I would say generally just that it seems pretty positive for the industry, even though there’s a lot of struggles right now, so that’s a positive and it’s something that you wouldn’t see without having a large group of people in the industry, and all in one place. I’m an engineer so I didn’t see any huge striking new trends. But obviously, the developments in e-bikes are continuing, that’s where most of the progress is happening right now, and you see that a lot here, with everybody together. The Pinion gear box e-bike motor all put together is probably a pretty cool thing.
Johan Beckes, wholesaler
Allten BV, Netherlands
Especially new colours. More colours, in all things. Most years it’s more black, grey, with basic colours. And this year there’s more colour, in my opinion – like the rust colour.
Silvana Huaman, co-founder and CRO
FTEX, Canada
What grabbed my attention is that there’s a lot of focus on mobility, sustainability, and how to make electric bicycles more accessible to a wider audience. Lots of cargo vehicles for more city transportation with a load, children and groceries – a sort of transition into how we use vehicles in the city. It’s not necessarily something I hadn’t seen before, but with variance that adds more comfort and variety. (Also in photo: Gervais Rioux (r), head of business development at FTEX)
What are your impressions of the show so far?
Heiko Esser, shop owner
Der Zweirad Experte, Wuppertal Germany
I just bought a bike shop four months ago, so I’m still getting to know the bike business. I’ve been incredibly impressed by the show, so many suppliers, great bikes, it’s crazy to see all that is being created in terms of technology, the shape of bicycles, battery capacities, performance of motors, drive trains and more. The second day has been extremely exciting, with an overload of information. I’m just here to take it all in.
Falk Siegel, Kleta
co-founder and CEO, Spain
Amazing so far. I was actually a speaker at the start-up innovation forum, and it was amazing. I spoke about our start-up, and how we attract non-cyclists to switch to bikes, and especially e-bikes. It was interesting and the feedback was amazing afterwards. Now it’s amazing to see different manufacturers, different bike brands and bike products. It’s overwhelming sometimes, so much new stuff out there, but the impression overall is very nice so far.
Petr Minarik, SW-Motech
bicycle manufacturing, Czech Republic
I’m here for the first time. We are a production company — we’re looking for business opportunities and we see some potential. We have some signals that some current bike producers are moving production capacity from Asia to Europe. So based on this information we see some opportunities for us. What we needed, we saw and we found.
Yves Lohse
key account manager Germany Endura , Germany
I was here last year, my impression is that there are many, many more people here than last year. I was going home last year [asking myself] does it make sense to have this trade show here in Frankfurt, or is it better to go back to Friedrichshafen, where it was before. But this year when I see how many people are here, it’s a very, very big step forward. It’s a special situation with these different floors here, it’s unusual for a trade show. But it’s a learning process: there’s the possibility of having three floors in one hall instead of just one. For me it’s fine.
Francisca Campos, Bike24 Spain
country manager, Spain
I have been to Friedrichshafen in the past, but it’s the first time that I’ve come to Frankfurt. This one is much bigger, it has more things, and I’m most impressed with the cargo bikes, the different models for different kinds of requirements. Big novelties, actually – and the possibility to test, that’s great for me. It’s very nice, you have brands from all over the world. There’s so much passion around cycling here and I have made a lot of contacts.
Cezar Gremi, Urbico
General Manager, Italy
I was here last year. It’s always well organized and interesting, but I get the impression that there are fewer cargo bikes than last year. Maybe it’s just an impression. It would be a nice idea to have some water fountains, but apparently they don’t do that in Germany.
John Adisi
Humanbike and Driven, U.K.
It’s easier to get here from the U.K. and probably from most places, but I think this is quite vast, this whole place, and it’s a bit swamped – I would prefer if it was a bit more intimate, contained in one place where you can get to places quite easily. I’ve just come from Hall 8, I’m going to Hall 12 and I’ve got to go back to 8 at three o’clock – it’s such a long walk and you don’t quite know where anything is as well. I’ve been in the bike business for nine years now, and when you go to one show you’ve seen them all. We manufacture and retail, I’m looking for new product. It’s the same stuff like I saw six months ago, like I saw a year ago. But that’s the nature of a bike show, it’s the same people exhibiting. Eurobike is a great show for what it is. I kind of feel like this could all be contained in one or two halls and doesn’t need all these halls, it’s a bit too vast I think.
How are you dealing with high inventory levels?
Jakob Oberrauch
CEO, Sportler, Italy
Keep calm. Don’t panic. Don’t be too aggressive with your prices, otherwise you will have no margin. We’re solid, but there will be some real issues on a whole European level. We will need this year and probably next year to get out of this situation. For retailers, it should be normalizing around the second half of next year.
Peter Klangsell
Lifebike, Sweden
All the warehouses in Europe are full. This year will be an awful situation. We will lose money. Some other European importers overdid it. For the winter, they got deliveries they should have got in May. Next year the problem should be gone, because everybody is cutting down on purchases.
Peter Eiselin,
Founder, Amsterdam, Doppio
We made a smart move in that we didn’t buy too much stock. We have our own shops and our e-commerce, so we’re short to market. Many brands are dumping prices. I think a lot of companies will go bankrupt in the next six or seven months – because on top of the high inventories, they have cash flow issues. The brands that are pushing all their inventory to the dealers, that’s not a fair game. Some are getting deliveries of products they ordered one year ago. Our strategy is that we try to distance ourselves from the competition. We only look at the added value of our products and services.
Dean Jackson,
CEO, Sweatband, U.K.
It’s a tough one for us because we’re focusing purely on e-bikes and we’re launching [the sale of e-bikes in Sweatband and Cardiofitness stores], so we don’t have excess inventory. What we’re finding is that the e-bike market is slightly different to the traditional road bike market. With the people that we discussed in the U.K. and Germany, there hasn’t been an excess inventory problem in the e-bike market. As we open up in the retail stores (…) the hope is we start to see some opportunities from suppliers, to get in some of that inventory at probably better prices. It’s slightly different for us as a new entrant, compared to some of the existing retailers.
Wilhelm Hanke,
Managing Director, Super Bike8, Germany
That is a big, big problem for the retailers right now. That’s why my company gives them an additional channel to sell their bikes online. Sure, every retailer has their own webshop right now, but a single retailer doesn’t have a big marketing budget, so it’s quite hard for them to be visible online against the big players. With the marketplace, we see ourselves as a group of small fish that can compete against the big fish. We try to get them all together on one platform, and then we have a bigger budget to grow together. The retailer puts his bikes on the platform, and he says what price he wants for the bike. Lately [the discounts] are going a bit up because retailers have got problems, they need to get rid of their stock. Last year it was mostly the recommended retail price, now they come slowly with discounts. In the history, the discounts started with Eurobike, with the change of model, and then the old model got discounted. Before, we didn’t have much discount on our platform. Since corona, with all that nonsense going on, that has changed the market a bit.
Ivo Filipović
Head of Purchasing, MS Energy, Croatia
We see lots of problems with high stock, companies are going down with crazy prices. I don’t think that’s a good option because the customers will expect that next year. But we don’t have this problem [with inventories] because we are new, we started selling e-bikes two years ago. If you are building your market, your quantity is expected to grow. Our strategy is to focus on good partnerships, we don’t push them to take too much product in stock. We have our own warehousing, so we don’t push our customers to order and invest too much. We offer something that they can really use for their sales.
What do you expect from Taipei Cycle this year?
Hendrik Tafel
Sales Marketing Manager, Europe, Alex Rims
Our main objective at this year’s show is to catch up with overseas customers, especially those who could not attend last year’s Eurobike in person due to ongoing travel restrictions. Of course we’re also looking to get a feeling for the market situation and how forecasts are developing to know where the industry is heading, and we are looking for new customers and distributors as well.
Samuel Chang
General Manager, Woho Bike
After the lengthy break due to the pandemic we are expecting to meet with and expand our clientele at the show. Since the electrification of the bicycle is expanding to more and more segments, we are also planning to expand our portfolio from backpacking and adventuring equipment to e-bike accessories. And we expect plenty of interest from overseas visitors in our upcoming products.
Ann Chen
Vice President, Velo
Naturally we have high expectations. Not having seen each other for four years, there is a lot to catch up on but also to do business. Since the market situation is tricky and there are still some travel restrictions, we are looking to hear how the situation is developing in other countries and markets from existing customers – and also tell them what Velo has been up to and focusing on in the last couple of years.
Shawn Lin
Marketing Manager, Hyena E-Bike Systems
Since the market cooled down in the second half of 2022, the situation is not easy. But our OE partners are already looking beyond this and forward to 2024 and 2025, so we have to keep up with this pace. As service and software solutions are getting more important within the bicycle industry, we feel we are well positioned for this development and this may help us find additional customers for our assistance drive systems.
Dan Brauer
Global Brand Manager, Jagwire / Chia Cherne
Naturally we are excited to be back in Taipei and have the opportunity to meet our customers for the first time in four years – and some of them for the first time in person. Over the past years we have learnt that a lot of things can be done remotely, but personal contacts still are very much essential for doing business.
Jens Stahlschmidt
Vice President, Ergotec / Humpert
We are looking forward to deepening existing contacts with Asian assemblers and business partners and meeting partners and visitors from the Americas, New Zealand and Australia. We want to evaluate the situation within the industry and possible partnerships, looking to get back to normal business regarding the supply chain.
VOX POP
What do you expect from Taipei Cycle this year?
Hendrik Tafel
Sales Marketing Manager, Europe, Alex Rims
Our main objective at this year’s show is to catch up with overseas customers, especially those who could not attend last year’s Eurobike in person due to ongoing travel restrictions. Of course we’re also looking to get a feeling for the market situation and how forecasts are developing to know where the industry is heading, and we are looking for new customers and distributors as well.
Samuel Chang
General Manager, Woho Bike
After the lengthy break due to the pandemic we are expecting to meet with and expand our clientele at the show. Since the electrification of the bicycle is expanding to more and more segments, we are also planning to expand our portfolio from backpacking and adventuring equipment to e-bike accessories. And we expect plenty of interest from overseas visitors in our upcoming products.
Ann Chen
Vice President, Velo
Naturally we have high expectations. Not having seen each other for four years, there is a lot to catch up on but also to do business. Since the market situation is tricky and there are still some travel restrictions, we are looking to hear how the situation is developing in other countries and markets from existing customers – and also tell them what Velo has been up to and focusing on in the last couple of years.
Shawn Lin
Marketing Manager, Hyena E-Bike Systems
Since the market cooled down in the second half of 2022, the situation is not easy. But our OE partners are already looking beyond this and forward to 2024 and 2025, so we have to keep up with this pace. As service and software solutions are getting more important within the bicycle industry, we feel we are well positioned for this development and this may help us find additional customers for our assistance drive systems.
Dan Brauer
Global Brand Manager, Jagwire / Chia Cherne
Naturally we are excited to be back in Taipei and have the opportunity to meet our customers for the first time in four years – and some of them for the first time in person. Over the past years we have learnt that a lot of things can be done remotely, but personal contacts still are very much essential for doing business.
Jens Stahlschmidt
Vice President, Ergotec / Humpert
We are looking forward to deepening existing contacts with Asian assemblers and business partners and meeting partners and visitors from the Americas, New Zealand and Australia. We want to evaluate the situation within the industry and possible partnerships, looking to get back to normal business regarding the supply chain.
Have supply chain problems impacted your business?
Howard Hong
Sales Specialist Coppercell Technology Co., Ltd.
Being in the battery business we have cells in storage, but not so many that we ever found ourselves in the situation of having too many on hand. Our business operates on the basis of processing orders from our customers when they have the need, a sort of ‘just in time’ system. Unlike bigger brands that had overbooking problems we operate on a smaller scale and are more flexible.
Alex Wu
Sales Representative Kai Deng Sz Co., Ltd.
We were never affected very much since our production schedule is based on our customers forecasts and we have never needed to hold all that much stock. Plus our main market was in China. We have just commenced operations in our Portugal facility and with the supply chain outlook in general improving as things tend back towards normal, we expect the stability we’ve experienced in the last few years to continue into the future.
Hsiang-Jung Chen
Sales Representative, Yi Hsien Enterprise Co., Ltd.
We have not been impacted at all by supply chain issues. We don’t hold inventories but manufacture customers’ orders as we receive them. Orders certainly slowed when the pandemic hit but we took the time to double the number of our machines across all our product ranges. As a result our production has doubled which still allowing us room to meet the expected increased demand.
Pier Wang
General Manager, Lekuma Technology Inc.
We took a different approach to most companies during the pandemic. While they ramped up production to meet the exploding demand, we did not. It was a crazy time and we thought it would be high risk to stock all the parts. We just proceeded on the basis of the orders we had at the time and didn’t second-guess the future making us relatively more stable than the others.
Sandy Chou
Sales Representative, Yota Cycles Co., Ltd.
In 2021 we were at full capacity but by the end of 2022 order volume dropped strongly and our assembly capacity increased a lot. We had a stockpile of components we needed to get through. We are feeling good about the coming year though, despite it looking a little bit tricky, and are seeing a marked pickup in enquiries as customers look to 2024.
Tim Su
Assistant Sales Manager, Microprogram Information Co., Ltd.
As recent entrants to the bicycle industry, we are in the process of developing our customer base. The stock problem for us is obtaining electronic components — exposure to the electronics industry supply chain and not the bicycle industry supply chain is our particular problem. We are facing lead times of more than six months in some cases at the moment.
How has Eurobike’s move to Frankfurt worked out for you so far?
Ander Olariaga
Brand director, Orbea, Spain
“We’re very excited [about the move to Frankfurt]. It shows that the industry is united and stronger than ever. It’s a combination of things, there’s momentum in the industry, and a new era with the move to Frankfurt. The first year is always tricky, but the more we come here, the better it will be. It’s most important to show that we’re united as an industry. I hope it will be beneficial for all brands, not just for us.”
Henry Hsieh
Director, United Engineering, Taiwan
"It’s easier to travel to Frankfurt as we have a direct flight from Taiwan. We didn’t need to transfer, that was taking a long time. Also, the hotels are much easier to book here. Before, we never booked on our own, we always went through a travel agency. Now we just booked directly on a hotel site, and we even found a hotel within walking distance of the show."
Michele Tittonel
R& D Coordinator, Cipollini, Italy
"Everyone is very excited about the change of location, for sure there are a lot more exhibitors than last year. The interest in Friedrichshafen was declining. For us, it was easier to drive from Verona to Friedrichshafen in five hours. We could drive there so we could make our own schedule. It’s a bit more difficult now because the flights are in the middle of the day. But for many companies of Central Europe, it’s easier to come here."
Teun Nissen
Head of sales, Newlooxs, Netherlands
"So far, everything is easy here. Frankfurt is more convenient for transport, it’s a three-hour drive for us from Nijmegen, in the south of the Netherlands, instead of nine hours. Also building up has been really easy. So far, so good!"
Sesil Nalbant
Import manager, Belderia, Turkey
"It’s a blessing that it’s in Frankfurt this year. Friedrichshafen is very nice but it’s too small, it’s hard to find a hotel and difficult for transportation. There are no direct flights from Izmir. Here the accommodation options are fine, the transportation is convenient. It’s important for us that Frankfurt is closer for most companies, and also for end consumers. "
Ryan Hupfer
Director of consumer products, Bird Rides, USA
"I did get to drive on the Autobahn last year, that was fun. I booked a little VW, but when the guy at the rental place heard that I had never driven in Germany before, he upgraded me. This time I flew in directly from L.A. Then I went out last night to get dinner at 10 pm. Let’s say there’s more options here. And I took a Bird scooter to get here, it took ten minutes, in Friedrichshafen I had to drive a car to get to the show.”
Otto Chrons
CEO, Revonte, Finland
"I feel very good about it. From a logistics point of view, it was very difficult to travel to Friedrichshafen from Finland. We had to book the hotel very early. It just grew too big. This location is quite ideal, all services are close by. Friedrichshafen is a nice place to visit, Frankfurt is a big financial city. We won't have the same after-hours experience, but the upsides definitely outweigh the downsides."