Voices of Eurobike 2023

Burkhard Stork, Managing Director of the bicycle industry association Zweirad Industrie Verband (ZIV):

“In these difficult times, the Eurobike has very special significance as the world’s leading trade exhibition. With the many opportunities for information, exchange, and networking offered by the trade fair and the show’s enormous popularity, the bicycle industry and the entire ecosystem relating to sustainable mobility arrived in Frankfurt in excellent shape. Despite the current problems, there is a positive and optimistic mood all over the industry, something that also seems to be spreading to policymakers and the media. That’s something to celebrate!”

Bernhard Lange, Managing Partner of Paul Lange & Co. OHG:

“Eurobike 2023 was a complete success. The increased number of national and international visitors demonstrates that the trade exhibition has arrived in its new home in Frankfurt and has definitively reclaimed its status as the world’s leading trade exhibition for the bicycle industry. Everyone is aware that challenging months are still to be expected, of course. But with the positive, optimistic, and resolute mood that was noticeable throughout the fair, the Eurobike is sending a very important signal. After all, it was made abundantly clear in Frankfurt that cycling is indispensable as a core component of a modern and sustainable mobility universe. Great times lie ahead for the industry in the medium term.”

Kevin Mayne, CEO Cycling Industries Europe:

“Eurobike was absolutely extraordinary. Every event we have done during the show we could have filled the space twice. The interest in moving forward and what the industry can do together is outstanding. It's a really positive mood and thanks to the organizers for this great environment.”

Marc Sommer, Managing Director of ZF Micro Mobility GmbH:

“We see the Eurobike as the leading trade exhibition for the bicycle industry, with this circumstance also demonstrated by the increasing number of exhibitors on the fairgrounds. This year we presented the adaptive mode for our Sachs RS drive system, a completely redesigned application that gives the user a new riding experience with fewer gear changes. At our booth in the open-air area, prospective customers can try out the wide range of Sachs RS products (for cargo, S-pedelec, MTB, and touring bikes) on ten bikes on-site. Our bottom line for the first three Business Days is positive, and we are looking forward to the upcoming Festival Days as well as Eurobike 2024.”

Tarek Al-Wazir, Hesse’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport, and Housing:

“I was particularly pleased that the National Cycling Congress could be held in conjunction with the Eurobike for the first time. This demonstrates the economic importance of cycling and intensifies the exchange between the various stakeholders.”

Heiko Müller, founder and Managing Director of Riese & Müller:

We are very satisfied with how the fair went. We see the new concept and the location in Frankfurt as the ideal setting for experiencing the diversity and importance of the bicycle industry at first hand. We received exciting new impetus and ideas in recent days and were able to engage in important and inspiring discussions with our partners and customers. We ended up with an up-to-date and comprehensive picture of the industry, one that made it clear to us that we can enter the new season with a sense of optimism. The market and our products and innovations are definitely ready for the future, and the bicycle industry has the power to revolutionize mobility.”

Gaetan Vetois, European Retail Development Manager, SRAM Deutschland GmbH:

“The second edition of the Eurobike trade show in Frankfurt feels positive. The business days are an important industry platform with good customer interactions, qualitative industry contacts in a professional and friendly atmosphere.“

Antje Geyer, Press Spokesperson of Brose E-Bike:

“The Eurobike was a huge success for Brose. We were able to surprise the visitors to our booth at the Eurobike for the second time in a row. Last year, we dispensed with having a large trade show booth and used our innovative power and resources to further improve our current e-bike drives and develop new products. This year, we were able to present the results of our work under the slogan ‘Brose like never before’ at the newly designed, sustainably made, and reusable booth. We received consistently positive feedback on our new products as well as our new brand campaign. The trade exhibition once again proved to be the optimal platform for our marketing and sales activities, and we would like to extend our thanks to everyone involved in helping to make this event a success.”

Sven Mack, Managing Director of Sports Nut GmbH:

“This year’s Eurobike exceeded our expectations, proving itself to be the leading international trade exhibition after making the move to Frankfurt. Our industry will continue to be concerned with the aftermath of the pandemic and high inventory levels for some time to come. Despite the challenging market situation, the positive mood at the fair defied expectations, and we are looking forward to a sustainable and healthy future on two wheels!”

Amir Fazeli, General Manager of Tenways Europe:

“Tenways sees the Eurobike as the gateway to the European market. Since we made our premiere at the fair last year, we generated a lot of business here and can boast a presence in more than 800 stores in 17 countries – thanks to Eurobike. This year was very, very good to us again. We had many visitors to our booth and were able to attract new customers. We therefore want to significantly increase the size of our booth again next year – also so that we can underscore the position of our brand in the market.”

Florian Walberg, CEO of Egret – A brand of Walberg Urban Electrics:

“After 20 years in the e-scooter sector, I tip my hat to the Eurobike for finally finding the courage to embrace the theme of mobility and no longer focus exclusively on bicycles. It’s a great message to the industry as a whole. I also find it really interesting to see the wide variety of interested parties and contacts that come together here. Our booth ended up being much busier than I imagined, with everyone from resellers to distribution teams to B2B partners being represented. We also had people who had the following to say: ‘I’ve wanted to do something different for a long time, but there simply aren’t any scooter brands that really understand the specialized trade.’ The cautious reluctance of the trade is something I understand, of course, and I am always happy to help to dispel any doubts I hear when speaking to people face-to-face. That’s why it’s great to be able to engage in dialogue here and talk about topics such as service concepts, margin principles, and pre-order guarantees.”

José Miguel Aracama, Export Manager BH Bikes Europe S.L.:

“From a business perspective we can speak about success. After the recent challenging period, we have seen optimism and a positive mood. Differently to previous editions, we have received existing and new international contacts. We have perceived certain excitement and will to progress. Certainly, Eurobike represents the optimum scenario for that, and it is obvious that this will not be average or be applicable to all cases or markets. From the media contact perspective, we could present interesting new products to a lot of media that will be launched within the next days or weeks.”

Wasilis von Rauch, Managing Director of the bicycle industry association Zukunft Fahrrad:

“More stakeholders than ever met up at Eurobike, an event that brings people together in service of the goal of making the bicycle even more attractive. Thanks in part to the digital transformation, there are now ingenious ways of offering the bicycle to companies and private individuals as an all-inclusive package for everyday mobility, and the Zukunft Fahrrad Forum also featured animated discussions of these new developments. The bicycle industry works day in and day out to meet people’s needs for healthy, safe, and easy-to-use transportation.”

Uwe Wöll, Managing Director of VSF Service GmbH:

“I would like to start out by saying that the Eurobike has duly arrived in Frankfurt, proving that this is precisely the right location for the event. It already had a really familiar feel this year. The signage and routing are clear, and you know how to find your way around the fairgrounds and Frankfurt. We felt that the halls were well-filled overall, especially on the first two days, and we received very positive feedback from the exhibitors. We generally had the impression that the dealers are tending to spend a little less time at the fair when compared to last year. The intense sales phase we were looking forward to is finally upon us in the stores. Hardly anyone can leave or wants to leave the store for several days – and it’s even harder to get several people to come. This year, they are treating themselves to just one day of Eurobike – which didn’t necessarily work well with our lecture program in the Career Center, because time is tight on a one-day visit anyway. The Career Center area worked great as a whole, with great ambiance and layout as well as a very pleasant atmosphere. We are planning to make our offer even better next year by tailoring it more specifically to the respective visitor groups and communicating these changes together with the Eurobike. This will make it easier to plan a visit to the fair and draw significantly more attention to the Career Center in particular, giving the whole thing the character of an event. We’re already looking forward to 2024!”

Ralf Kindermann, Managing Director of Kindermann Value Creation:

“With around 70 participants, who were primarily private equity investors and family offices, the 2023 Eurobike Investors Lounge once again showed that investor interest in companies in the bicycle sector remains high. Against a backdrop of more than 28 transactions in the first half of 2023, the ‘deal flow’ in the cycling industry also continues to be strong.”

Stephanie Römer, Managing Director of Tout Terrain:

“We found the show to be really, really good this year. We had many more visitors than last year and also were able to schedule many more appointments with dealers in advance. The discussions we had were also quite good in terms of quality. We are very satisfied with the fair overall.”

Marcel Kittel, former professional cyclist and founder of li:on bike:

“Eurobike 2023 was a huge success for us at li:on bikes. There is a huge amount of interest and visitors at our booth, and we were able to celebrate a great brand launch here. We’re really happy about the many good conversations we had with distributors, suppliers, and end customers. It was also great to be able to see what else is happening in the industry. It was good for us to get a feeling for the pulse of the industry and take home new ideas.”

Anke Namendorf, DACH Brand Manager, Koga:

“We’re happy to have participated with Koga at the Eurobike in Frankfurt. We were able to engage in many successful and productive discussions and are pleased to have spent such successful days at the show.”

Hanna Grau, Managing Director of Croozer:

“Thanks to the two great new products we are launching next year, our booth was consistently busy. The Eurobike has once again made a huge leap forward compared to the previous year.”

Lothar Schiffner, Press Spokesperson, RTI Sport:

“Even though the bike industry feels like it’s going through a bit of a slump right now and some market participants are having difficulties due to the known problems, I have to say that the mood was still quite good. Our products were well received. The situation is now also stabilizing again, and you can already sense the anticipation for the beginning of the bike season, which is starting a little later this year. We are convinced that the bike industry will experience a major upturn, and I am quite optimistic about the future.”

Dirk Menze, Head of Marketing & Design, Pinion:

“The Eurobike 2023 show is a huge success for us, especially due to all the innovations you see. We’re really meeting a need with our new product, the motor gearbox unit. Bicycles are becoming vehicles. We are surprised about and quite pleased with the very large number of visitors. That’s the trend we’re seeing here. Bicycles are now a genuine alternative to the car and are making a major contribution to the mobility revolution. You can rely on bicycles because they are systemically designed for compatibility. We are happy to be part of this development.”

Martin Seissler, Managing Director of cargobike.jetzt:

“The range of cargo bikes continues to grow. New and established manufacturers are exhibiting innovative products for target groups such as dog owners, athletic riders, and the elderly. With about 100 participants, the fifth edition of the Cargo Academy, in cooperation with the bicycle industry association Zukunft Fahrrad, is demonstrating the extent of the interest that continues to be focused on this special market. After a first half of the year that failed to live up to hopes in terms of growth, the mood among cargo bike manufacturers is significantly improving.”

Gernot Moser, Sales Manager at Bike Vaude:

“We were quite surprised by the first two days of the fair. The mood was much better than I expected. We have a difficult market environment right now with a lot of product on the market. However, many dealers had good numbers in June, a circumstance that affected the overall mood at the show. The number of visitors to our booth was good, and we are generally happy with the fair. It exceeded our expectations, and we got the impression that there was more going on than last year. The Eurobike seems to be evolving back into the industry platform it once was.”

Paul Kindermann (15), Cyclocross Hamburg:

“I really like the atmosphere here – it’s my first time. Meeting bike enthusiasts from around the world and seeing all the different kinds of bikes is just great.”

Frank Schneider, Business Development, Universal Transmissions/Gates:

“At the Eurobike, we have observed a very clear trend toward full-suspension mountain bikes as well as SUV bikes with belt drives. Particularly the new motor gearbox units are opening up new possibilities in this area.”

Angela Bieli, Chief Marketing Officer of Biketec GmbH:

"The Pinion motor gearbox unit is a real game changer for us. The topic has been extremely well received and has generated great demand. Despite the current market situation, the mood is better than expected. Those who did their homework in advance will also be able to make it through this year.”

Stefan Jedlitschka, Head of Digital Marketing, Business Processes & E-Commerce at Messingschlager/Moca:

“The fair managers took the criticisms from last year to heart, leading to huge improvements over the previous year in the area of booth setup. The trend toward e-bikes is clear, with continued growth expected. We are represented with a bike brand for the first time this year, and we are happy to report that the opportunity to take test rides was very well received. We really struck a nerve with our cargo bike, as the trade fair showed that the topic is truly ascendant at the moment.”

Nico Simons, Chief Sales Officer, Schwalbe:

“Although we are aware that our industry is currently in a very challenging phase that we need to overcome together, we nevertheless want to set the course for a positive future. For our 50th anniversary, we decided to carry out a comprehensive re-design of our Schwalbe brand, which was well received by our customers across the board. With the new brand identity and our future communication, we want to show that Schwalbe is far more than just a tire manufacturer but a company that stands for high performance as well as environmental and social responsibility that demonstrates our solidarity with society as a whole. Once our industry has overcome the current challenges, it will be imperative to realize the full potential of the bicycle in all segments, and we will make a corresponding contribution with our tires.”

Sebastian Fessen-Fallsehr, Marketing Manager, Busch & Müller:

“We at Busch & Müller are quite satisfied with the way Eurobike 2023 has gone so far. Our new products, as well as the known ones, have been very well received by retailers and end consumers and are attracting a great deal of interest. With both our partners and our potential customers, we had conversations that were consistently good in quality and quantity.”

Torsten Mendel, Communication Manager, Abus:

“We are doing very well at Eurobike 2023. We are extremely satisfied with the fair as well as the number of visitors. We are positioned quite internationally here in Frankfurt, with representatives of all our subsidiaries present. The response to the products was also quite good.”

Peter Wöstmann, Press Spokesperson, Ortlieb:

“The interim point of the trade exhibition is very good: Extremely high visitor counts and really good discussions – the move to Frankfurt has paid off in spades. We can clearly see how the trend toward gravel bikes has picked up steam as they continue to merge with the concept of classic bicycle touring. The separation between the two worlds is no longer viewed so dogmatically, and seeing an amalgamation of the two emerge is important for us, of course.”

Further information is available at: www.eurobike.com