The end of cooperation from these two bodies was followed quickly by the news that Bosch won\u2019t be exhibiting<\/a> at the 2026 edition of Eurobike. Claus Fleischer, Bosch\u2019s CEO and a member of ZIV\u2019s board, said the company no longer saw the \u201cfundamental changes\u201d required for a \u201csuccessful future for Eurobike\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n The loss of support from these three organisations paints a desperate picture for the world\u2019s largest cycling trade show. But for those who have been following Eurobike\u2019s fortunes, this development has been in the works for quite some time, as the trade show grapples with its underlying purpose.<\/p>\n ZIV and Zukunft Fahrrad spelt this out when they presented the organisers of Eurobike with a 10-point plan<\/a> for the future of the show in July, based on an online survey of the members of both organisations.\u00a0<\/p>\n The document didn\u2019t mince its words. It stated: \u201cEurobike is facing a severe crisis. The absence of leading companies, a significant drop in visitor numbers and the announcement of strategic developments that industry associations and their members see as the wrong approach are jeopardising the future of the trade fair.\u201d<\/p>\n The plan covers recognising the importance of electric bikes<\/a> and the diversity of the industry, alongside encouraging Eurobike\u2019s organisers to revamp what it offers brands to entice them back, especially given the \u201csharp rise in the price per square metre\u201d, and refocusing the show to \u201cwin back\u201d important partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n But is this who Eurobike is really for? And does the show need to win back big companies? Michael Benner, who has worked in the cycling industry for more than 30 years and now acts as an advisor for retail companies, told BikeRadar that Eurobike is fundamentally a business-to-business and specialist event. And whereas Eurobike can be valuable for smaller companies, larger brands simply don\u2019t need to attend to fulfil their business needs.<\/p>\n \u201cEach company weighs the cost and benefit of attending carefully,\u201d Benner said. \u201cFor Bosch, the absence will likely have no business impact \u2013 but I also don\u2019t think it will have a decisive effect on the success or relevance of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n Benner also pointed to how the bicycle industry\u2019s recent troubles have impacted Eurobike. \u201cThe cycling industry is currently going through a period of adjustment after Covid \u2013 with high inventories, tighter budgets, and new consumer dynamics. Many brands had to cut costs, and of course marketing and trade show activities were part of that,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Benner added that the attendance of large brands would still have benefits. \u201cThe market thankfully isn\u2019t defined only by the big players, though it would still be great to see them continue to show presence in some way \u2013 it adds strength and unity to the overall industry image.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Away from attracting big brands and visitors back to Eurobike, much of the 10-point plan addresses Eurobike\u2019s role as a forum for the future of mobility. During this year\u2019s show, Eurobike\u2019s organisers, Fairnamic, announced a new show, Mobifuture, dedicated to e-mobility.\u00a0<\/p>\n Benner sees the value in this differentiation, calling it a \u201ccontemporary evolution\u201d that will increase Eurobike\u2019s appeal to visitors and exhibitors. But the 10-point plan rejects the plans to separate heavier e-cargo bikes<\/a> and bicycle-related vehicles into their own show, stating the need for a separate format for these vehicles \u201cmust be clarified\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Annick Roetynck, manager of LEVA-EU, a European trade association for light electric vehicles, told BikeRadar these products should be included in the show.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom our perspective, Eurobike should continue to evolve beyond a purely bicycle-oriented focus and include the wider LEV [light electric vehicle] sector,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is no valid reason to exclude LEVs \u2013 on the contrary, the bicycle and LEV sectors can inspire one another, driving innovation and growth on both sides.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Roetynck, who has previously clashed with ZIV<\/a>, said the market for heavy-duty cargo bikes<\/a> has a clear need for components that aren\u2019t available from \u2018traditional\u2019 bicycle manufacturers. \u201cThis is exactly the kind of emerging trend that Eurobike could embrace to attract new participants and strengthen its relevance for the future,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Roetynck, this also comes back to how she sees the industry struggling to adapt to the \u2018evolving mobility landscape\u2019: \u201c[W]e are convinced that the market can expand significantly if we work together to promote light, sustainable mobility. Both bicycles and LEVs hold enormous potential to help individuals and businesses make the transition to cleaner transport.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The talks prompted by ZIV and Zukunft Fahrrad may have failed, but below the severe crisis, it seems those in the industry still recognise the potential of Eurobike.\u00a0<\/p>\n Roetynck said it remains the \u201conly truly international trade show\u201d to bring together companies and visitors from around the world, while Benner remains positive about its future \u2013 even if that requires working together.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFrom my perspective, keeping a strong, joint trade show is in the best interest of the entire industry \u2013 especially now, when we\u2019re all facing structural challenges that require more cooperation, not less,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n How Eurobike 2026 shapes up is yet to be seen. It will certainly be different from previous years, but for an industry that has struggled since Covid and could play a greater role in the future of sustainable transport, that might not be such a bad thing.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the end of October, two of Germany\u2019s most influential cycling trade bodies announced they were withdrawing their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-250704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"E-mobility](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Eurobike_2025_FB_3023.jpg\")
An e-mobility vehicle at Eurobike. Eurobike Frankfurt<\/p>\n