Bicycling for leisure, hobby, and health has led manufacturers to focus on upgrading all different sections of bikes and their design. For the upcoming year, many bike trends are focused on technology and what it can bring to cyclists.
There’s not THE perfect road bike, but there’s definitely A perfect road bike for everyone! Thus far that’s been perceived wisdom on the road scene. It’s a point of view that has been held without question for a long time but might need to be examined more closely now. Times are changing and that’s a good thing! The most modern road bikes of 2020 prove that THE road bike is starting to emerge. While building aerodynamically optimised bikes has taken up most of the focus of designers over the last few years, in doing so it has almost obsoleted itself. Regardless of which category the brands assign their bikes to, there’s hardly any model that escapes some form of aerodynamic optimisation, features or components. With modern road bikes becoming more aerodynamic overall, dedicated aero bikes that are usually more uncomfortable, heavier and complex have to fight to justify their existence. Simultaneously, the newest and best aero bikes only show marginal differences in terms of comfort, weight and handling to climbing, or even endurance bikes.
Due to the uptick in bike popularity during the summer months of 2019 many companies, indie and name brands alike, are putting their cash towards helpful tech. The anti-theft GPs unit, for one, is a great way to combat bike theft.
Smart helmets are on the rise with their hands-free speakers, intercom, and turning signal features and they create a much safer ride for cyclists both on and off the road.
Biking is also fully in trend in 2022. The demand for bikes is huge - whether as an alternative to the increasingly expensive car or for adventure and exercise in nature. We show which bike trends will shape 2022 and how the bicycle industry is rethinking the issue of sustainability and production.
Switch from car to bike - and everything is good. The world could be that simple. In terms of sustainability, however, it is not. Because worldwide bicycle production also leaves its mark, which cannot be neglected from an ecological point of view. Long transport routes, energy-intensive production, problematic raw materials - all these are also negative side effects of the bicycle boom.
But the bike industry is also working diligently to reduce its environmental footprint. At the end of 2021, 22 companies in the industry launched a charter for sustainable action. The e-bike producer Riese & Müller, one of the signatories of the charter, wants to become the "most sustainable company in the e-bike industry" by 2025.
The tire manufacturer Schwalbe is developing a recycling system for old tires in a pilot project. Instead of burning old tires, their raw materials should benefit the circular economy.
After missing components had put a spoke in the wheel of many new bikes in 2021, mountain bike fans can again look forward to a variety of new models in 2022. Rose Bikes, for example, was only able to launch one new bike in 2021 instead of the five planned. For 2022, however, seven new bike platforms are planned. Cube, too, is coming up with numerous new models, especially in the e-mountain bike segment.
And: Down-country bikes have established themselves. These are bikes that would actually be racing files, but with longer suspension travel or lowerable seatposts are clearly more fun-oriented - and apparently well received. Thus, the new Scott Spark 2022 is no longer available as a race bike, but only in the down-country version. Also Cubes 2022er new edition of the AMS now also includes two down-country models.
To ensure that safety and riding enjoyment do not suffer amid all the mountain bike hype, fair forest sharing initiatives are becoming increasingly important. The initiative "Bike Spirit 4.0" under the leadership of the Mountain Bike Tourism Forum provides education on proper behavior, conflict avoidance and more togetherness in the forest.
