Frankfurt am Main – Despite the not-quite-overcome upheavals from the difficult previous years, the bicycle world is optimistic about the future. There might not be opulent fireworks of innovation, but progressing, continuous development and improvement of the bicycle technology. Especially if one doesn’t give in to breathless excitement but instead attentively takes a closer look, there are a lot of promising innovations and trends to be discovered during the Eurobike trade fair days from July 3 to 7, 2024 in Frankfurt.
MTBs lose weight
The eternal megatrend towards lighter bikes continues: Bulls presents an EMTB that weighs only 18 kilograms. The Sonic Evo AM SX is a carbon fully with SRAM AXS shifting and a Bosch SX motor. Its sister model Sonic Evo SX Dakar follows the same concept as a sporty everyday variant but features a hardtail frame, light, mudguards and rack.
The KTM Scarp Exonic has no motor and is perfect for powerful athletes. The racing-capable carbon fully impresses with a weight of just over 10 kilograms without pedals.
Allroad-compatible SUV bikes
Often pedelecs only offer moderate riding characteristics as soon as you leave asphalt roads. That’s why SUV e-bikes with wide tires and sturdier frames are so popular. Kalkhoff responded, and for the first time developed a full suspension frame for the new Entice 7+ to get a comfortable SUV bike with a sporty character and a permissible total weight of 170 kilograms.
Gravel differentiates itself
The gravel bike has become an important sales generator. Especially the young audience has discovered the versatile sports bikes as the universal bike for everything. Two different trends converge in the gravel bike: fast race bikes with narrower tires as all-road sports devices and robust, touring or travel-suitable bikepacking bikes for short overnighters up to long-distance tours. The main difference with these bikes are differently voluminous tires and matching frames and forks. At the booth of the wheel manufacturer DT Swiss, you can see how very beautiful – and colorful – they can be. A Ridley gravel racer in Martini-Racing design faces a bikepacker – both bikes have new GRC carbon wheels and demonstrate the broad scope of the topic at a glance.
Both trends also reflect and intertwine in the growing range of accessories. The Infinity Universal rack system from SKS, for example, is easy to attach to sports bikes without frame threads and easy to disassemble, too.
Road bike fascination
Racy road bikes are increasingly turning into prestige objects, especially in the high-price range. This genre is benefiting from the gravel influence: racing tires and rims are generally becoming wider in favor of better comfort, road grip and riding stability. As a result, the bikes also master dirt road passages.
Contradictory criteria such as lightweight design, stiffness and aerodynamics often come together better now. Cables and lines disappear in the frame, but without neglecting service-friendliness for maintenance and adjustments. Liv, a Giants subsidiary brand, presents a great example of this: the new Langma, a sports bike specially developed for female racing cyclists.
Optimized aerodynamics is also the reason for constructively harmonized wheel-tire systems from Zipp or DT Swiss.
At the same time, several road bike manufacturers are working on expanding the lower price ranges from 1500 euros. The idea is to convey the fascination of cycling especially to newcomers and young people.
Cargo: compact and off-road
Cargo bikes have met and are still meeting with huge interest. But not everyone can cope with these heavy, bulky cargo bikes. This is why many manufacturers rely on more compact models with smaller wheels, shorter cargo spaces and a more compact wheelbase. The new Carrie from Riese & Müller is an example of where the journey is headed. As a result, the compact pedelecs, which can be used for transporting children or loads, become significantly lighter, more agile and easier to handle, and they take up less space on cycle paths and when parking. With this, everyday cargo bikes should meet the interest of an even wider audience.
At the same time, a new niche for transport needs beyond asphalted routes is developing: CaGo is showing an off-road version of the innovative CS series equipped with a two-storey cargo area. Also the compact bike pioneer Tern has left traditional terrain, creating a new genre of all-terrain adventure cargo bikes with its powerful offroad-longtail Orox. Orox comes with 27.5 or 29-inch wheels, a strong Bosch motor and a dual-battery concept. It can transport either two children, one adult or heavy luggage and can carry up to 210 kilos of total weight.
Electric shifting
Electronics are also finding their way into the sporty derailleur. Shimano presents the electric version of the proven GRX Gravel Group. It uses proven Di2 technology and offers a great range with 2×11 speeds and different cassettes.
Pinion’s MGU motor gearbox unit has taken a firm place in high-quality frequent-rider and travel pedelecs. Last year’s Smart.Shift variant will be upgraded to the Auto.Shift variant in 2024. This means that the shift system changes gears fully automatically on the basis of current riding data. However, humans always have priority: If necessary, the automatic gear selection can be overridden manually anytime. Manufacturer Gudereit has already included this new technology in the new e-trekking bikes ET 13.6 and 13.8. Other well-known manufacturers, also from the MTB and cargo bike industry, will soon follow suit.
Motor evolution
E-support is no longer the exception, but the rule. More than half of all bikes sold in 2023 were pedelecs. New developments in the field of drives are aimed at lower weight, more efficient battery technology and refined control.
Fazua, basically the inventors of the Light Assist drive, are upgrading their modular motor-battery systems with improved ergonomics and more efficient batteries.
The new X25 completes Mahle’s range of lightweight hub motors. They are placed inconspicuously in the rear wheel and promise gentle power development with low consumption and wear.
Automotive supplier ZF has also been at home in micromobility since 2021. This year, the Friedrichshafen-based company is presenting the still secret “Bike Eco System,” a compact full-assist drive with a mid-mounted motor in the shape and weight of a light-assist drive.
Digitalization and connectivity playground
Bicycles and cycling are becoming more digital. The industry is currently discovering and developing the secondary level of pedelec technology: on-board electrics and electronics are becoming the basis for digitalizing the systems. Software integration, individualized functions via app, riding data collection, position-locating for theft protection, but also communication, navigation and tour planning are combined in systems from a single source.
Market leader Bosch is still lying low until the start of the trade fair, but points out that the current product development “focuses on the further connectivity of e-bikes.” Through new digital functions, the e-bike can learn and become “an intelligent companion.”
The SRAM Red AXS racing groupset, whose predecessor generation already works with radio and servo, has been embedded by its manufacturer in 2024 into an integrated system consisting of gearshift setting, power measurement, navigation and route planning. Together with the in-house bike computer Hammerhead and app support, it creates a direct connection with the internet and its resources, such as social networks, but also maintenance and repair instructions.
The trade fair highlight by lighting specialist Busch & Müller follows the same digital direction. The top headlamp Briq-XL Premium combines improved light output and distribution with digitally controlled cornering light. It retains its horizontally aligned light field even when riding at an inclined position and it is retracted on the outside of the curve to avoid glare.
In addition, B&M Turntec is a market-ready turn signal system for pedelecs that can already be discovered on e-bikes from Scott or Velo de Ville.
Inclusive cycling
With the Hase Trigo Up E and the HP Velotechnik Delta TX, two modern armchair tricycles with e-support aim at enabling people with disabilities to take daily routes and leisure tours by bike. Small wheels, a low step-through frame and a low center of gravity make entry easy and road holding safe. Mid-mounted motors from Shimano or Bafang support pedaling. A basket between both rear wheels offers plenty of space for shopping or touring luggage.
