BEST OF EUROBIKE 2022

OUR FAVORITE PICKS

Back after a couple year hiatus, and at a new location, Eurobike was buzzing with happy industry folk who made the trek from all over the world to catch up with old friends, and talk bikes, the future of bike biz and the economy. Sadly, another common topic took precedent at many of our meetings, and that was the surprisingly scary streets of Frankfurt. It seems many other bike industry people booked hotels in one of the sketchiest locations of town. Known by many as the Drug Temple, Frankfurt has earned the moniker of being the “Crime Capital” of Germany, and although we saw plenty of neat historic buildings, the trash and uneasy feeling are the biggest takeaways for many who came to the show. It seems like the part of town we stayed in was the worst, which we wouldn’t have guessed seeing as it’s right next to the main train station and the prices of the hotels. I’ll spare the gritty details of sex acts, exposed body parts, needles and attacks on fellow bike industry friends while on the streets, but I will say, it’s one of, if not the gnarliest places I’ve ever been. And as a Los Angeles native who spent plenty of time looking for trouble in Downtown L.A. and the Venice Boardwalk during my teenage years and early 20’s, that’s saying a lot. Instead of pulling up to booths to say hello to friends and chat about what cool stuff we’d seen at the show, bike talk was replaced with crazy stories about the rampant drug use, prostitution, homelessness, and fights just outside our hotel room door. Needless to say, many folks will be looking for hotels in new locations next year.

It wasn’t all gloom though. Once we left the Red-Light District and made our way to Messe Frankfurt where the event was taking place, the grit and nervousness turned to excitement as eight halls filled with all kinds of bikes and bike stuff greeted us every day. Being that the show was in Europe, there was definitely a heavy representation of eBikes, specifically in the cargo, urban and commuter categories. We made some stops and checked out the impressive work that goes into those wild contraptions but mostly let our counterparts from electricbikejournal.com handle those things, while we focused on the knobby-tired bikes and bits.

Overall, the vibe from the show was very positive, which is a great sign for bike fans. When the brains behind the products we love to ride and tinker with are energized and happy, the advancements in tech are sure to boom as well. New tires, suspension improvements, new drivetrains, new eBike motors, helmet developments and more, means that we’re in store for some very cool stuff coming down the pipe across the industry.

Here’s a small selection of bits that caught our eye at the show. There’s a lot more cool stuff that we either couldn’t take photos of, or only shot video of for our YouTube video, so be sure to subscribe and check that out for lots more info and product.