Update on the e-bike market and the actions taken by E-BIKE TRAVEL

If it is true that Covid-19 has given an enormous boost to the purchase of e-bikes, it is equally true that this exponential growth in the bicycle sector has led to very serious problems in the supply of raw materials (aluminium) and components (gear groups and forks especially).

In the Far East, production lines were closed for months and, once reopened, were hit by demand beyond all expectations. Suppliers who normally delivered in 90 days currently have delivery times of up to 18 months.

Transport is also experiencing a very critical phase, with ships being forced to wait days before accessing the dock to load or unload goods, with a consequent increase in costs and delivery times which have lengthened from 4 weeks to more than two months.

So what will happen to the e-bike market in the coming months?

First of all, throughout 2021, and probably also for 2022, we will see a considerable delay in the delivery times of bikes to shops, due to the inability of manufacturers to precisely plan the availability of frames and components.

The new bikes will be equipped according to the current availability of components and will certainly extend the life of each individual model, going beyond the concept of annual renewal of the models produced by the individual brands.

We will also see an increase in production, logistics and transport costs which will inevitably lead to an increase in the price of bicycles, not only for new products but often also for bicycles already on order.

The entire production and distribution chain of bicycles, including the end user, will have to adapt to this new situation which will lead to increased prices, ongoing changes in bicycle components and very long delivery times.

E-BIKE TRAVEL has already begun to organize itself to deal with these changes

Our goal is to guarantee aoffer as broad as possible of e-bikes for all the shops in the franchising network and, for this reason, we have taken steps to triple the quantity of bicycles ordered from our suppliers, compared to 2020, always giving ASAP availability for collection.

We have invested resources and money to guarantee adequate IT support for our dealers and we have further increased the square footage of our warehouses, to be able to safely accommodate an ever-increasing number of e-bikes.

Despite everything we are doing to minimize the inconvenience for our customers, we will still be forced to suffer the delays which, in turn, will be suffered by our suppliers, who are the most important and prestigious brands on the European scene.

It will be increasingly difficult to find the bicycle "at the moment" and, despite the enormous number of bicycles we have pre-ordered, it will be extremely complicated to be able to satisfy the increasingly large public.

 The suggestion, therefore, that we would like to give to anyone interested in purchasing an e-bike, is not to be intimidated by long delivery times but, on the contrary, to order your bike as soon as possible, to be sure of receiving it promptly. time for the arrival of the beautiful season.

Data provided by: Thok E-Bike