This article is part of the Brixen Bike Papers – a 41 Publishing initiative from our 2025 Think Tank in Brixen with the goal of building a better bike world. A series of industry analysis and essays diving deep into the uncomfortable truths, hidden opportunities, and real changes our industry needs. Click here for the overview of all released stories.
Table of Contents
1. The Same Trap, Again
2. When Ego Takes the Lead
3. The Illusion of Competition
4. Human Problem, Industrial Consequence
5. The Price of Fragmentation
6. One Industry, Too Many Voices
7. Power Games, the ZIV and the Struggle for Unity
8. What Needs to Change
9. The Freedom Trap – the Role of Every Rider
10. From Riders to a Movement
11. Lead or Lose
1. The Same Trap, Again
Will 32” wheels be the next innovation to grow our industry? Will all the Avinox bikes bring back sales numbers and save us? Or are we running into another trap?
Let’s call it what it is – bullshit. They might be short-term fixes and technologically great, but the causes are deeper.
It’s the same loop we’ve ridden a hundred times: when things get rough, we hide behind technology.
A new axle standard, a new motor, a slightly lighter frame.
Comforting, familiar… and completely useless.
We keep talking about geometry, watt-hours, stiffness-to-weight ratios – as if salvation were hiding inside a downtube.
We keep pointing fingers outward, never at our own handlebars.
The bike industry loves innovation — or at least the illusion of it. We obsess over numbers and newness, convinced that technology will save us, fix us, grow us. But it won’t. Not this time. Because our biggest problem isn’t mechanical — it’s mental. And cultural.
Let’s face it – we rode ourselves into this corner, and tech can’t get us out.
2. When Ego Takes the Lead
Strip away the marketing noise and you’ll find a painful truth:
The bicycle industry’s biggest enemy is the bicycle industry itself.
Too much ego.
Too little vision.
And a chronic allergy to collaboration.
Don’t get us wrong. We mean real collaboration – not the kind that fits nicely into an AI-generated press release or a LinkedIn post that sounds good on paper but lacks substance once you dig deeper.
Nice talking, but no walking.
We waste talent, duplicate efforts, hoard data, and then wonder why forecasting feels like fortune-telling at a Christmas market.
Every brand pretends to have a secret formula (what a joke!), when in reality we’re all mixing the same ingredients. Producing at the same factories. Relying on third-party innovations. Using the same agencies. Selling through the same channels.
Secrecy isn’t strategy – it’s insecurity wearing a tie.
Sometimes it feels like we’re not building bikes, but intercontinental missiles. We refuse to collect and share true sales numbers (not just estimates), hide market data, and even hinder creating an industry-wide procurement platform — it’s so absurd we could all be working for the CIA. And still, despite all those NDAs, everyone keeps talking, trading gossip, and leaking “insider” news. Our industry’s theatre of secrecy is ridiculous.
Meanwhile, other sectors – automotive, tech, tourism – build standards together, share numbers, and present a unified voice to policymakers.
We should be leading the mobility conversation; instead, we’re stuck arguing about motor torque and tire sizes.
3. The Illusion of Competition
We treat other bike brands as enemies instead of allies.
Absurd.
Our real competitors aren’t the bike companies next door – they’re everything that keeps people off bikes: cars, convenience, screen time, and political indifference.
Yet we undercut each other, copy each other, discount till death.
We feed a race to the bottom that no one can win.
Unity doesn’t mean uniformity.
It means understanding that if one brand earns a rider’s trust, the entire ecosystem benefits.
If one dealer learns to sell experiences instead of discounts, we all win credibility.
Right now, we’re fighting over crumbs while someone else eats the cake.
4. Human Problem, Industrial Consequence
Our crisis isn’t technological.
It’s behavioral.
Pride keeps us from asking for help.
Fear keeps us from sharing what we know.
And together they’ve built a culture allergic to reflection.
Every downturn we face – overstock, shrinking margins, panic pricing – is rooted in that same loop: we react fast, think slow. This is why next year we might face another 2 other crises that hardly anyone has on the radar yet. But that’s another topic.
What we want to get across: We’re brilliant at optimizing products, terrible at optimizing collaboration.
Innovation isn’t about lighter frames; it’s about lighter egos.
Real progress starts when leadership replaces secrecy and isolated actions.
True leadership is rarer than bitcoins these days.
5. The Price of Fragmentation
Because we refuse to organize, we pay for it daily:
forecasts that guess more than they know,
structures that punish efficiency,
missed political opportunities,
visibility that depends on superlatives instead of strategy.
We have the passion and the people to lead a new mobility era, yet we behave like a classroom with no teacher – no coordination, no representation, no plan.
From the outside, that’s exactly how it looks: busy, noisy, and directionless.
6. One Industry, Too Many Voices
The bike world doesn’t suffer from a lack of associations — it suffers from too many. Everyone’s busy representing something, but no one’s moving the whole forward. Too many small national groups, too little shared vision. National federations, local initiatives, overlapping agendas — and a constant fight for relevance and ego.
It’s a power game that kills purpose. Instead of building strength, we dilute it. The result? A bureaucratic mess that feels just as distant and inefficient as Brussels.
If we want to be strong, we need a clear, transparent association architecture — from international to national level. Recently, the two German associations ZIV and ZF made a bold move, indirectly deciding for the rest of the world that Eurobike will no longer be the global leading show. We won’t discuss that topic here, but it highlights a deeper issue: too many associations, too much politics, too little structure to take aligned action. We can’t expect brands to engage in five different associations and still do meaningful work. Nor does it make sense to sustain a fragmented landscape of overlapping interest groups — is there a better way to confuse policymakers?
But simple mergers won’t fix this. If the industry truly wants to reclaim its power, the big brands must come together and design a new structure from scratch — not patchwork from the past, but something built on shared goals: How do we want to live, work, and feel? Let’s build a house that matches our needs.
That requires backbone — and a stronger voice from members willing to demand and shape the change they want.
7. Power Games, the ZIV and the Struggle for Unity
Mistrust within the ZIV has been growing. Members say they’re left in the dark – unhappy with how power is distributed between the board and its members, frustrated that decisions happen behind closed doors, and learning news from the press before hearing it from their own organization. Some of that is natural. As organizations mature, power becomes more intentional – shaped by those who come prepared and know what they want. The era of casual annual meetings in Berlin, where attendance mattered more than preparation, is over. If you want to shape an association, you need to show up — with ideas, arguments, and the will to engage. If you don’t, others will. And they’ll fill the vacuum you leave behind.
Conflicts of interest between the industry’s biggest players will always exist. That’s not the problem. The problem begins when organizations fail to evolve — when their structures, governance, and decision-making lag behind. That’s when they risk becoming tools for specific players while claiming to represent everyone. It might work in the short term, but it destroys credibility in the long run. Integrity is key.
Unity doesn’t mean everyone has to agree. It means creating space for disagreement — and dealing with it honestly. Pretending harmony only breeds mistrust, just like in politics, where silence fuels extremes. Associations must do better: talk openly, disagree constructively, and stop hiding tension behind polished press releases. Real unity isn’t about pretending — it’s about listening, debating, and finding solutions together.
Power alone won’t fix it. Ignoring problems won’t either. It’s time for organizations to step up, act transparently, and put unity first.
8. What Needs to Change
We don’t need to reinvent the wheel to make the bike world a better place. What we need is a shared purpose — a new mindset, a stronger culture, a modern industry architecture, and a true leadership platform.
A neutral, non-commercial space where those willing to lead the change sit at the same table and tackle the challenges that belong to all of us: data, forecasting, sustainability, dealer education, representation, communication, and marketing.
A place where competitors think beyond products and start building a better industry together.
We need leadership – and a president. Not to play politics in Brussels or Berlin, but to unite the global bicycle nation and tackle the real issues that hold us back. Not just a place to meet and talk, but a place to reflect, define clear visions, set goals, and create action.
We already have organizations that represent the industry – on paper. And yes, they do what they can, and this is very important. But most of their work lives far from the ground – trapped in bureaucracy, legal frameworks, and slow institutional loops. Or lacks aligned action on a bigger scale.
And then there are the power dynamics and opacity that breed mistrust and divide opinions. It’s not always the what — it’s the how that determines whether a platform works.
9. The Freedom Trap – the Role of Every Rider
Mountain biking stands for freedom. No rules, no boundaries, just you and the trail. But that very freedom is starting to kill it.
We ride alone, dig our own secret lines, protect “our” trails — and think that’s what freedom means. It’s not. It’s isolation.
We’re unorganized, unrepresented, and unheard. While others build lobbies, we build excuses. We love to talk about open-mindedness, but when new riders show up, we roll our eyes. Wrong bike. Wrong outfit. Wrong attitude. We talk inclusion but act like a closed club.
We dream of more trails, more access, more recognition — yet we refuse the one thing that could make it happen: structure. Leadership. A shared voice.
Just look at paragliders — freedom lovers, too. But they’ve got schools, licenses, and clear rules. That’s why they keep their freedom.
Us? We keep mistaking anarchy for independence.
It’s time to grow up as a culture. To organize, educate, and lead. To turn our passion into purpose. Because true freedom isn’t about doing whatever you want — it’s about building a system that lets everyone ride.
And let’s be clear: this isn’t just about mountain bikers. The same applies to every corner of cycling — from drop-bar racers to trekking and city riders. We’d all benefit from more structure, better organization, and a shared voice that turns passion into progress.
10. From Riders to a Movement
Too abstract? Here’s what it could look like.
Right now, we sell bikes — and that’s where it ends.
No guidance, no education, no onboarding.
New riders are left alone, old riders never evolve.
Skills stay low, risks remain unmanaged, and our voice as a community stays small.
Imagine if every bike sale came with a setup session and a skills course — braking, trail etiquette, first aid, how to behave in nature.
Imagine certifications for different riding levels and real learning throughout the life cycle of a rider.
In cycling, you can buy a Tour de France–level race bike or a Bosch CX-R–powered eMTB as your very first bike — and we even market them that way, feeding on pro-sports desirability.
Imagine passing your driving license and starting out in a Formula 1 car.
Is that how we want to onboard new riders?
We fear that structure would scare people away. But maybe it would do the opposite — help them enjoy it more, stay safer, and ride longer.
11. Lead or Lose
It’s never about how much power you have — it’s how you use it.
Ants move mountains because they align their actions.
We must do the same: think beyond products, build an ecosystem, and serve the community, not just the market.
If we unite, we’ll earn more trails, better infrastructure, more funding, and a culture that grows stronger with every rider.
We can’t wait for governments or federations to fix it.
The industry has to lead — associations, brands, media, and riders together.
The bike industry must not only organize itself — it must take the lead in organizing the wider cycling culture.
Because an industry without a connected community has no foundation.
And a community without structure has no power.
So here’s the point: the next big innovation in cycling isn’t a motor, geometry, or wheel size.
It’s honesty. It’s cooperation. It’s courage.
And in the end, it all comes down to leadership.
Leadership is the upgrade no one’s talking about — but everyone needs.
Real leadership isn’t about control; it’s about direction — and clarity.
Right now, uncertainty and fear dominate the market. That’s normal.
Old systems are breaking apart so new ones can take shape — built on better answers, not quick fixes.
The key is not to panic.
When the fog is thick, running faster only means high risks of running in the wrong direction and getting lost.
The best thing we can do is slow down, reflect, and understand how we got here.
Then define what’s truly needed to tackle the real causes of our challenges — not just the symptoms.
When that understanding returns, the fog will lift — revealing a stronger, more grounded future for the bike world.
Because let’s be honest — our engineers and tech won’t save us this time.
Only we can.
Stay tuned for Brixen Bike Paper #02, where we’ll explore what that future can look like.
Overview – The Brixen Bike Papers
The Brixen Bike Papers – a 41 Publishing Think Tank initiative, building better one story at a time. Eleven essays diving deep into the uncomfortable truths, hidden opportunities, and real changes our industry needs. Here’s an overview of all papers:
| The Brixen Bike Papers | Release Date |
|---|---|
| 1. The Industry’s Next Innovation Isn’t a Bike – It’s Unity | 11.11.2025 |
| 2. The Eurobike Sabbatical – A Clear Answer for 2026 | 18.11.2025 |
| 3. Ingredient Marketing – The Bike World’s Marketing Fiasco | 25.11.2025 |
| 4. To be announced soon | 02.12.2025 |
| 5. To be announced soon | 09.12.2025 |
| 6. To be announced soon | 16.12.2025 |
| 7. To be announced soon | 23.12.2025 |
| 8. To be announced soon | 30.12.2025 |
| 9. To be announced soon | 06.01.2026 |
| 10. To be announced soon | 13.01.2026 |
| 11. To be announced soon | 20.01.2026 |
You want more than just to read along?
Got questions, ideas, or honest feedback about the Think Tank or the Brixen Bike Papers?
Then write to Robin at robin@41publishing.com
We might not be able to reply to everyone — but we’ll read every message carefully.
We’re looking forward to your thoughts!
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Words: Juansi Vivo, Robin Schmitt Photos: Jan Fock, Benedikt Schmidt, Peter Walker, ZIV Die Fahrradindustrie, Eurobike
