Society

London police have seized more than 2,500 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters in 2026, already beating the total for the whole of 2025.

New US tariffs of 10% and 12.5% have applied to bicycles since 24 July 2026. Not a single product exclusion was granted to the cycling industry.

Reims has made helmets and hi-vis vests mandatory on electric bikes and scooters. But the badly drafted decree ends up sparing electric bikes.

Tyred, which already services Lime's shared-bike fleet in London, has raised £2.5 million for an AI-driven bike maintenance and ownership platform.

PeopleForBikes launches America Builds Bikes: a bipartisan bill targets 2 million bicycles assembled each year in the United States within five years.

From 19 July 2026, New Jersey requires a licence and a plate for nearly every electric bike, even slow ones — a law cyclists call the country's most restrictive.

VOI replaces Bicloo in Nantes: 2400 electric bikes and 658 stations will be rolled out across the 24 municipalities of the metro area from October 2026.

The Bundeskartellamt has cleared the takeover of Dutch manufacturer Accell by Singapore group Dutech, finding no competition risk in the merger.

The UESC and the WEEE producer responsibility organisations are funding training for BonusRépar-labelled bike repairers through the Fonds Formation 3E.

O2Feel, a French electric bike brand founded in 2009 near Lille, has been placed into receivership and is looking for a buyer to avoid liquidation.

Barcelona start, a reinvented team time trial, two Alpe d'Huez finishes and a Montmartre finale: what sets the 2026 Tour de France apart from the rest.

Lime made its Nasdaq debut on 1 July 2026 under the ticker LIME, raising $167 million for a valuation of around $1.66 billion. The stock rose 9%.

At an average import price of €329, Chinese e-bikes have seen their share of European imports jump from 17% to 47% in two years, ahead of Taiwan.

America's CPSC proposes a mandatory rule on e-bike batteries, published 29 June 2026. Comments open until 24 August. At stake: UL certification and tamper-proof enclosures.

Decathlon PULSE takes 10% of Brompton and BA Capital 5%, for around £18 million. The folding bike maker keeps its London factory and its independence.

Eurobike 2026 drew 15,130 trade visitors to Frankfurt, half as many as in 2025. The show goes biennial, with its next edition in September 2027.

DeSantis vetoed SB 382, the bill regulating e-bikes on Florida's shared-use paths. His argument: the risk of increased surveillance of citizens.

Cannondale is ending its official World Cup XC programme after more than 30 years. From January 2027, the Cannondale Rogues collective will take over.

Eurobike moves to a biennial rhythm after 2027 and will skip 2028. Behind it: a collapse in exhibitor numbers and the arrival of a rival show in Cologne.

German association ZIV and Koelnmesse are launching “towards tomorrow – European Bike Show”, a new bike trade show in Cologne from September 2027.

Lael Wilcox abandoned her round-the-world cycling record attempt on 21 June, after 14 days and 4,948 kilometres from Chicago, beaten by Europe's heatwave.

A year after opening, the J&G factory in Tianjin — a Joykie/Golden Wheel joint venture — runs at full capacity: carbon weaving, paint and QC across 100,000 m².

SRAM is building a plant in Coimbra, Portugal, able to manufacture its entire component range — more than 500 jobs and a start-up planned for 2028.

Pon.Bike will close the Cannondale factory in Almelo (Netherlands) by the end of 2027 and shift production to Germany and Lithuania. 120 jobs are affected.

The World Naked Bike Ride returns this summer in more than 70 cities. Behind the nudity, a simple message: how exposed a cyclist really is in traffic.

From 12 to 14 June 2026, the Vélorution universelle stopped in Lyon: rides, a festive parade and a call to give cycling more room in the city.

New Jersey becomes the first US state to require a licence, registration and insurance for electric bikes. Three weeks from the deadline, anger is rising.

Eurobike 2026 (24-27 June, Frankfurt) is fighting for survival: Bosch and the German federations have walked out, Avinox stars, Shimano returns low-key.

The UK unveils its third cycling and walking strategy: £4.5 billion for local authorities, and a 2035 target of 55% of short urban trips on foot or by bike.

Barcelona will not renew the licences of seven private bike-share operators such as Lime, accused of causing parking chaos. Their bikes go in 2027.

Electric bike maker VOLT Bikes, founded in 2011 in Buckinghamshire, has been named family business of the year at the Small Business Growth Awards 2026.

E-bikes are taking over bikepacking: real-world range, charging logistics and the French routes best suited to a multi-day trip this summer.

A bike ride among Garmin users lasts 115 minutes on average and covers 46 km. Sunday and August lead the way, and Italy tops distance per ride.

Decree 2024-1074 bans flashing rear lights on bikes in France, adopted without consultation — while Germany has just legalised direction indicators.

The global electric cargo bike market hit $4.1 billion in 2025 and keeps climbing while the rest of the bike industry stalls. Zero-emission zones explain why.

China has dropped below 50% of US bicycle imports for the first time, at 48.5%, while Cambodia climbs to around 20% and becomes the second source.

A look at the right to repair for electric bikes, where proprietary batteries are the central issue: current practices and what new regulation will change.

Seven new gravel routes open in the Grands Causses park, focused on the Lodévois-Larzac, with a multi-day bikepacking route due this summer.

Wrap-up of the 6th edition of Mai à vélo: 19.8 million kilometres ridden and more than 5,500 cycling events organised right across France in May.

British distributor Saddleback has been placed into administration, cutting 42 jobs, after losing the Cannondale UK contract to Pon.Bike in March 2026.

Litelok launches Theft Intelligence, a world map of bike thefts. The free tool flags at-risk areas in real time across six countries, including France.

Ampler Bikes has filed for insolvency: how a Berlin office lease, and not its sales, brought down this pioneer of the USB-C rechargeable electric bike.

Barcelona and Sarajevo are testing new technology to improve the safety of their cycle lanes. A pilot project led by EIT Urban Mobility and its partners.

The Netherlands is trialling a 20 km/h limit on selected cycle paths to cut crashes. Houten goes first in 2026, with Amsterdam following a few months later.

The Cotentin region has put France's first longtail cargo bike into public hire in Cherbourg, turning bike sharing into a family mobility option.

Cyclist safety in Europe has stalled: deaths are down just 8% in ten years. The ETSC report calls for urgent measures to close the safety gap.

Bike couriers embody the uberisation of work, with falling pay and precarious working conditions. A European directive promises new rules in 2026.