“Dear Bergstolz bike community,
The skis are packed away, and mountain biking is officially back on the agenda. The first warm days have melted the snow, and the trails are still quiet and uncrowded. Along with autumn, spring is actually the best time to go for a casual mountain bike ride with friends.
Many new and interesting stories await you, dear readers, and we hope we can bring the fascination and passion of mountain biking a little closer to you. The next three issues are entirely dedicated to biking and will hopefully make for a great read.
A hot topic I’d like to address is the latest development in the e-bike sector. Some say the motors are becoming too powerful, that we don’t need so much output, and that motor power should be limited. On the other hand, highly advanced technology is currently coming out of China, featuring touchscreens and incredibly powerful motors with outstanding power management. You can pull away in turbo mode, and the bike starts off silky smooth before delivering its full thrust. Some German manufacturers have been on the market with their products for much longer, yet to this day, they haven’t managed to make pulling away in turbo mode smooth enough to prevent the front wheel from lifting.
Now, people are calling for power limits—but is that really the true reason?
Instead of rolling up our sleeves, standing up to the Chinese companies, and saying, “We can do that too, maybe even better,” voices are rising to demand restrictions. The whole thing reminds me a bit of the German automotive industry—and before we know it, we’ll all be riding around with Chinese motors. Do we lack know-how in Germany, or is there too much focus on cost efficiency and not enough money being invested? Or perhaps the government could launch some subsidy programs, especially since over two million e-bikes are already sold in Germany every year—and that number is rising.
As in many economic sectors, innovation is key, and we have plenty of bright minds in our country. So please, let’s not call for restrictions. Instead, let’s find fast solutions before we are overrun by the Chinese wave of innovation and all end up riding on Chinese products.
I wish you a fantastic biking season and many great adventures. Perhaps we’ll cross paths out on the trail.”
Ride on
