This year’s Eurobike, which was held in Friedrichshafen on September 4-7, 2008, broke all records. Not only in square meters, numbers of exhibitors and visitors; it was also the biggest show of electric bikes in Europe ever.
 

 
The press nominated electric bikes as the main attractive of Eurobike. In fact, there were more pedelecs and e-bikes this year than ever before at a European bike show. Never before has the ExtraEnergy Test Track been so crowded with electric bikes. The popular test course has been part of the Eurobike supporting program for 11 years now. For the second time it was located in the Zeppelin hall and was the largest in it’s history. Many electric bike exhibitors had their company booths or Check-In stands next to the test track with direct access to the riding course. They profited from the prompt feedback they got from the test riders––mostly it was a big smile. On the two sunny days of the four show days the open-air test course was open in front of the Zeppelin hall. The spacious track was great to feel the real speed of the pedelecs faster than 25 km/h, which were quite a few. And the riders’ smile became even bigger!

Bikes for Everyone
The huge number of new models guaranteed the riding fun for every visitor of any age. Exhibits included the classic step-through pedelec type with Panasonic drive, elegant men’s frame models, folding bikes, fast pedelecs, mountain bikes with BionX drive, recumbent trikes, scooters and the brand new electric moped ELMOTO. The 2009 season promises to be a versatile electric bike year.

Visitors Showed Great Interest
Different customers groups showed a lot of interest in electric bikes. During the trade visitor days, more dealers than ever before were looking into electric bikes. Fleet operators, hotel chains and tourism organizations researched the market. News reporters from print and online publications as well as TV teams made their way to the Zeppelin hall and reported about the boom of electric bikes in the German and international media.

On Sunday, the public day, crowds of well-informed customers rushed to the electric bike terrain. Some of them had even studied the ExtraEnergy 2008 Test results down to the smallest detail, evaluated them to fit their own requirements and systematically tested one bike after the other.

One thing became clear: Dealers and end-users have already made their experiences with cheap and crappy products. What they want now is quality. And they are ready to pay for it. The best proof of this attitude is the success of the Swiss company Biketec with their ever-increasing Flyer series. They are technically mature, nicely designed and they sell well regardless
to their high price.

Eurobike Breaks All Records
This year's bike,  fun and fashion show at Lake Constance  broke all records. Not only in the electric bike field. 36,800 trade visitors came to the show to see what 936 exhibitors from 36 countries have to offer for the next bike season. The trade show occupied 85,000 square meters, which means all of the 9 halls plus the Zeppelin hall next to the show venue. Eurobike 2008 was the biggest trade show that the Friedrichshafen fair has ever organized.


Photos (by Susanne Bruesch and Patrick Knappick)
Eurobike Website


September 16, 2008