The organising team behind the Eurobike Award 2018 have confirmed that this year there are 40 winning products – with 12 receiving a Gold Award, and two Green Awards for sustainability. All product winners will be unveiled at the show, which takes place in Friedrichshafen, Germany, from Sunday, July 8 to Tuesday, July 10, 2018.
This year saw a total of 366 products entered from various categories, ‘representing the full spectrum of innovative power within the sector’. A six-strong expert panel of judges had the final say on which of the highlights from the entries for the coming model year were worthy of an award.
Like its predecessors, this 14th edition of the Eurobike Award was again distinguished by a broad spectrum of submitted products, which the manufacturers feel will have the potential to define the new trends in the bike market. Despite the fact that Eurobike is taking place just under two months earlier this year, there was still a large number of 366 products submitted for an award (versus, last year’s 458).
The six-strong panel of experts again faced the demanding task of selecting the new products worthy of an award from the large number of entries in a two-stage process. Solving this task not only called on the wealth of expertise present in the panel of judges but in some cases also involved viewing the submissions from an entirely different perspective.
Accordingly, the trade press was represented on the Eurobike Award panel by the journalists Marta Villa and Sissi Pärsch. Wolfgang Hohmann, who runs a highly regarded cycling shop in Dubai, brought in the retailers’ view. British textile designer and endurance athlete, Cat Heraty was able to contribute more than just her bikewear knowledge to the panel, while Tarek Rasouli is an acknowledged authority in the world of mountain biking. Dirk Ziedler, a renowned expert in the field of bike testing and product safety, was in turn able to add his professional opinion to the panel’s decisions.
At the end of the two-stage process, the panel of judges finally agreed on 40 products that are now set to obtain a prominent platform as trendsetters in a special exhibition in Foyer East at the Messe Friedrichshafen exhibition grounds. 12 of the products, which in the judges’ view possess an especially high level of innovative character, will additionally see their Eurobike Award presented in gold. Two further new products have also been rewarded for innovations in the field of sustainability with the special Green Award.
“The bike market is currently influenced by a large number of new factors such as the changing demands for mobility and the increasing impact of digitalisation,” said Eurobike Project Manager Dirk Heidrich. “The Eurobike Award is also a documentary record of the bold approach adopted by the market players within the bike industry when solving these challenges. It once again provides a concentrated look at the innovative future of the bike market.”
The 2018 Eurobike Award winners will be announced on the first day of the show (Sunday, 8 July) during the Awards ceremony held in Foyer East.
The 27th Eurobike show takes place from Sunday, 8 July to Tuesday, 10 July 2018 from 08:30 to 18:30 and is open to trade visitors and accredited journalists only.
