Trustees are trying to keep Accell Group’s operations running while takeover bids are considered, but manufacturing in Hungary, where operations were recently centralized, has halted leading to concerns about spare parts and warranty claims. The Hungarian factory has an annual capacity of almost 300,000 bicycles, of which almost 99 percent are e-bikes.
[Bike Europe]
Wahoo is revamping its app to expand beyond its core cycling hardware to become a “connected training ecosystem.” And that means subscriptions. Under its new three-tier model, basic Wahoo device support is still free; $4.99/month adds performance analytics, insights, and training load tracking for self-guided athletes; and $17.99/month adds structured training guidance.
Rear-facing radar is already an add-on for roadies, and comes integrated into some high-end eSUV bikes. Now N+, the company responsible for the Mercedes-branded e-bikes, is taking things a step further by linking it to a video camera visible on the display of its €3,999 VW-branded e-bike.
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Accell Group is the latest victim of Bikeaggedon: the turmoil created by soaring e-bike demand at the onset of covid, followed by a collapse of the supply chain, and then a period of massive oversupply.
Not what anyone expected — or wanted — but a Tesla-branded balance bike is now available for the junior edgelord in your life.
Outdoor retailer REI has been getting some heat for this (now removed) AI slop ad on Instagram, but the company says Meta is to blame. “Meta auto-enrolled us in an AI personalization tool that produced an inaccurate and inappropriate alteration of a vendor-provided image,” an REI spokesperson told Business Insider.
That’s the claim behind DuoBell, a nearly fist-sized bell created by Škoda (yes, the car company) and the University of Salford, with the aim of reducing collisions between pedestrians and bicyclists.
Lyft made a big splash when it bought Citi Bike’s parent company in 2018. It promised huge investments and improved service. But, it’s also raised prices at a stunning rate, far outpacing inflation and fares for other transportation in NYC. And yet, it hasn’t bothered digging out most of its bike docks, according to Streetsblog.
Stranger Things, a show that ostensibly is riff on the “kids on bikes” adventures from the 1980s, recently held a promotional event where fans rode bikes along a car-free street to celebrate the final season. But no “kids on bikes” event would be complete without Coach Balto, the founder of Bike Bus World, who also helped inspire my own bike bus journey. I’m excited to see him continuing the spread the word about street safety and childhood independence in the Upside Down.
