BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
430 products from different 27 countries from around the world competed for the 2011 Eurobike Awards. A panel of experts selected a total of 59 entries for the award. The ten best products were honoured with gold awards at a presentation on the first day of the Eurobike show in Friedrichshafen.
This was the seventh running of the annual awards.
The Eurobike Green Award was presented to a park and rental station for bicycles.
Dirk Zedler of the Zedler Institut für Fahrradtechnik und Sicherheitne, one of the award judges, said:
“The bicycle world has never been as colourful before as it is today. The awards reflects the great diversity of this industry. Traditional bicycles have reached an extremely high level; there are only small changes in the detail, in the coordination of the components, for example."
The ten winners of the gold award were:
All Terrain Bike Trekking BikeWorldTraveller 29er –
Travel BikeKoga BV, Heerenveen/Netherlands
Jury’s Opinion: “A bike that stands out from the crowd due to its high quality of workmanship. A no-problem bike for long trips with lots of baggage. A really solid story.”
E-BikeFlyer Cargo – Transport BikeBiketec AG, Huttwil/Switzerland
Jury’s Opinion: “The Flyer Cargo is a transport bike with a really great feature – when the going gets tough, you just switch the motor on. Perfectly implemented. Thanks to its solid frame and the small, sturdy wheels, it’s easy to ride even when it has to carry a lot of weight. It’s easily and quickly adjustable to any size.”
TDR FluxXTheo de Rooij Bikes B.V., Holten/Netherlands
Jury’s Opinion: “A pedelec of the future, which features gear-shifting and automatic motor support. Riding goes easy on the battery to ensure as wide as possible a range. An impressive design – the technology is well integrated.”
MTB hardtailHaibike Greed 29 – 29” Carbon HardtailWinora-Staiger GmbH, Sennfeld/Germany
Jury’s Opinion: “The Haibike is an exceptional mountain bike. It is a real eye-catcher: starting with its clean lines, there are colourful accents and then the perfected technology.”
Road bikeSupersix EVO Ult. – RennradCycling Sports Group, Basel/Switzerland
Jury’s Opinion: “A no-frills lightweight road bike. With an ingenious frame technology – made really clean. Despite the extremely high innovation, it’s still very good value for the money.”
Special-purpose bikesGekko Trike – Recumbent three-wheel bikeHP Velotechnik Hollants und Pulvermüller GbR
Jury’s Opinion: “The Gekko trike is a very nice, sporty three-wheeled bike. It doesn’t look like it can be put together in a jiffy and stored in the trunk of almost any car, but it can. Super technology, implemented in the right way.”
ClothingOratory Jacket – Bike jacketBrompton Bicycle
Jury’s Opinion: “An elegant as well as functional jacket with lots of bike features: well-integrated reflection strips provide for safety, the cut allows for enough freedom of movement and the material directs perspiration away from the body. Really well made.”
Octane SL III – Racing bike shoesPEARL iZUMi
Jury’s Opinion: “A real lightweight, but also a heavyweight in terms of design. Most modern materials have been incorporated without any frills in a highly functional, visually very appealing shoe. This is what the shoe world was missing up to now: the choice of materials results in extremely comfortable footwear – as if you were wearing a sandal.”
Electronic components AGT – Automatic gear shiftingJD Europe Components GmbH, Bad Nauheim/Germany
Jury’s Opinion: “Automatic gear shifting of the future: Not only the motor performance, the transmission is also automatically adjusted. This makes it possible to avoid ‘ver-gear problems’, and also saves a lot of energy, which leads to a much greater range. It’s a new trend!”
Accessories
MICHELIN Protek Max – Bike innertube
Jury’s Opinion: “A product that’s almost 100 years old that has really been improved: it is virtually resistant to punctures, much easier to fit into the tyres and holds the tyre pressure for longer. To improve such a daily product so much is definitely worth a gold award!”
EUROBIKE GREEN AWARD 2011
BT 20-112 – Park and rental station for bikesStone Manufaktur GmbH
Jury’s Opinion: “This fully automatic parking garage and rental station can accommodate from 20 up to 112 bikes – depending on the height, it can be varied for one or up to six levels. A great ecological and efficient concept that really needs a push forward. Thanks to its appealing design and theft protection features, people will be encouraged to use bicycles more than ever before. A really convincing, forward-looking concept that fits well into any city landscape. Powered by solar energy, the garage also does its part to save our resources. It can be used 365 days a year, around the clock. A real innovation: it will first be installed at the main train station in Meckenbeuren in mid-August 2011. As we see it, a real trailblazer for ‘green mobility’.”
