Update: These MTB suspension forks, shocks, wheels & tyres come from Europe

Two hands are enough to list tyre manufacturers with production in Europe. Sobering, isn't it? The list of wheels manufactured in Europe is also short. The overview of suspension parts, suspension forks and shocks is even shorter if they are supposed to come from Europe.

There are of course good reasons for this, but they should at least be discussed. We ask ourselves the question: Which MTB wheels, tyres, suspension forks and shocks are actually produced here? With our finished European bike, we closed the BIKE PROJECT: EUROPEbut not the search for brands from Europe. The current list therefore contains some exciting latecomers.

More and more wheels from Europe

There is good news in the area of wheels for bicycles: We have been able to track down more companies that produce their parts in Europe. New to the list is One-K, for example. The Palatinate-based company is fully committed to building lightweight carbon wheels and manufactures exclusively in Germany.

We had set ourselves a very challenging task for the BIKE PROJECT: EUROPE and Only wheel and tyre companies from the member states of the European Union are wanted. In the meantime, we have also expanded our list to include other manufacturers from Europe. These include, for example, the British hub manufacturer Kom and the British company Hope, which should not be forgotten when listing European wheel manufacturers.

The Swiss company Onza has its inner tubes produced at the Rubena factory in the Czech Republic. Onza tyres, however, are produced by Maxxis in Taiwan. In fact, a good year after the conclusion of our BIKE PROJECT: EUROPE, nothing has changed on the list of European tyre manufacturers. Tyres continue to come mainly from Asia.

These wheels and tyres come from Europe

Our list is not exhaustive and we look forward to receiving your additions. Do you know where other parts are produced in the EU? Then please send us an e-mail: j.timmermann@bike-magazin.de

Manufacturer / Company headquarters / Production site / Remarks

• A. Dugast / Oldenzaal (NL) / Oldenzaal (NL) / Tubular tyres
• Bike Beat / Bensheim (DE) / DE / Carbon XC wheels
• Carbon-Ti / Brescia (IT) / Brescia (IT) / Hubs
• Continental / Hanover (DE) / DE / Some models also from Asia
• DT Swiss / Biel (CH) / Oborniki (PL) / Toothed discs, spokes, nipples from CH, rims and body from PL
• Erase / Fernelmont (BEL) / BEL/NL/IT / Springs and rims partly from Asia
• Hutchinson / Paris (FR) / FR / Tyres
• Lavelle / London (GBR) / ES / Carbon wheels
• Leonardi / Madrid (ES) / Madrid (ES) / Axes
• Lightweight / Friedrichshafen (DE) / Friedrichshafen (DE) / Gravel carbon wheels
• Lilienthal / Braunschweig (DE) / DE / Carbon rims
• Mavic / Epagny Metz-Tessy (FR) / Saint-Trivier-sur-Moignans (FR) / Most aluminium rims from FR
• maXalami / Reit im Winkl (DE) / Reit im Winkl, Warendorf (DE) and Kössen (AT) / Tubeless repair kits and milk
• MCFK / Leipzig (DE) / Leipzig (DE) / Carbon rims
• Milkit / Zurich (CH) / DE / Tubeless kits
• Newman / Wiggensbach (DE) / DE / Hubs from DE
• Nonplus / Murr (DE) / DE / Hubs from DE
• Onza / Münchenstein (CH) / CZ / Tubes from CZ, tyres from Taiwan
• Pepi's Tire Noodle / Reit im Winkl (DE) / Reit im Winkl/Warendorf (DE)/Kössen (AT) / Tyre-Inserts
• Pirelli / Milan (IT) / Bollate (IT) / so far road bike tyres from IT, Italian production is to follow for MTB tyres
• Pi-Rope / Chemnitz (DE) / DE / Textile spokes
• Qvist / Dresden (DE) / Dresden (DE) / Hubs with double toothed disc system
• Rubena / Nachod (CZ) / CZ / Tyres
• Sapim / BEL / BEL / Spokes
• Suomi Tires / Lieksa (FIN) / FIN / Spike tyres
• Syntace / Tacherting (DE) / DE / Hubs from DE
• Tufo / Otrokovice (CZ) / CZ / Tyres
• Tune / Buggingen (DE) / Buggingen (DE) / Hubs from DE
• Xentis / Voitsberg (AT) / Votsberg (AT) / Wheels from AT

Slump for European manufacturers of forks & dampers

If you try to list the suspension manufacturers with production in Europe, you will come to an early end. Of all the lists of European mountain bike parts, the overview of suspension forks and shocks has changed the least. DT Swiss recently presented a series of new forksHowever, these are not yet being produced in Switzerland, but in Taiwan.

Kamemo made a name for itself at Eurobike 2022 with a German-made air suspension damper. In the meantime, however, the new company has gone very quiet again. There doesn't seem to be a series product yet.

Chickadeehill no longer only has its own air damper, but also a steel spring damper from Germany in its programme. Nevertheless, there is still a short list of MTB suspensions from Europe.

Manufacturer / Company headquarters / Production site / Remarks

• BOS / Toulouse (FR) / Toulouse (FR) / Forks, air & steel spring dampers
• Bright Racing Shocks / Rome (IT) / Rome (IT) / Upsidedown forks
• Chickadeehill / Aachen (DE) / Aachen (DE) / Air and steel spring dampers, tuning parts for other fork manufacturers
• Darimo / Lliria (ES) / ES / Carbon steerer tube for Cannondale Lefty
• EXT Racing Shocks / Ponte die Barbarano (IT) / IT / Forks, air and steel spring dampers
• Fast suspension / Plestan (FR) / FR / Steel spring dampers, tuning parts for other fork manufacturers
• Formula / Prato (IT) / IT / Forks, steel spring dampers
• Huber / Siegburg (DE) / DE / Sockets
• Intend / Freiburg (DE) / Freiburg (DE) / Upside & rightsidedown forks, air spring dampers
• Kamemo / Berghaupten (DE) / DE / Air spring damper
• ND Tuned / Figueira da Foz (PT) / PT / Steel spring dampers, tuning parts for other fork manufacturers
• Öhlins / Upplands Väsby (SWE) / Upplands Väsby (SWE) / Only TTx 22 M steel spring dampers from SWE
• Rulezmann / Savona (IT) / Savona (IT) / Protectors for upsidedown forks

Discussion: Why are there so few wheels & tyres from Europe?

To answer the question of why there are so few wheels and tyres made in Europe, a completely different one must first be asked: What's actually inside mountain bike wheels and tyres? Whether aluminium or carbon: rims are usually one-piece. Depending on the construction of the wheel, there are also 32 spokes and nipples. Some manufacturers use locking devices or washers on the nipples.

Hubs in turn consist of the hub shell, an axle and two or more bearings which, depending on the design, in turn consist of several seals, balls, shells and lubricants. Hubs can also contain additional seals and spacers. The rear hub also includes the freehub body, which may contain bearings, ratchet rings, toothed discs, pawls and springs, depending on the system.

The many components of a tyre

In the hand, bicycle tyres look as if they are made from a single piece of rubber. But far from it. Tyres are usually made up of several layers: the tread, a layer for puncture protection, the carcass and a bead core. The latter ensures that the tyre stays on the rim and determines its diameter. As the name suggests, the bead core of clincher tyres is made of metal. In folding tyres, a flexible ring, for example made of aramid fibres, is used.

Carcasses are textile fabrics that give the tyre its shape. Most manufacturers use nylon fabric rubberised on both sides. The puncture protection layer of most tyres is also made of special fabrics such as Kevlar. The tread itself is usually a mixture of natural and synthetic rubber, to which plasticisers, greases, fillers (carbon black or silica), vulcanising agents and accelerators (sulphur and zinc oxide) and dyes are added.

MTB tyres need Russia

To ensure that the tyre holds the air, you either need an inner tube made of butyl, latex or other plastics or, for the Tubeless setup a sealing milk made of latex, ammonia and colourants. Both systems require a valve consisting of a sealing base, a nut, the valve body and the multi-piece valve insert. Tyre inserts to protect the rim are optional, rim tapes are mandatory.

It is obvious that the raw materials for rubber, steel, aluminium, grease, rubber, plastic and other mineral oil-based raw materials cannot be sourced entirely from Europe. Russia, for example, lives up to its name: the majority of the carbon black contained in bicycle tyres comes from there. That companies like Schwalbe have started to experiment with the recycling of carbon blackThis is not least due to the tense relationship with Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Why are there hardly any European suspension forks and shocks?

When brainstorming, our editorial team came up with just ten manufacturers of suspension elements that produce in the EU. There are also a handful of accessory companies. If we restrict ourselves to special suspension designs, there are even fewer European manufacturers. When it comes to air suspension dampers, there are only four damper models left to choose from: BOS (France), Intend, Chickadeehill and the newcomer Kamemo (all three from Germany). Apart from the overview of European tyres, this is de facto the shortest list in our research as part of the BIKE PROJECT: EUROPE.

Why is that? Well, suspension forks and shocks are extremely small products. If you held a fork in your hand, you would probably not think that it contained hundreds of tiny individual parts. Tubes, seals, bushings, pistons, milled and moulded parts, springs, washers, screws, valves, lubricants and much more ensure that a mountain bike suspension system can spring and dampen. This complexity was also the reason why we chose BIKE PROJECT: RIDE GREEN We opted for an aluminium rigid fork from a 3D printer in Hamburg. The construction of a sustainable suspension fork could not be realised within the scope of the project according to our requirements.

Suspension elements from Europe have their price

Together with the frame and wheels, suspension elements are the most expensive parts on a bike. Manufacturers are therefore keen to buy all the many small parts at favourable prices in order to be economically competitive. China and Taiwan in particular produce the required goods in large quantities and at unbeatable prices.

And why not have everything assembled there? The fact that this does not necessarily have to be at the expense of quality is due to the decades of expertise of the Asian bike industry. Even the European producers of forks and shocks cannot completely avoid this dominance. Although they assemble their suspension elements in Europe, they source the individual parts from many different suppliers. Not all of these, in turn, produce in the EU.

"Assembled in Europe" would probably be a more accurate slogan. The further development of key technologies, such as 3D printing, could lead to individual parts being manufactured in Europe again at lower prices. So far, however, European mass production is still a dream of the future.

The situation is even more international when it comes to raw materials. Bauxite for aluminium, ores for steel and carbon compounds for polymers, such as crude oil, are mined or extracted in various countries around the world.

As with most other bike parts, there are still no suspension forks or shocks that are 100 per cent made in Europe. At Intend (Germany), around 90 per cent of the parts are said to come from Europe. The French manufacturer Fast has also stated that it has relied primarily on suppliers from the European continent since 2017.

These figures are difficult to comprehend due to the small-scale construction. European craftsmanship is also more expensive than in most Asian countries due to the legally regulated environmental, social and labour standards. The price for the 29-inch Intend Edge suspension fork is currently 1899 euros. Fast charges 950 euros for the Fenix Evo enduro shock.