BIKE is building the EU mountain bike - help us!

The PROJECT EUROPE is both an experiment and an explanatory piece. We want to find out whether it is even possible to set up an EU-only bike. We also need your support. You know where in the EU Bike parts be produced? Then we look forward to receiving your tips, which you can send to the following e-mail address: eu-projekt@bike-magazin.de

The Production of bikes and parts in Europe is more than just a trend in times of supply bottlenecks and debates about sustainability. Some well-known manufacturers are currently investing heavily in order to drive forward production in EU countries. Others have been manufacturing their products in European countries for a long time.

PROJECT EUROPE aims to answer the advantages and disadvantages of this compared to production in the Far East. Where are the Opportunitieswhere the Boundaries of European bike manufacturing? What challenges await us and what compromises do we have to make to get a ready-to-ride EU bike on the trail?

Biking is more than pedalling and consumption

The BIKE project RIDE GREEN has shown that biking is about more than pedalling and consumption. Sustainability and local production are already playing a major role for manufacturers and customers.

In our opinion, these trends will become even stronger in the future. BIKE is now the first major European medium to take up the challenge of building a bike using only European parts.

In our five-part booklet series we accompany the creation of a bike that is to consist of as many parts as possible produced in the EU. To this end, we visit companies, talk to experts and delve deep into the European bike industry. The project is accompanied by articles on the BIKE website and on our social media channels.

All parts must be produced in a member state of the European Union. "Made in Europe"that is mandatory! The parts should also be freely available on the market. Beyond that, however, we would like to see no limits to regionalisation.

Companies can upgrade their freestyle, for example, if other areas of the company such as development, design or sales are also based in the EU. We also want the participating manufacturers to have the highest possible Transparency with regard to the countries of origin of suppliers and raw materials.

In the next issues, we will launch PROJECT EUROPE with the most important piece of the puzzle, the Frame. No easy task - after all, it has to be compatible with all components such as the drive, chassis or wheels and, of course, be manufactured in the European Union.