There are over 400,000 e-bikes in use on Swiss roads, and according to the Swiss Bicycle Research Center, there is no end in sight to the boom. And in one to two years, the e-city bike is likely to overtake the normal city bike in terms of popularity among buyers. As a comparison: in 2013, one in seven bikes sold was still an e-bike.

Going uphill: e-mountainbikes

E-mountainbikes - which are referred to in the survey as electric bikes without equipment and are divided into the wheel sizes 26, 27.5 and 29 as well as the speed classes 25 and 45 km/h - are also experiencing a real surge in sales: 20,761 units were sold in 2016, 36% more than in the previous year.

Interesting: 74% of e-mountainbike buyers opted for a 25 km/h bike, 26% for the faster 45 km/h version. This indicates that this class does not only include pure e-mountainbikes. After all, there are very few real e-MTBs on the market that can reach 45 km/h. It is therefore obvious that motorized bikes have also found their way into this category, which, despite suspension forks or full suspension, still belong more to the trekking segment.

City segment also riding well

The segment of normal, motorless leisure and everyday bikes with full equipment - city bikes, junior bikes and special bikes, all with lights, luggage racks, mudguards, etc. - increased by 5,859 to a total of 91,788 units. Junior bikes and special bikes in particular - the specialist department mentions cargo bikes and folding bikes - are said to have found more buyers.

Sports segment: mountain bikes with 27.5-inch wheels most popular

According to the survey, 54,202 mountain bikers opted for 27.5-inch bikes. 30,492 chose the 29-inch version and only 17,957 the small 26-inch wheels. This means that the market for 26-inch bikes has collapsed within two years, with over 50,000 26-inch bikes still finding new buyers in 2014. The market for 26-inch e-mountainbikes also virtually disappeared into insignificance in 2016 with 41 units sold.

Market for conventional mountain bikes: on the decline

The market for conventional mountain bikes is also shrinking: a total of 102,651 mountain bikes (excluding e-mountain bikes) went on sale, which is 8.5% less than in 2015. This can be seen as proof that the constant, non-compatible innovations (three wheel sizes, several tire widths, numerous gear variants, new hub widths, numerous application areas/suspension travel, etc.) in the mountain bike sector are damaging sales - or rather are presenting customers with too much choice.

In the 2016 sales year, there were 102,651 mountain bikes in 26, 27.5 and 29 inches without a motor compared to 20,764 e-mountain bikes in 26, 27.5 and 29 inches in the motorized version in 25 and 45 km/h. The e-mountainbike will therefore gain a considerable market share in a short space of time - two to three years at most.

Racing bikes lose ground slightly

With 15,512 units sold, road bikes are riding in the slipstream of last year's sales of 15,816 units. In the case of road bikes, the survey does not yet include whether the bikes are equipped with rim or disc brakes. It would be interesting to see how this innovation is shaping up on the market in the 2017 survey at the latest. It is not clear from the survey whether the trend towards gravel bikes can actually be reflected in sales.

E-bikes are the high-flyers

The Swiss Center for Bicycle Issues summarizes and its head Roland Fuchs gives an outlook: Once again, e-bikes are the high-flyers in the bike business. Increasing traffic density in cities and conurbations is likely to ensure that this two-wheeler segment continues to grow in the future. The city bike is holding its own and appeals primarily to buyers from regions with little or only slight inclines. The normal, motorless mountain bike continues to sell well, but is increasingly coming under pressure from the e-mountain bike.