Eurobike, the annual bicycle tradeshow that takes over Germany for several days each summer, always brings with it a fun array of new bikes and bike-related goodies. While the show wasn’t as big as it had been in previous years, there were still plenty of fun treats for the eyes and for the riding. Check out the selection of fun takeaways below, in no order other than how they came out of my camera. Yadea’s COMO full-suspension commuter e-bike Yadea always has something fun and new to share with us at each bike or motorcycle show we see them at, and the world’s largest EV maker didn’t disappoint this time, showing off the new Yadea COMO e-bike. Designed as a European commuter e-bike, it features a full-suspension step-through frame that cleverly conceals the rear shock for a comfortable and slick-looking ride. It’s powered by an Ananda mid-drive motor and has a display built right into the adjustable stem, keeping the handlebars nice and clean. Advertisement - scroll for more content igus recyclable plastic bike This one kind of blew my mind: it’s a bicycle built almost entirely from recycled plastic, largely from abandoned fishing nets that had been floating in the ocean. A company called igus, whose main expertise is making plastic components from a vast number of in-house-developed polymers to replace more complex parts like ball bearings, cables, and more, designed multiple models of plastic bicycles. And just for fun, I even got to test one out. I rode the first-gen version, which wasn’t quite as stiff as a metal bicycle and felt a bit like I was pedaling the kayak I keep at my parents’ place, but in a weirdly fun way. More recent versions have improved the bike frame’s stiffness and also allowed the use of standard bicycle parts like forks and cranks. It’s not something you see every day, but it was a fascinating look at what can be done with recycled material. I may return for a deeper dive on this one. Cixi’s “go chainless” pedal-by-wire systems I tested out a couple of new pedal-by-wire e-bikes using Cixi’s drive system, which replaces the bottom bracket of the bike with a generator that then sends your pedaling power to a motor powering the rear wheel. I’ve tried a few of these before, and this system actually felt a bit more refined than past setups that I’ve tried. Pedal-by-wire, which replaces the need for a traditional drivetrain like a chain or a belt, largely comes down to how well the system is programmed to replicate a realistic feel, and I’d say they did a good job here. The bikes almost felt like there was a physical power transmission connection to the wheel, so you couldn’t tell it was pedal-by-wire. Canyon’s V2X safety system This one was a bit trippy, but basically Canyon developed a prototype bike with built-in sensors and haptic feedback that integrates with BMW’s V2X (vehicle-to-everything) system, essentially allowing cars and bikes to communicate and warn each other of their presence. I had a chance to ride in a VW equipped with the system, where I could see how the car gave a warning when it sensed that it was on an intercept course with a Canyon bike also equipped with the system, despite the test course employing a blind corner, meaning there was no line of sight between the car and the cyclist. Then I hopped on the bike and did it again, but from the cyclist’s perspective. In that scenario, the handlebars buzzed at me to let me know a car would be coming up on the side, despite there being a row of parked cars preventing me from seeing it. In practice, it buzzed very early and seemed a bit overly conservative (buzzing at times that I felt like I wasn’t actually on an intercept course), but as a city commuter, I’m also used to playing games of inches with cars, which the system is probably designed to prevent. The Canyon team also explained that this is a very early version and so my experience on the prototype bike will surely improve as the technology is refined. Avinox MGU The e-bike drive system brand spun out of DJI, Avinox, launched its own version of an MGU (motor gear unit), though with a unique twist. Instead of the traditional mid-drive motor mashed together with a mechanical gearbox, the Avinox system uses a CVT to provide stepless shifting via the motor’s powertrain. Theoretically, it can predict and shift automatically, without giving a clunky stepped-shifting experience. Zemmi I tested out Zemmi’s cargo quad bike, complete with a massive cargo trailer, essentially the 18-wheeler semi-truck of the e-bike world, and it was an amazing experience. We often joke about how the four-wheeled cargo ‘bikes’ that are beginning to replace panel vans in cities are nearly as big as the vans themselves, and while that might be an exaggeration (I’d rather my bike lane be blocked by a cargo bike than a huge van), they’re still pretty big. And this Zemmi was the biggest I’ve seen yet – or tested. But when I got in and took it for a spin, expecting it to feel every bit like a truck, I couldn’t believe how bike-like it was. It was completely controlled by my pedaling, since there was no throttle. I pedaled forward to go forward, and backward to go in reverse. Of course, it doesn’t tip over at a stop, so in that way, perhaps it feels more like a trike than a bike, but the point is that despite its massive size, it really did feel like it was at home in the micromobility world. The only hangup is reversing, which took me a second to remember my trailer dynamics to prevent it from jackknifing. But wow, I was blown away by how well it rode and how intuitive it was to operate. We need more of these things, displacing big trucks and vans in our cities, starting yesterday. Ado Air Carbon folding e-bike Ado’s lightweight folding e-bike was on display, showing off that you can still get a nice little electric folder in a fairly light package. It was still heavier than I expected at 16.2 kg (35 lb), but folders are always going to be a bit heavier due to the combination of folding hardware and slightly more rugged frame needs due to the unique design. Basically, if you aren’t going to use the tried-and-true double-triangle truss design, you’re going to have to beef up the frame somehow. Ado also has a new folding full-suspension e-bike coming out next year, which looks even more interesting to me. Both of the models use a carbon belt drive for low maintenance, low noise, and low muss riding. Aventon electric gravel bike It looks like Aventon is developing an electric gravel bike called the GRYT, which could be a really cool addition to a market lacking many good, low-cost electric options. As gravel bikes continue to grow in popularity, the few electric models we currently have could sure use the competition. Rad Life Mobility I was surprised to see Rad Power Bikes on display at Eurobike, but it turns out that the company that bought the brand, Rad Life Mobility, is planning to reintroduce Rad to Europe. They also own Serial 1, which has proven popular on the continent, and will soon be bringing QuietKat into their offerings as well. AirSeat suspension I’ve seen a lot of suspension seat posts before, but I’ve never seen any quite like these from AirSeat. One neat feature is that they offer not just up and down shock absorption, but also fore and aft. That means a sudden, quick deceleration, like hitting a small curb or step that you have to climb up, doesn’t send you sliding forward on the saddle (especially if you’re riding hands-free), and instead just goes into the suspension. I’m going to try to get one of these suspension systems in for testing because they look pretty neat! Kinner human-powered sports car This beautiful creation is the Kinner pedal car. It’s a four-wheeled, sports car-like roadster design that uses a pair of bicycle pedals to let the driver and passenger power the vehicle themselves. There’s also an electric assist option to help get things moving a bit easier, and to help with those inclines. It’s not exactly the most practical four-wheeled e-bike out there, but it sure as shoot is the most beautiful one I saw at the show! This is another one I want to take a deeper dive into soon! Seira helmet This isn’t the first folding helmet I’ve seen, but it’s one of the slickest. The design allows it to actually go completely flat, meaning it fits better into a backpack or piece of luggage than a traditional folding helmet. It’s also just as thick as a traditional helmet, feels the same, and comes with the same levels of certification. A really cool idea! Coloury bike tools I stumbled upon this bicycle tool maker at the show and saw the coolest innovation in allen keys that I think I’ve ever seen. I love small bike tools that disappear in my pocket on a ride or take up almost no space in my saddle bag. But that small size usually means limited tools, especially smaller allen sizes. If you need an M8, for example, you’re usually S.O.L on the side of the road. But Coloury invented a cool feature where two of the keys fold up together, forming two opposing sides of an M8. It probably can’t torque quite as hard as a six-sided hex M8, but it does the job on the trail. Considering I’ve had a crank fall off mid-ride more than once (same story, but a long one), an M8 allen wrench that travels folded down in your pocket is a tool I want to have with me. Grin Technologies Grin Technologies, AKA ebikes.ca, has long been a pioneer in the e-bike component space, especially for DIYers. That’s where I cut my teeth back when getting into e-bikes pretty much meant that you had to be a DIYer by default. There just weren’t very many retail options a couple of decades ago. But there was Grin Technology, and its fearless leader, Justin, who dreams up the coolest parts that the industry didn’t even know it needed. This was my first chance to see the new LiGo modular batteries in person, a design that lets you break your battery into sub-100Wh modules so you can fly with it on commercial aircraft. The system has some limitations, but it’s one of the only solutions to the ‘you can’t fly with an e-bike’ problem, and a pretty elegant one at that! Hepha This one threw me for a bit of a loop, as I didn’t know what to expect, but Hepha’s new Urban X concept uses an eCVT motor that allows you to completely control the bike with your feet – well, except for the steering. But you don’t need hands to shift or brake, since everything is controlled by your pedaling. To speed up, just pedal harder. It autoshifts to keep you pedaling at an optimal cadence. To slow down, just pedal backward. It can come to essentially a full stop just by backpedaling. It also has the bike equivalent of ‘one pedal driving’ in that when you stop pedaling, it auto-engages light regenerative braking, almost like engine braking on a motorcycle. There were only two downsides I saw: one is that it’s a weird feeling to bank into a turn with the autobraking kicking in as soon as you stop pedaling, as I normally wouldn’t brake in the start or middle of a turn like that (though they say that will be adjustable). The second issue was that it’s weird to ride hands-free and backpedal because the sudden strong regen will slip you right out of the saddle without holding onto the bars. That’s not really an issue with Hepha’s system per se; it’s just that I’ve never been able to brake a bike without hands before (at least not since the coaster-brake bike I had when I was six years old), so it was a funny thing to experience. But overall, a fun and trippy ride. Helite Last but not least, it was cool to see Helite’s new auto-inflating airbag safety systems. Helite is well known for its motorcycle airbags that inflate from a vest or backpack, saving the rider from impact before they hit the ground. But a new system designed for kids’ seats on a bike brings that same protection to little ones, yet without them needing to wear anything. It mounts directly to the back of the child’s seat and is ready to deploy without the extra fuss of having to wear an airbag garment on each ride. Helite is also famous for not needing a proprietary charging system or requiring factory servicing of the airbag after it deploys. Unlike others, which force you to send it back to the factory for an expensive repacking and recharging, you simply fold up the Helite airbag and swap in a new CO2 cartridge. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. And safe. More to come These were some of my favorite finds from the show, but I want to hear what you enjoyed most. What would you like to learn more about or see a deeper dive into? Let me hear it in the comments section below! 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