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SHOW DAILY 2010
CANNONDALE ENTERS eBIKE MARKET One of the most discussed topics of this year’s Eurobike is Cannondale’s move into the e-bike market, working with electronics giant Bosch. Bob Burbank, general manager of Cannondale, tells us more. ESD: How and when did the project start? Bob Burbank: Initial development began between Bosch and Cannondale Sports Group in the fall of 2007. By January 2009, both Bosch and CSG had created a cross-functional advanced development team with the shared goal of introducing a revolutionary system by leveraging both companys' expertise in the electronic and cycling industries. ESD: E-bikes are more popular in Asia and Europe than in America. Why is a classic U.S. brand like Cannondale getting into e-mobility? Burbank: Yes, Cannondale is an American brand and has strong American roots. At the same time we have a long and successful history in the European market. The brand designs, manufactures and sells innovative cycling products to more than 70 countries. As a growing segment, e-mobility is a natural progression for our brand and we wanted to develop a system that satisfies our global customer’s expectations. It has always been important for us to meet the needs of our local customers. E-cycling is a big issue in Europe and one of tomorrow’s key mobility drivers.
And, therefore, it is a big issue for us. We feel that e-bikes have the power to bring many more people to cycling than 'normal' bikes are able to. We now have a real car alternative. This was our motivation to come up with an e-bike that is truly visionary and makes the change from car to e-bike easy. It’s a vision which we think is worth fighting for.
Our goal was to bring this positioning into the development of our e-bikes and to transform e-cycling from comfort to performance. We will start with an Urban line but show with our concept bikes where our home is and where we also see the future: yes, in the sports-oriented categories. Our goal was to take Cannondale’s legendary reputation for innovation to the e-bike market by partnering with a worldclass automotive company and introducing a bike that provided superior performance to any system currently on the market.
“The natural progression for Cannondale is to continue providing the market with innovative transportation solutions” - Bob Burbank ESD: In Europe there are a good number of sports-oriented e-bikes. Is this something you are thinking about, too? Burbank: Cannondale is a performance bike brand.
ESD: Cannondale has been going strong into the commuting segments. Are these urban mobility products created at your U.S. headquarters, or do you work together with your worldwide subsidiaries on this segment?
Burbank: Cannondale has developed products to support the recreation and urban markets both regionally and globally for more than 15 years. Typically, the products produced are designed and optimized in the markets that they are sold in. In the case of the new e-bikes, a dedicated team based in Basel, Switzerland, was responsible for developing them. ESD: What do you expect from your e-bike market entry? Have you set sales targets? Burbank: We expect the e-bike markets in Europe to continue to grow into new markets, and to continue to mature in existing markets like the Netherlands and Germany. As these vehicles offer an alternate solution to car transportation, younger people will also step in to take part in the e-bike trend. The result will be significant growth. Our sales targets will be set after the launch at Eurobike. ESD: What will be your next logical step in this market? Burbank: Cannondale has prided itself on being an innovator and leader in progressing new technologies within the cycling industry. The logical next step is to leverage our engineering expertise to create progressive and industry-leading products. Because this is a growing market, we want to anticipate vehicle designs to meet future demand.
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