What Types of Products Are Being Showed at China's Biggest Bike Show?

Over the past week, the cycling news that I'm the most excited about is coming from Shanghai, China. The reason why this excitement is coming from China is that the China Cycle Show took place last week. The China Cycle Show is one of my favorite bike trade shows of the year. Despite not having booths from most of the western brands (who we considered to be the most advanced in technology), there is more innovative technology being shown here in Shanghai than at any other trade show.

While western trade shows like Eurobike and Sea Otter showcase lots of polished product announcements and really highlight the trends and the direction the bike industry is going in the next year or two, China Cycle showcases what is possible with the latest manufacturing advancements and gives us a sneak peek into what is possible to see in the next 5+ years.

These differences can be seen in the different types of companies that exhibit at these shows. Over the last few years, the western shows have seen lots of smaller brands showcasing custom and niche, handmade frames, often made from steel, aluminum, or titanium. Despite these handmade frames being of high quality, they typically are not at the leading edge of performance or technology. I view these bikes as modern refined takes of what a traditional bike can be. On the other hand, the type of products that are being shown at China Cycle are very different. Despite feeling less refined, most of the bikes and components are showcasing some cutting-edge technology.

In the last 10 years, there seems to be a big shift in the types of products that Chinese cycling brands offer. It used to be the norm for these brands to take advantage of China’s notorious relaxed copyright enforcement and make low-cost knockoffs of products from western brands. Now, however, the offerings that I see from Chinese brands look less and less like low-quality copies and more like unique and cutting-edge designs. This shift to offering really competitive high-end bikes happened really quickly; it makes me wonder how long it will take before the Chinese brands will have a technological lead over the mainstream Western brands and can offer better products.

I would speculate that most of the big legacy brands are following the latest innovations that come from Chinese brands, and know what brands to keep a close eye on. Regardless, I still think that it is likely that the quality and performance that the Chinese brands provide will be on par with, if not exceeding, the very best western brands.

One of the big advantages that the Chinese brands have over the big western brands is that they are not afraid to offer products that are outside of the status quo. This combined with their manufacturing expertise is the powerful combination that means that they can really push the industry forward through their innovations.

So what does it mean for the cycling industry that there are Chinese brands pushing the boundaries of performance bike frames and components? Well, I see two potential ways that the legacy bike brands can compete; and some brands are already doing these things. Firstly, brands can try to keep up with the pace of innovation of the Chinese brands. This would involve lots of forward-thinking design which is risky by definition. Or, the legacy brands have the privilege of leaning into their history and promoting their products as more than just the on-paper performance. When the customer is looking at options, they should feel that when they buy a bike from one of the major western brands, they are buying into everything that the brand stands for.

The one legacy brand that is pushing the boundary in both these areas is Colnago. Colnago is one of the brands with the most pedigree and history in the cycling world, and they are reminding the whole industry of this. One of the ways that they are doing this is by offering limited runs of modern versions of their most classic vintage models. These legacy bikes have the highest degree of attention to detail, and just put out an unmissable message of quality and pedigree to the world. In addition to doing an excellent job leveraging the brand's past to build up their brand image, they are also making risky ultra-modern race bikes. Look no further than the new Y1Rs aero bike. This bike has an unusual design, and despite the reception of the bike being mixed by consumers, it undoubtedly shows the world that they are dedicated to keeping their place on the forefront of innovation and performance. 

Moving forward I would suspect to see more people riding Chinese bikes and components. Furthermore, more mainstream brands will follow Colnago’s lead and focus on one or both of these tactics to protect their market share from Chinese brands. Without maintaining a strong brand image, customers will have less and less reason to not choose a product from a Chinese brand’s catalog for their next bike.