Business Ideas to Take Advantage of the Electric Bikes Boom

Ecological products, technological appliances for domestic use, comfortable garments; the crisis has completely changed the consumption habits of millions of people.

And with it, companies have been forced to adapt. Those that were already dedicated to a resilient or booming sector during the pandemic only had to reinforce their efforts and persevere, but those dedicated to tourism and other fractured sectors were forced to renew or die.

As the tension due to social coexistence decreased, the bike was recovering its pulse, and now it is positioned as one of the great market trends in the short and medium-term. Today we make a brief X-ray of this market and present some ideas to undertake taking advantage of the momentum that began in 2021.

Yeah, electric bikes are getting more and more popular, and companies like Haidong bike company are constantly releasing new products that meet the needs of people from many segments.

Meeting the Competition on Wheels

With no experience or experience in the sector, the most interesting strategy to get started in the bike world is to listen to the market and find inspiration in companies that are already succeeding.

The market is currently divided into three growing legs:

– Large stores: although they still account for 6.06% of the market, they have been the types of establishments most affected during the pandemic due to mobility limitations.

– Multi-sport chains: dedicated to the general sale of sporting goods, without positively discriminating towards the bike. They sell more accessories than bikes themselves, and they account for 10.94% of the sector.

– Specialized stores: they continue to offer quality, expert opinion, and superior guarantees. That is why they hold 83% of the business volume and have grown by 2.89% in the last year.

The choice of one type of business or another will depend on the objectives and commitment of the entrepreneur. A multi-sport store will find less competition, but it takes a lot more initial investment to get going.

On the other hand, the specialized store, due to its size, a number of suppliers and customer base, represents a much cheaper alternative. Of course, the position of the premises and the amount of competition in the area are decisive in its success.

What Product Can I Sell?

The market has at its disposal various opportunities that do not have to be directly related to the star vehicle. Yes, the sale of complete bikes continues to represent 45.03% of sales, but the rest of the pie is divided between:

– Components for the bicycle: wheels, brakes, pedals, saddles, cassettes, handlebar stems. Any accessory that is an integral part of the transport. They represent no less than 30.63% of the market.

– Helmets: they are counted apart from the rest of the components due to their manifest importance in safety and their variety of categories and typologies. Although it is rare to find businesses dedicated solely to the sale of helmets, these account for 4.33% of sales.

– Textile: specialized clothing for cycling, with the exception of footwear. That is, mainly jerseys and shorts. They account for 9.25% of the turnover, being one of the categories that has grown the most due to the adhesion of clients until then unrelated to the practice.

– Footwear: it is possible to think of a skewed simplification of this type of product, but the reality is that they offer many possibilities at the category level. From MTB to road, spinning or triathlon. Between all of them, they hold 3.97% of the market.

– Accessories: goggles, flashlights, roller bottle cages, pumps, cartridges. They are residual products that often offer cross-selling opportunities and reinforce related business pillars.

What if we focus solely on the bicycle as the main strategy? In this sense, the rebound that electric models are experiencing as urban transport vehicles cannot be ignored. Moreover, this is also supported by the fact that wholesale electric bikes are available in large quantities in the market.

Typologies and Electrification

If we must mention a safe bet for the future, that is the electric bike: they grew by 48.9% during 2020, they are aligned with the mobility model that institutions defend for the next decades and present higher profit margins.

Last year, more than 212,000 units were sold, in stores where they already represented more than 13% of total sales. To understand their business appeal, you just have to look at the average price of these models.

Each electric bicycle was sold in 2020 at an average price of $ 2,648; a big difference compared to 738 dollars for mountain bikes, 1,934 dollars for road bikes or 291 dollars for urban bikes.

Starting from electrification is a great competitive advantage at the level of suppliers and positioning with respect to other more established companies that are in the process of adaptation.

If you prefer to avoid the future cannibalization that is approaching in that sector, mountain bikes are also a good source from which to start. They continue to represent 38.8% of sales and account for a large part of the sector’s survival.

Rental and Digitization

Assessing the bike rental market does not have to mean dealing with the generally negative image that the main companies in this business have accumulated in capital.

More and more companies are betting on relying on digital transformation to offer rental services outside of urban mobility. Rentbiker, for example, has a platform where users can choose their model and pick it up directly at the store.

This is one of the alternatives in which there is currently less competition: that of the intermediary who facilitates the rental of the user at the seller. This is how Carwow started in the car industry and now leads a thriving European market.

The other solution is the direct rental of your own fleet. It is an established market that offers interesting margins. Of course, there you will find a tough fight for certain services.

Last May, a transportation company in US already activated the possibility of renting bicycles from its platform, and each month that ends, the number of providers with similar services increases. Is everything lost? Not much less. Now how to choose electric bikes for rent? The best step is to position yourself as a consumer.

Electric Bike Buying Guide

Now, you have already seen some in your local trusted bicycle store, maybe even in a large commercial area, but you still do not clarify how this whole new world is going, without knowing what the electric batteries of these bikes are like, what care they require, without knowing how is the rest of the mechanics, which are the most suitable for adults and a long etcetera. Keep reading and you will evacuate your doubts.

Types of Electric Bikes for Adults

Let’s go with the simple part, the different types of electric bikes for adults that you will be able to find in the market. This is easy, imagine the types of non-electric bikes that you can think of. The city bike, mountain bike, road bike, folding bike… etc. Well, for each type you will be able to find its counterpart in the electric version.

In your hand, you already have the use that you give the bicycle on a regular basis and how electrification can help you improve this use or not. A bike used as your usual means of transport or a bicycle for sports is not the same.

How will you understand if you are going to play sports, an electric bike will make things much easier for you because of what bad business you are going to do to be in top shape. On the other hand, if you go to work by bike, having the help of an electric motor is going to mean a breakthrough and an improvement in your daily transport.

Urban Electric Bikes

One of the types of bikes that have spread the most lately. Thanks to the boost given to sustainable mobility in large cities, especially with the construction of kilometers and kilometers of cycle lanes, more and more adults are commuting to work by bike.

Not all cities are flat. In some of them, you have to overcome really important slopes to access some neighborhoods. To overcome these slopes, nothing better than an electric touring bike. Advantages of an urban electric bike? It is clear that the extra boost that its electric motor is going to give you and that it will allow you to move around the city with much less effort.

Disadvantages? It also has them. On the one hand, battery maintenance, even minimal, is an addition to the usual mechanics of lifelong bikes. And since it is a more expensive vehicle, it is not very advisable to park on the street, since there are many friends of others and they can steal it from you.

What Is the Price of An Electric City Bike?

They are usually around $ 1,000. Although, as in all things, there are always ranges and this price can be lowered a little or skyrocketed.

Digitization opens doors hitherto unthinkable in the sector, offers tools that allow diversifying and deconstructing the value chain with new proposals. It just takes a little patience and creativity.

After all, according, ironically, 21% of citizens expect to start using the bicycle daily in the short or medium term. Security and climate remain challenges to be solved. Or do they represent opportunities?

Image source: https://hd-ebike.com/product/haidong-electric-fat-bike/