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True change

How do we make sustainability more than just a buzzword?

That is the question I’ve been asking myself as we’ve pulled together this sustainability-focussed issue of BikeBiz.

The earth is in a dire scenario when it comes to man-made climate change, and the bike industry is one of the many essential solutions that the world needs to rely on to drive change – that must is not in debate.

However, there is a significant difference between sustainability merely as a word, and sustainability as action.

In this edition of BikeBiz, we have strived to look behind the marketing speak of cycling brands, to see what tangible and desperately-needed changes are being made throughout our industry.

Our staff writer Daniel Blackham has spoken to Velorim to learn about the intricacies of tyre recycling (p7-8), and to Felix Jahn, at tyre giant Schwalbe, to hear about what is happening on an international scale (p20-22), while freelancer writer Rebecca Morley has explored the increasingly pressing question of lithium-ion battery recycling p32-33).

Elsewhere in the mag, Rebecca Bland has investigated how bike shops can make the most of growing e-cargo bike fleets (p36-37) , and we also heard from British cleaning product brand Weldtite, about its sustainability initiatives within a challenging sector (p50-51).

The bike is one of the solutions to the climate crisis, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore our own role in the fight against climate change.

Editor,

Alex Ballinger

FEATURE

7: Velorim is hoping to create a sustainable alternative for recycling tyres and inner tubes. Daniel Blackham speaks to directors Richard Lawrence and Russ Taylor

NEWS HUB

10: The latest developments from across the bike trade

RETAILERS

13: BikeBiz learns more about how Twelfth City Cyclery operates from founder Thomas Hardy

16: Alex Ballinger visits Saddle Safari in Buckinghamshire

BIG INTERVIEW

20: Schwalbe is one of the manufacturers leading the way in tackling its own ecological impact. Daniel Blackham sits down with the brand’s CSR manager Felix Jahn

DISTRIBUTORS

25: BikeBiz catches up with Saddleback managing director Andy Wigmore.

MICROMOBILITY

30: VanMoof was once described as ‘the Tesla of e-bikes.’ Daniel Blackham details the timeline of events that lead to the brand’s bankruptcy

32: Rebecca Morley looks at the environmental impact of lithium-ion batteries

36: Fleet decarbonisation is seeing more businesses switch from vans to e-cargo bikes. Rebecca Bland explores this impact on the bike industry

OPINION

39: Kate Allan from Compete PR on how PR can support businesses

APPOINTMENTS

42: This month’s movers and shakers throughout the cycle industry

BRANDS

44: Five mins with Enigma Bicycle Works

47: Alex Ballinger heads to Renthal’s HQ on the outskirts of Manchester

50: BikeBiz speaks to Weldtite managing director Paul Davis, to hear more about the company’s sustainable future

PRODUCTS

53: New products and sector guides, including gravel and adventure cycling (56) and stocking fillers (65)