BE: You are not really known as a supporter for e-bikes. Why this opposition against this boomingmarket segment? GG: As consultant for ZEG I was involved in the de-velopment of their e-bike range. I paid a lot of atten-tion to the right geometry, wider tires, and rims; allaimed at creating an e-bike that handles well and issafe to ride at higher speeds. Too many e-bikes onthe market are just bikes with the traditional geome-try and an electric drive-train system. Many suppliersgo for a short-term market approach and they arenot really developing this product. As a result thereare a lot of technical problems and that is not goodfor the market. One segment within e-bikes, the E-MTBs have the potential to put inexperienced rid-ers in dangerous situations. They are starting to be-come popular in Germany and Austria at the mo-ment. I foresee more trail closures due to the in-creased perceived risk of these suddenly much fasterbikers by other trail users, which would be very sad.

BE: How do you look at all those new entries likePon Holdings. Will these new companies changethe market drastically?GG: If this trend continues it could certainly changethe market. It will make it harder for the traditionalbicycle dealer to stay independent from the bikecompanies. Dealers now offering two, three or evenmore brands from different suppliers will be pres-sured into offering brands coming from only one bi-cycle manufacturer. Perhaps these huge manufac-turers will begin to develop their own outlet shopssimilar to the car business.

BE: These new entrants to the market result onconcentration of brand and companies. What isthe future of small companies in this business?GG: In my opinion small companies in the bicycle in-dustry are more efficient than the larger ones. A 10%decline in turnover is not catastrophic for small ones,while listed companies have to always keep in mindtheir all-important shareholder’s value. For sure thesmall companies lack the spending power on R&Dbut they appreciate their independency. That’s whyour new company slogan is: “The independent bik-ery with a cycling heart”.

BE: According to BMW designer Adrian vanHooydonk the urban mobility vehicle of the futurewill have two wheels instead of four. Do you agreewith him?GG: I think he is right. The roofed BMW C1 was an ide-al urban mobility product but ahead of its time. I sus-pect that they will soon launch an electric version ofthis vehicle that does not require the rider to wear ahelmet for safety purposes. Next to a bicycle this typeof product could soon fill the streets of big cities.

BE: What can we expect in the segment city andtrekking? More electronics for adjustable suspen-sion and automatic gears?GG: I find electronic shifting very appealing, as ithelps racers to become faster and makes bike ridingeasier for novices. However, I’m still a little hesitant re-garding electronics on the bike. The main problem isthe reliability of the batteries and the whole system.We should not forget that reliability is very importantfor daily commuters and world travelers. The bicycleindustry has to keep this in mind when developingnew products. When testing new ideas and productsI always ask myself: would I put it on my own bike? Isit good enough to reach my quality standards? Iknow that is not the finest way to approach newproducts business-wise, but I prefer the long-termstrategy for my company and brands that makeslong-lasting and reliable products.

BE: The European bicycle industry is strugglingwith long lead times and production planning.How will it affect the development of the industryin the years ahead?GG: I do not believe we will see any changes heresoon. I would love to have the frame productionback in Europe, but it will be very hard, as we havelost a lot of know-how and experience and even formy idworx brand the prices would be too high. Untilnow, people who are considering the relocation offrame production to Europe are looking into the“rear-view mirror” too much. They only think abouthow frames are being made in Asia and want to douse the same technology over here. That is impossi-ble in Europe; it has to be done completely different.

As a consultant for Schwalbe he was responsible forthe development and introduction of the balloontires. “It was a great project,” says Gaastra, about theconcept that brought tires to the forefront in bicycledesign.

Bike Europe: Regarding bicycle tires, everybody iswaiting for the introduction of tubeless for moresegments in the near future. When will it finally belaunched for city and trekking bikes?Gerrit Gaastra: I think soon, at least for high-qualitybikes, although the advantages of this technologyare different for this type of bike. Trekking bikersand commuters rarely have pinch flats, but theyhate punctures more than any one else riding abike, with the exception of the racing crowd, obvi-ously. When riding a commuter bike you’re typicallyin a hurry and often dressed in anything but cyclingspecific wardrobe. So, a flat tire causes trouble be-cause you will not arrive in time and after you havemanaged to fix it, there’s typically more that’s dirtythan just your hands. Tubeless technology ontrekking and commuter bikes can combine in-creased protection against punctures - caused byglass and other intruders - by using long lastingsealants with reduced rolling resistance and in-creased comfort. With conventional tube-type tiresyou need some kind of protection layer, which typi-cally increases the rolling resistance especially if youlower the tire pressure in order to increase comfortand grip. An effective sealant enables you to usemore flexible, faster tire casings, which roll signifi-cantly lighter, especially when inflated properly.Which typically means less than what many ridersdo. By overinflating their tires they give up so muchcomfort and grip. And the latter is really importantespecially in the city environment with its changingand often wet surfaces. But the main challenge thatcomes with the implementation of tubeless tires ontrekking bikes is the rate of the gradual air loss. Thetypical commuter understandably doesn’t want tocheck his tire pressure before each ride as all roadand even most mountain bikers do. Compared tothem, commuters and many trekking bikers treattheir bike’s tires like most of us treat their car tires.They simply forget about them and only re-inflate

them after noting a significant decrease in air pres-sure. As soon as the tire industry has found a solu-tion for the loss of pressure, the tubeless city andtrekking tires will be on the market. For idworx wehave already developed, together with Ryde, thefirst tubeless-ready rims for trekking bikes: theDarim II and the Darim Disc.

BE: What other technical developments can weexpect regarding tires in the coming years. Do youforesee big steps in terms of carcass or com-pounds?GG: Definitely, but I can’t say anything about it. As aconsultant for Schwalbe I can only tell you that youcan expect new products related to new carcassesand compounds at Eurobike 2013.

BE: What is your opinion about the current wheeltire combination? Designers say the existing rangefrom 26 to 29-inch spoke wheels are hopelesslyout-dated.GG: I believe in proven technology and prefer func-tionality over design. That’s what I learned in theCanadian MTB scene in the eighties and earlynineties. I took the concept of proven technologywith me to Europe in 1994 and I still see that real bik-ers prefer functionality over cosmetic design. Theconventional spoke wheels are still the lightest,most comfortable and stiffest wheels you can get.So why change it just for the sake of changing thelooks? I don’t see the use of it as long as the “mod-ern” wheels offer less performance. Design shouldnever pre-empt function.

BE: Will the bicycle industry ever be able to devel-op the most efficient tire and wheel combination? GG: Only a few companies in the industry, like Bon-trager, Mavic, and WTB are developing wheels andtires within one company. The industry does havestandards, but these do not prevent the reality thatassembling tires is often problematic for OEMs.Thanks to my contacts and background I have thepossibility to develop both products together, aswell to avoid these problems. Currently we are push-ing for wider rims to get a better fit for wide tires.

On Tubeless Trends, E-BikeConcerns, and Long-Term SuccessWACHTBERG, Germany – As the fourth generation of the Gaastra family in theindustry, Gerrit grew up with bicycles. His great grandfather founded Batavusand his parents started Koga. No wonder Gerrit became involved in bicyclesand no surprise that he founded his own company, Bike Basics, to manufactureidworx and Gaastra bikes. Bike Basics also distributes US-made Lynskey titanium frames. Through his GG Concepts consultancy he has close links withSchwalbe tires and the German-based retail buyers organization ZEG, which hehelps by building up Bulls brand bikes. Above all he is a communicator wholikes to implement great products ideas for his clients or on his own brands.“I am not an engineer but I create cycling products from my internationalcycling experience and with the passion of somebody who loves to ride his bikeas much as he can,” says Gerrit Gaastra.

By Jan-Willem van Schaik

“Keep in mind the cycling experience whendeveloping new products”Ge

rrit G

aastr

aGerrit Gaastra, creator and consultant:

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