Judges to unveil Eurobike Award 2012 winners

The Eurobike Award is celebrating its eighth year this year. The jury of industry experts has selected a total of 84 products as the award winners. On 29 August 2012, the best eight entries will be honoured with the presentation of a Gold award on the opening day of Eurobike, the industry’s leading tradeshow, in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Earlier this month, on 14-15 August 2012, six bicycle experts met in Hannover to examine and evaluate the 439 products registered from 28 countries from around the world and to decide which ones were worthy of the Eurobike Award 2012. The jury of experts included the brand-new silver-medal winner in cross-country racing in this year’s Summer Olympics, mountain-bike professional Sabine Spitz.

Now the judges’ final decisions have been made: 84 of the entries can look forward to receiving this coveted award – the eight best will be honoured with the presentation of a Gold award on 29 August 2012, the first day of the bicycle industry international tradeshow, Eurobike (29 August to 1 September 2012). All the award-winning products will be displayed in a special Eurobike exhibition in Foyer West for the duration of the show.

The Eurobike Green Award was not presented this year – regrettably, the jury did not find a product among the entries that was able to completely convince them in terms of environmental compatibility and sustainability in its entirety.

Commenting on the process for the eighth Eurobike Awards, Wolfgang Köhle, press spokesperson for Eurobike at Messe Friedrichshafen said “The potential for innovation in this branch of industry is absolutely phenomenal! Once again, it was impressive to see the enthusiasm with which the bicycle industry enters into this competition year after year.

“Virtually all of the world’s leading brands took part in the Eurobike Award to measure their own strength against the international competition. We were particularly pleased to see Sabine Spitz here – just a few days after winning Olympic Silver, she accepted our invitation to act as a judge and did a fantastic job.”

This year, the jury team was made up of the following experts: Nils Holger Moormann (designer, Aschau am Chiemsee/Germany), Felix Böhlken (RoadBIKE editorial staff, Stuttgart/Germany), Rodrick de Munnik (Fiets editorial staff / FietsActief and Procycling magazine, Hoofddorp/Netherlands), Michael Bollschweiler (RadMarkt editorial staff, Bielefeld/Germany), Sabine Spitz (Olympic winner/world-champion professional mountain biker, Murg/Germany) and Alexander Kauroff-Vergin (Globetrotter Ausrüstung Denart & Lechhart GmbH, Cologne/Germany).

The judges took the following criteria into consideration in their evaluation of the products entered: Aerodynamics, Efficiency, Ergonomics, Functionality, Utility, Design Quality, Weight, Degree of Innovation, Comfort, Sturdiness, Brand Value/Branding, Choice of Material, Service, Safety, Stability, Environmental Friendliness and Workmanship.

Entries were accepted in the following nine categories:

  1. Mountain Bikes: Hardtail, Enduro, Freerider, Downhill, Full Suspension, BMX, Dirt Bike
  2. Cross Bikes: Cross Bike, Trekking Bike, Traveller Bike, All-Terrain Bike
  3. Racing Bikes: Racing Bike, Triathlon Bike, Time Machine, Fitness Bike, Speed Bike
  4. Urban Bikes: City Bike, Folding Bike, Cruiser, Design Bike, Cargo Bike, Family Transportation
  5. Special-Purpose Bikes: (Recumbent Bike, Trike, Rickshaw Bike, Velomobile, Tandem)
  6. E-Bikes/Pedelecs: Mountain Bike, Cross Bike, Racing Bike, Urban Bike, Special-Purposes Bike, Rechargeable Batteries and Battery Chargers, Pedal Sensors, Brakes, Special Accessories
  7. Clothes: Pants, Shirts, Jackets, Shoes, Gloves
  8. Parts/Components: Frame, Handlebar, Brakes, Gears, Crank Arm, Electrical Components, Pedal, Generator, Wheel, Fork, Saddle
  9. Accessories: Speedometer, Water Bottle, Bell, Air Pump, Handles, Bag, Light, Lock, Fenders, Tool Kit, Glasses, Helmet, Tires

The Eurobike Award has been hosted by Messe Friedrichshafen and conceived, organized and carried out by iF International Forum Design GmbH in Hannover every year since 2005.

www.eurobike-show.com
www.messe-friedrichshafen.de
www.ifdesign.de