MTB Report 🇬🇧 – January 2026

on Dezember 31, 2025

A New Year Between Momentum and Resistance – Why the Crisis Is Over, but the Real Work Begins

Published by Radical Life Studios / MTB Report

Dear riders, readers, and friends —
welcome to the new year.

A new year always feels like the first tracks in fresh snow: cautious at the beginning, then confident, and eventually a path emerges.
I’m grateful we’re starting this one together.
Here’s to a bold, honest and trail-rich 2026.

The Market: Getting Back Up After the Crash

What looked like a full-scale collapse of the cycling industry in 2024 now feels more like a heavy crash from which the rider slowly gets back on their feet.
The latest data backs this feeling.
The ZIV — Germany’s national bicycle industry association — reports stabilizing sales, predictable supply chains and a market that is no longer swinging like a loose handlebar.

More than 4.6 million bicycles and e-bikes were sold in 2024, with e-bikes making up more than half of all purchases.
It’s not a boom, but it’s solid ground.
For the first time since the turbulent post-pandemic years, inventory levels are normal, production plans are realistic, and retailers are breathing again.

What’s remarkable is how quiet this recovery is.
No hype.
No neon optimism.
Just a slow return to balance — exactly das, was die Branche gebraucht hat.

Manufacturers are more careful.
Dealers are smarter with stock.
Customers think twice before buying.
And maybe this calmer pace is the healthiest development of all.

The Industry: Less Show, More Substance

At Eurobike 2025, the shift was impossible to miss.
A smaller show.
A more focused audience.
Fewer flashy launches and fewer grand promises that dissolve when the first muddy season arrives.

Instead, the industry is rediscovering engineering.
Bikes that last.
Suspension that can be serviced.
Frames designed for years, not seasons.
A mindset that values function over fireworks.

It feels as if brands finally understand what riders actually want:
not marketing dreams, but real-world durability.
Not revolutions every 12 months, but evolution that matters.

If 2026 becomes the year in which mountain bikes stop trying to be smartphones — endlessly updated, often without reason — then the industry will have taken a very important step.

Trails & Politics: The New Front Line

While the market calms down, a different battle heats up:
the one about access.

2026 will be a defining year for trail rights, regulations and the relationship between riders and land managers.
Some regions have become surprisingly open — launching pilot projects, inviting local clubs into planning processes and finally acknowledging that bans never solved anything.

But at the same time, a small but very loud minority is pushing hard in the opposite direction.
Their message is always the same:
“Nature must be protected — from bikers.”

The arguments often sound dramatic, but they rarely match reality.

Wildlife adapts to predictable movement patterns — whether it’s hikers, runners or cyclists.
Modern trailbuilding reduces erosion rather than causing it.
And illegal trails are not a problem — they are a symptom of missing legal infrastructure.

This year, administrations will have to pick a direction.
Do they support a modern outdoor culture?
Or do they cling to outdated concepts that create more conflict than they solve?

More Mature, More United — and More Visible

One thing is clear: the MTB community has grown up.

Trail builders finally receive the respect they deserve.
Local clubs are stronger than ever.
Influencer hype is fading, replaced by real expertise and real involvement.
Riders think more about sustainability, access and long-term impact.

But despite all this progress, public perception remains mixed.
To some people, we’re still “those fast people on fat tires” who disturb the peace of the forest.

That’s the real challenge for 2026:
to explain, patiently but confidently, what mountain biking truly is.
A culture.
A connection to nature.
A way to move, to breathe, to live.

And yes — sometimes also a political movement.

What 2026 Will Really Bring

Nothing will be fully decided this year — but much will be set in motion.

The market will regain stability, but not certainty.
The industry will shift toward long-lasting engineering rather than annual product chaos.
Trail access will become the central question of our sport.
And the community will continue to grow into a voice that can no longer be ignored.

The direction mountain biking takes until 2030 will be shaped now — through the arguments we have, the decisions we influence, and the responsibility we take.

Conclusion: The Crisis Is Over — but the Responsibility Begins

We’re not heading into a year of rest.
We’re heading into a year of possibilities.

For the first time in a long while, we have tailwind.
But there will be resistance, and it will be louder than before.

Mountain biking has always been about reading terrain, choosing a line and committing to it.
There is no perfect path — only the decision to ride one.

Here’s to a strong, confident and passionate year ahead.
Thank you for being part of this journey.