“When it comes to mobility, beyond presenting the brands’ new products, events such as Sea Otter are a great opportunity to showcase all the alternatives we offer to consumers. Getting around on a traditional bike or electric bike doesn’t mean you have to break the bank. What’s more, we’ll see significant development in terms of connectivity, solving one of the problems that brands have to solve; product and user safety”

Pablo Martinez is market manager for Canyon Iberia, a brand with a strong presence at Sea Otter, showcasing its extensive range of bikes, urban and electric alike, that make it easy to get around cities efficiently and sustainably.

Canyon changing with the times

But let’s go back to the beginning: “I think Canyon is a good example of adaptation and anticipation of change,” continues Pablo Martinez. We started out selling spare parts, such as a trailer, to professional cyclists until, in 1985, we opened Radsport Arnold, our first shop in Koblenz. It was here that the first Canyon bicycle was designed and sold in 1996, and the company would later go on to be called Canyon in 2002. A year later, in 2003, we rolled out revolutionary business model: selling directly to consumers on our own website.

“Today, we’re industry leaders with our direct-to-consumer model and bring Pure Cycling’s positioning to all cyclists”.

In this context, Jon admits that “electric mobility has also evolved exponentially, as fitting a light motor to urban bikes has broken down barriers for people moving around on them. At the same time, cities, and society in general, have been adapting to this new reality”.

All urban mobility has an electric version

Canyon has three families of urban bikes “all of them with an electric version and each one focused on different needs or priorities; from the most functional and minimalist bike, the Roadlite, to the Commuter, designed for users more focused on style and, last but not least, the Precede, which comes fully-equipped to get around the city” states the brand.

Canyon has “mainly worked on integrating accessories and functions. We’ve worked on designs that are attractive, functional and that stand up to city life”.

The fact is that “bikes in cities are here to stay, although each of them gets around at a different speed”.

Why?

“The problem isn’t so much society itself, but the infrastructure for people to be able to travel to work or anywhere else by bike. Having lived for years in Amsterdam and having experienced what it’s like to cycle regularly, I’m convinced that, if society is given a real and safe option, it’ll adopt it right away”, Jon replies.

He concludes: “Institutions and companies must come together to facilitate this sustainable and healthy alternative”.