90 Day Tariff Relief Not Enough For The Bike Industry, Ananda Wins China Cycle Innovation Award | TWR Ep 31

The United States and China have reached a 90-day agreement to reduce import tariffs on a broad range of goods. As part of the deal, the U.S. will lower tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while China will reduce its tariffs from 125% to 10%.

The cycling industry will see some benefit from the agreement, though many category-specific tariffs remain in place.

According to PeopleForBikes, “…the total import tariff on most bikes from China remains at 66% due to previously imposed tariffs. The 66% import tariff is calculated by combining the 11% base duty, 25% Section 301 tariffs, 20% fentanyl tariffs, plus the newly announced 10% reciprocal rate. Electric bicycles will have a 55% duty and most bicycle parts/components will have a 55–65% duty.

“These tariffs remain at an unsustainable level for the U.S. bicycle industry. While the conversations between the U.S. and China show signs of progress, the current tariffs are still broadly higher compared to tariff rates before Trump took office. These tariff levels are unlikely to stimulate imports or support U.S. manufacturers and consumer goods will likely continue to see price increases.”

Our Take: This seems to have stopped the hemorrhaging, but it’s far from repairing the wound entirely. We’ve backed down from insanely high rates, but most brands in the e-bike industry had to eat into their margins or make pricing increases passed to consumers with tariffs that still remain. More could still be done here to ensure a thriving industry, so we’re still hoping for more relief for the industry with adjustments to the tariffs brands are paying now.

At China Cycle—one of the world’s largest cycling trade show events—Ananda received the Gold Creative Award for its R900 motor. The award recognizes the motor’s integration of a 3-speed automatic gear-shifting mechanism directly into a hub motor, a feature typically seen in mid-drive systems rather than hub drives.

The R900’s design includes a fully enclosed system that enables smooth, automatic shifting in coordination with motor output, offering a ride experience comparable to that of an automatic car transmission. Ananda’s patented Pedal Flow technology also allows riders to shift under high torque or heavy load, helping reduce stress on the drivetrain and improving overall durability.

Our Take: At the start of the year, we predicted more competition in the motor-gearbox space, but we didn’t expect it to emerge in the hub motor category. Ananda, already a major player in e-bike electronics such as motors, batteries, and controllers, and has introduced a meaningful innovation that could reshape expectations for hub-driven systems. If this technology proves popular and worth adding to new bike models, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it adopted widely in the months and years ahead.

We sent a few team members to China Cycle, who were able to test it out, and they confirmed that the shifting and motor power were highly impressive. We’re eager to see where it goes from here.