Eurobike’s Future Threatened, California’s Voucher Program Retired, New Gravel E-Bike From Marin | TWR Ep 56

Once the premier bicycle industry tradeshow in the world, Eurobike struggled to reach previous highs this year with lower attendance in comparison to 2024. Noticeable groups such as SRAM, DT Swiss, PON.Bike, and Campagnolo were not in attendance. Still, the show featured 1,500 exhibitors and over 60,000 attendees between industry types and cycling fans.

Now, Eurobike seems to be losing even more support, as the motor/battery manufacturer Bosch and two prominent German cycling trade associations have pulled out of next year’s show.

In an article from Bicycle Retailer, a joint statement from the trade groups, ZIV and Zukunft Fahrrad, said, “Following lengthy discussions with the Eurobike operators, we have decided to end our cooperation. We could not see that both operators were equally committed to supporting the measures that would be necessary to make the trade fair fit for the future of the bicycle industry.”

Bosch eBike Systems CEO Claus Fleischer said that after “extensive discussions” with Eurobike, they no longer saw a “Successful future for Eurobike,” according to a Pink Bike article.

The 2026 show is still scheduled to happen, though it is shaping up to be a smaller event in both duration and the number of exhibitors. Currently, the fair is planned for four days instead of five.

Our Take:
Outside of industry-wide pressures, some have suggested that at least a partial reason for the tradeshow’s downward trend is a lack of clarity on what the show is. Historically, it has been part trade show, part consumer festival, and part mobility expo—while clearly struggling to be all three things at once.

Our Editor-In-Chief, Justin Taylor, attended last year’s Eurobike show and was still impressed by its size and scope. With major players exiting next year’s fair, it is possible that smaller brands might get more attention. Other events, such as Monterey’s Sea Otter Classic and Shanghai’s China Cycle, may gain in popularity if Eurobike continues to decline.

Long story short, time will tell how Eurobike 2026 (and beyond) shakes out.

California’s program initially had $30 million in funding to give low-income residents vouchers worth $1,000-2,500 toward the purchase of an e-bike. The value of vouchers was dependent on applicants’ locations and the e-bike they purchased; residents of “priority communities” would receive higher amounts when buying cargo e-bikes.

The E-Bike Incentive Project was initially planned for implementation in 2022, but repeated delays pushed it to 2024. When it finally launched, California offered just 1,500 vouchers for the state’s entire population (Google estimates this at just under 40 million people).

Not unexpectedly, the application website crashed due to the overwhelming number of residents submitting applications at the same time. Despite this, the program was somewhat successful, with some vouchers being distributed to applicants at the end of the year.

California made a second attempt in April of 2025, but once again, the program encountered technical issues that forced another delay. This time, errors prevented some residents from accessing the online waiting room and applying for vouchers, so deployment was postponed until May.

This most recent attempt rolled out relatively smoothly, but again, the state offered only a limited supply of vouchers. The two rounds of vouchers made use of just $13 million of its $30 million total.

Now, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) overseeing the program redirected the remaining $17 million in funding to a new initiative. This program, called Clean Cars 4 All, aims to make low- and no-emission vehicles more accessible to low income residents. CARB made no statement about the closing of the e-bike incentive program.

Our Take:
The goal of reducing emissions from older, traditional gas powered vehicles is great, but we hoped for better from California.

Clearly, the e-bike incentive program suffered from poor planning and implementation from the start. Considering that the most recent attempt was relatively successful, we would have liked to see the state take the lessons it learned from earlier phases and make the program more accessible to a greater number of applicants.

California is, of course, a large state with a high population. Encouraging more riders to take up cycling would ease some traffic congestion and steer more residents toward a healthier lifestyle. It could also result in the expansion of e-bike-friendly infrastructure, which would also serve the same goal (reducing emissions) as the Clean Cars 4 All initiative.

The Lombard E is based on 2019’s analog Lombard, which started as a road bike but has since evolved for multi-surface riding. This new electric version of the bike, which promises Class 3 speeds up to 28 mph, features a Bosch drive system with an SX Sprint motor (60 Nm, 600W peak) and a fully integrated 400 Wh battery.

Marin’s statement about the bike reads, “this isn’t just a gravel bike with a motor slapped on. It’s a multi-surface drop bar dream machine that laughs at terrain changes.” It also said, “With this kind of power and versatility, the world literally opens up to your wheels. And that’s the whole point.”

Other specs include an aluminum frame with four frame sizes (S, M, L, and XL), a carbon fork, and up to 50mm of clearance for wide, stable tires. The frame and fork will reportedly be loaded with mounts for bottle cages, luggage, etc.

The bike is set to be available in two spec tiers: the Lombard E1 and E2. The lower-tier model, priced at $4,299, includes a 12-speed Shimano GRX drivetrain and Shimano GRX hydraulic disc brakes. The E2 features Shimano GRX Di2 wireless shifting, a Trans X dropper seatpost, and a higher price of $5,299.

At the time of writing, neither version of the Lombard E is available for purchase, but they should be for sale in the near future.

Our Take:
In addition to the two spec tiers and Di2 shifting system on the high-end model, we’re pleased to see what appears to be a removable battery for easier charging. The Lombard E looks promising overall, but one of the big remaining questions is weight; we’d hope for a total weight well under 35 lbs.

As always when it comes to new e-bike releases, we look forward to providing you with our firsthand experience if/when we have a chance to test and review the Lombard E.

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