Belgian bike brand Norta has stopped production of its range of classic city bikes. The company will in future focus entirely on selling e-bikes. Are more manufacturers set to follow Norta's example?
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Bike manufacturer Norta ceases production of classic city bikes: can you soon only buy e-bikes?
Colin Clapson
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The Norta brand from Olen in the Kempen District has been a fixture on the Belgian bicycle market for more than a hundred years. But the family behind the company has announced that they will soon change tack. Demand for electric bikes has been so high lately that they have decided to stop producing ordinary city bikes. They will only sell e-bikes.
Is this quietly becoming the trend in the industry? "You can effectively see that manufacturers are starting to focus more and more on e-bikes," confirms mobility consultant Guy Crab. "Some 60-70 per cent of bikes sold today are electric. Especially among commuters, the e-bike is becoming increasingly popular. A ceiling in sales has certainly not yet been reached."
According to Guy Crab, the government is also playing a role in this. "In Belgium, you can use part of your gross salary to lease an electric bike. Bicycle allowances too are good. It makes it interesting to cycle to work. Abroad, they are jealous of what that does to the Belgian market."
In addition, the pandemic also boosted the popularity of the e-bike. "There are many people who discovered the electric bike during the pandemic," says Crab. “We started looking for new leisure activities and that got people into cycling. Two years ago, there were huge shortages in parts of the market as a result, but these issues have largely been resolved since then."
Does this development mean that soon you will struggle to find new regular bikes? "It won't come to that," says Crab. "Especially since Belgium is still a sporty cycling country. The racing bike remains popular here and that will not change overnight."
The classic city bike, however, will experience a harder time, says Crab, with the market shrinking. "An e-bike is a lot more expensive than a regular city bike. People who don't use their bikes that often still choose a cheaper, non-electric model. So I don't think the classic city bike will disappear completely, there will still be a demand for it."
Sweeping aside the criticism that the arrival of the electric bike is not good news for our fitness, Crab says. "Don't forget that electric support ensures that some people who otherwise wouldn't (or couldn't) cycle now do. For example, to ride to work. That's a good thing."