Flat bicycle tyres: sales down 23%

«For us the reduction was 4%, I must say that it still went well». Cristiano De Rosa, bicycle entrepreneur, actually can’t complain. In 2023, the reference sector experienced a problematic year, weighed down by the overproduction of the previous two years and by a sharply declining demand, in Italy and beyond.

The Ancma data (anticipated by Sole 24Ore on 15 March), first of all highlight a drop in production below two million units, 800 thousand bicycles less than in 2022, which already showed declining numbers. Production decline that brings the sector to its lowest levels since 1975, the era of Gimondi and Merckx. A result that in reality must be read in light of the race of the last ones, a relaunch caused by tax incentives and the rediscovery of the outdoor world after Covid which had brought the sector to new highs.

Looking at the numbers, if in terms of production compared to 2022 there is a drop of 29% for traditional bicycles and 23% for e-bikes, in terms of market values ​​the picture is less gloomy, with values ​​that are reduced by 600 million compared to 2022 but higher than those of 2019, before the crisis: if then the market was estimated to be worth 2.1 billion euros, today we are at 2.6 billion.

The e-bike segment in particular is growing compared to then, which today is worth a quarter of sales, while muscle bicycles are decreasing compared to both 2019 and 2022.

Looking at the sales of bicycles in the strict sense, the decline of “muscle” bicycles was equal to 24%, that of e-bikes was 19%, bringing the average to a slowdown of 23%. A market that continues to be weak on average, as demonstrated by recent Istat surveys, which for the month of January see national production almost halved, recording a drop of 45% compared to January 2023.