Bicycle advocacy just became a lot stronger. Yesterday at the Advocacy Summit, the world's biggest bicycle maker - Giant - said that it would join ECF's Cycling Industry Club. 

"Giant has decided to say we’re in. We’ve joined the club,” announced Tony Lo, CEO of Giant Bicycles  to a packed room. Top CEOs from the biggest bicycle companies had gathered to hear why they should invest in advocacy at the world's biggest bicycle trade fair. 

 It was Tony Lo's simple words that best express why  industry and advocacy must unite: “We all want to have more people cycling.” 

Giant will be providing €100,000 per year but they're not the only one that's jumped on board the Cycling Industry Club. Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association (TBEA) have also joined and will also contribute  €50,000 euro per year over a 3-year period. As well as new members from Taiwan, the club also welcomes the well-known Italian industry association ANCMA.

Cycling Advocacy in Europe- Gaining Momentum

With the newly enlisted members and more big names in the pipeline, advocacy is gaining momentum in Europe. Thanks to this funding, ECF is now another step closer to unlocking €6 billion in EU investment in cycling infrastructure and doubling the number of cyclists in Europe.  

This is exactly what the bicycle world needs: a strong united voice so that government's listen. And the healthiest bike markets are not built on leisure mountain biking, they are built on transport bikes, so getting more people on bicycles is good news for industry and advocacy alike. 

We'll be letting you know more next week when we get back to our Brussels offices, but this is the start of bigger things to come. I'd like to thank all the members of the Cycling Industry Club for believing in the power of advocacy and for ADFC (Germany's National Cyclists' Association) for helping us organise a great event. 

In the meantime, you can have a look at some of the event pictures and read some great media coverage from  Bike Europe. 

Photos: Top- Kevin Mayne Speaking at the Advocacy Summit, Middle- Stan Day, CEO of Sram talks about the Importance of Advocacy.

About the Author

Kevin Mayne is the Director of Development at ECF and an avid cyclist. More information about his work with the Cycling Industry Club can be found here.