Though they remain hard to find in independent bicycle dealer (BD) showrooms, e-bikes will be more prevalent on the floor at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas during Interbike next week thanks to the continue leadership of two European companies and growing support from U.S. brands and Shimano Corp.

Accell North America (ANA) and Bosch eBikes Systems North America, which spearheaded the introduction of a new generation of European designed e-bikes in the United States in 2014 are doubling down on the category for Model Year 2016 (MY16).

“Based on the 14 new OEM brands we are working with for MY 2016 compared to the 6 for MY2015, I would definitely say the market is gaining considerable traction,” Bosch’s Jonathan Weinert told The B.O.S.S. Report Thursday in an email from Bosch eBikes headquarters in Reutlingen, Germany.

Bosch will showcase several MY16 bikes equipped with its new Performance CX Drive System that will be available in the United States on mountain bikes from Cube, Felt, Haibike, KTM and Lapierre in MY16. Bosch has also teamed up with Interbike to host “Electric Theater,” which will host e-bike educational sessions and presentations, including one in which The International Mountain Bike Association will present some of the first results of their in-progress eMTB trail impact study.

Shimano STePs up
Not to be outdone, Shimano has agreed to be the title sponsor of “The Circuit,” a new indoor test track that will debut at Interbike before being taken on the road for The Electric Bike Expo, a new multi-city demo tour. Shimano redesigned STeP electric drive system debuted on European bikes in MY15 and debuted in the U.S. this year on Raleigh’s Misceo iE commuter and recreational bike.

Haibike USA, a newly established division of ANA, will debut 44 new e-bike models at Interbike Sept. 16-19, including 26 from its more moderately priced SDURO models, which Haibike equipped with Yamaha electric drive systems to appeal to more cost conscious European consumers in MY14. That’s nearly three times the 15 models Haibike offered in its maiden North American season last year, when its line up dwarfed most other e-bike manufacturers.

The models range from $2,350 to $6,000, compared with $3,600 to $16,500 for 24 models of the redesigned XDURO line featuring Bosch’s Haibike USA will offer in MY16 that are powered by Bosch’s new Performance CX Drive System.

“Some of the barriers to riding a bike are fitness level and affordability,” explains Ken Miner, Haibike USA's director of sales and marketing. “E-bikes are helping with the fitness barrier, but they are a little pricier than a pedal bike. Consumer demand for more affordable e-bikes is one of the reasons we are bringing over the SDURO line from Europe.”
 
Haibike USA, which ANA only created this year, plans to have all 2016 XDURO3 and SDURO models in stock and ready to ship from its U.S. distribution centers in time for the 2015 holiday selling season.

US brands follow
Not visible at the show will be models from Trek and Cannondale, which are also expanding their US e-bike offerings.

Cannondale, which has also been selling e-bikes in Europe since 2010, began selling two versions of its Mavaro
commuter e-bikes in the U.S. this year at an MSRP of $4,500 and will
launch a Contro E-Rigid urban commuter at an MSRP of $3,700 in April.

In June, select Trek dealers began demoing three MY16 commuter models the company plans to launch in in the United States. Trek is holding off on bringing over its pedal assist mountain bikes from Europe until it gets a clearer signal from IMBA and others on e-bike access to U.S. trails. The company estimates it has about a 2 percent share of Europe’s e-bike market, according to Trek Spokesman Eric Bjorling.

“We think e-bikes in the U.S. is a $320 million market,” Bjorling told The B.O.S.S. Report last month. “The time for e-bikes has arrived.”