Decathlon’s latest, B’Twin LD 920 E, signals eBike evolution

“There’s a lot of evolution in the bike industry regarding eBikes. The next 3-5 years we will have completely different eBikes, able to satisfy any kind of clients, either cyclists or non-cyclists.” Those words are from the latest issue of Cycling Industry News, where industry stalwart Cristobal Perez shared his insights into the market.

And 2023 certainly seems to be making good on that prediction. In April, Mavic unexpectedly unveiled an eye-catching eBike motor called X-Tend, aiming to enter the market in 2025/2026. Then in August, French retail giant Decathlon gave us more detail on the B’Twin LD 920 E Automatic Electric City Bike, previously seen at prototype stage in 2022 (hat tip Bastian Dietz). The LS 920 E (they missed the opportunity to come up with a snappy name) has been pitched as the first bike of a completely new generation of “soft mobility” eBikes.

Decathlon explained further: “Imagine, a cyclist is stopped at a red light, starting a hill or forced to brake urgently, and without difficulty, he leaves serenely: his bike reacts instantly and fluidly to the slightest pedal stroke. He no longer needs to change gears. The engine is able to automatically adapt its gear ratio according to the type of terrain and the effort of the rider, without a hitch.”

That combination of motors and gears in one automated unit appears to have moved the eBike evolution onwards again and will likely influence development of similar eBikes, primed at that non-cyclist segment that promises to grow the cycle market for the future.