With the announcement of the winners of the 12th edition of the VAB Bike of the Year (BOTY), Belgium’s evolving mobility landscape comes sharply into focus.
What began as a consumer-oriented comparison test has grown into a barometer of a market in transition—one where the bicycle, and especially the e-bike, is rapidly becoming a fully-fledged compagnon, or even an alternative, to the car.
Organized annually by mobility organization VAB, the Bike of the Year election combines technical analysis with real-world testing by both a professional jury and everyday users.
45 bikes across four categories
This year, 45 bikes competed across four categories: economy, premium, longtail, and speed pedelec. As part of the professional jury, newmobility.news welcomed the rare opportunity to test such a wide range of e-bikes in a single setting—something no individual manufacturer or dealer could realistically offer.
The 2026 winners reflect both maturity and diversification. In the entry-level segment, the Giant Newtour E+2 (€2,799) stood out for delivering comfort and usability at a competitive price.
With a mid-mounted motor delivering around 50 Nm of torque, a 500 Wh battery, and an internal gear hub, it offers a well-balanced, low-maintenance package for daily commuting.
Close behind, Veloci’s Solid Plus (€2,499) and the Beaufort Bandit (€1,999) show how far the affordable segment has progressed, combining solid motor performance and usable range at increasingly accessible price points.
In the premium category, Riese & Müller’s Nevo 5 silent CORE (€3,999) illustrates how high-end performance is becoming more accessible.
Positioned just under €4,000, it combines comfort, build quality, and safety without compromise. The broader category confirms a clear technical standard: powerful mid-drive motors delivering around 85 Nm, batteries up to 800 Wh, and increasingly the use of belt drives and integrated gearing systems.
Runners-up such as the Moustache Mardi 27 FS 4 (€4,799) and Kalkhoff Image 3 Excite (€3,899) fit perfectly into that pattern, underscoring how mature and competitive this segment has become.
Gazelle’s Cabby C380 (€5,699), winner in the fast-growing longtail category, highlights how bikes are taking over tasks traditionally reserved for cars.
Equipped with a Bosch Performance CX motor delivering 85 Nm, a mid-sized battery, and a continuously variable transmission, it is built for heavy-duty urban use with payloads up to 200 kg.
Competitors like the Bike 43 MID (€6,470) and Veloci Longtail (€4,449) reinforce that trend, with high-torque motors, large battery packs, and designs focused on versatility and family transport.
At the top end, the Stromer ST7 (€11,735) confirms the technological leap in speed pedelecs. With its high-end drivetrain, large battery capacity, and advanced connectivity features, it targets commuters covering longer distances at higher speeds.
The runners-up, including the Riese & Müller Charger 5 Pinion HS (€8,139) and Kettler’s Pinniato FS Speed (€8,599), underline the direction of this segment: increasingly sophisticated systems with powerful motors, integrated gearboxes, and automotive-inspired engineering, including ABS.
Role of leasing
Beyond the winners, the broader context discussed during VAB’s roundtable with industry experts reveals deeper structural changes.
Belgium’s bicycle market is not only growing again after a post-pandemic dip—reaching around 579,000 units sold in 2025—but is also fundamentally shifting. E-bikes now account for more than half of all sales, and their share in the total fleet continues to rise steadily.
More striking is the role of leasing. Today, more than one in three new bikes in Belgium are acquired through leasing, typically via employer-backed schemes.
As average bike prices have roughly doubled over the past decade—driven by electrification and increasing technological sophistication—leasing has become the key enabler, making higher-quality bikes accessible to a wider audience. In many ways, it mirrors the logic of company car schemes, but increasingly within a broader, multimodal mobility strategy.
That strategy is strongly supported by Belgium’s mobility budget framework, allowing employees to allocate part of their compensation to different transport modes.
The result is a gradual shift away from the one-size-fits-all model. Increasingly, users combine a smaller car with a leased bike, or replace certain car trips altogether. The bicycle is no longer competing with the car in absolute terms, but complementing it within a more flexible mobility mix.
That price evolution does raise an obvious question: have e-bikes simply become too expensive? Part of the answer lies in the product itself.
No longer simple bicycles
Today’s e-bikes are no longer simple bicycles but compact electric vehicles, combining motors, large-capacity batteries, electronics, and increasingly sophisticated drivetrains.
Leasing plays a role too—not by inflating prices, but by lowering the psychological barrier, allowing users to opt for higher-spec models than they would typically buy outright.
At the same time, the strong showing of bikes such as the Giant Newtour E+2 and other sub-€2,500 contenders proves that budget e-bikes are not to be dismissed.
While they may offer less range or simpler components, they can still deliver reliable daily mobility when used within their limits. The real distinction is no longer between “good” and “bad” bikes, but between use cases: occasional urban trips versus intensive, long-distance commuting.
New use cases are also emerging. The rise of longtail bikes, now outselling traditional cargo bikes in Belgium, illustrates how families are rethinking daily transport.
More compact, more affordable, and easier to handle, these bikes are increasingly used for school runs and shopping trips that were traditionally reserved for a second car.
More accidents and safety concerns
At the same time, the growing importance of cycling brings new challenges. Increased usage inevitably leads to more accidents, and safety concerns—particularly around head injuries—are becoming more prominent.
In Belgium, acquired brain injury affects an estimated 431,000 people, with trauma from accidents as a leading cause. Yet helmet use remains relatively low: about 65% among children aged 7 to 12, and just 31% among adults.
Awareness campaigns are therefore gaining importance, aiming to normalize helmet use much like seatbelts in cars, even as the debate around mandatory use continues.
What the 2026 edition of the Bike of the Year ultimately shows is a market coming of age. The diversity of the entries, the competitiveness of the segments, and the technical maturity of the bikes all point to a sector that has moved beyond early adoption.
Belgium may not yet match the Netherlands in cycling culture, but it is carving out its own model—driven by policy, leasing, and increasingly capable machines.
