It's bitterly cold outside, so I'm saving the last of the year's energy for activities other than driving 500 kilometers in the days between Christmas and New Year's. For example, a task I enjoy completing every year: putting the past year into glowing reviews. But when I reread my 2024 review , I realize I already wrote quite a bit that still sounds reasonably plausible today, and which I would probably predict for the new year in some form or another. Therefore, I'm shifting the focus a bit and combining some thoughts on our activities in and around the Mütze (a local landmark) with a brief look back and a broader look ahead at everything we can currently foresee in 2026. All the surprises of 2026 will then be revealed at the turn of the year 2026/2027.

Macrocosm

For over three years, the bicycle industry has been hoping to resolve its problems and return to normality within the next year. Now, the question is whether the pre-pandemic normality will be the normality of the coming years, or whether the pandemic has simply exposed some existing problems. As someone who came to the industry from another field, and even after more than eleven years in a bike shop, I can only offer limited expertise. Therefore, I write these lines with humility, but also with the enthusiasm I have for cycling. I'm aware that we, with our high proportion of sporty bikes and low proportion of e-bikes, are on the relatively sunny side of the industry. But as a full-range retailer, with an extensive and excellent selection of clothing, high-quality accessories of all kinds, and a catchment area that extends well beyond Düsseldorf, we'd like to take a look from our perspective.

The fact that we're not alone in thinking about this, but that journalists, consultants, and countless colleagues are also exploring new ways to successfully position the cycling industry, demonstrates a certain openness after the past few rather complicated years. Worth reading for anyone interested in the topic are, among other things, the so-called Brixen Papers, which originated from an industry think tank. While you don't have to agree on everything, many of the problems facing the bicycle industry and corresponding solutions are identified.

microcosm

Compared to that, we're just a small light, but we shine a little brightly. And our approach of seeing ourselves as part of Düsseldorf's cycling culture from the very beginning wasn't a clever strategic move; rather, the hat grew precisely from the fertile ground we ourselves cultivated. We followed our own path and were willing to learn from our mistakes and use our own experiences as the basis for the recommendations in the hat.

It was and is important to us not to be just another run-of-the-mill bike shop, but to be a bike shop with a clear stance and opinion. We want to be the shop that excites us, the one we ourselves would most like to shop in because the selection makes sense and reflects aspects that are important to us. Ideally, we want to be free of marketing hype and instead driven by our own high standards of quality. Our enthusiasm must be contagious, because it is our conviction and our key to you, our customers.

Experience has shown that not every path we take with the Mütze (the company) is successful; occasionally, our terrain becomes rough, even barely passable, and we have to turn back. But overall, the navigation works, and we're on the right track. Looking back on the past twelve months, we're very pleased that the move to Orbea has been a good one for both the Mütze and Orbea. The possibilities offered by Orbea's extensive customization program, MYO, are a perfect fit for our way of selling bikes. Combined with Nils from MotivAktiv and his bike fitting service , our customers have the wonderful opportunity to receive a perfectly fitted bike from us, including the correct crank and stem lengths, as well as the correct handlebar width. If you're interested in a road bike or a gravel bike from the Spanish company, we'd be happy to explain the details in person at the shop. The sheer number of customization options can sometimes be overwhelming at first, but so far, it has always resulted in satisfied customers.

The same, of course, applies to our custom-built bikes. Whether based on a steel, titanium, or carbon frame, our builds are stylish, fit perfectly, and have been making many riders with diverse needs happy for over ten years. Many newcomers have discovered in recent years that a perfectly fitting bike doesn't have to be much more expensive than an off-the-shelf solution that requires numerous modifications before the rider finds a comfortable position. Those with limited experience and knowledge especially appreciate expert advice from a specialist retailer to ensure the bike is at least the right size. Online guides can be helpful, but beginners who choose their bike based on body measurements, advice from friends, and various social media groups should be prepared to make adjustments later, including adjusting their budget accordingly.

And otherwise?

It's no coincidence that the buzzword "community" appears in every marketing letter these days. Anyone who seriously pursues these goals will learn that a stable community also depends heavily on engagement. Our local involvement is always driven by our desire to shape things and set priorities. Our activities within the fantastic "Rundum-die-Kö" (All About the Kö) organizing team, to name just one example, have focused on children, youth, and women from the very beginning. And after all these years, we can say that we've achieved successes we're proud of. The fact that more and more local racing events are offering exclusive women's races shows that we were pioneers. And once the formats are in place, the interest and participants from these target groups follow. Perseverance is key.

In 2025, we joined forces with some "Cyclesomatics" and founded an association that will serve as the foundation for local events bridging cycling culture and competitive cycling. The first event under the bling eV banner took place around the Königsallee (Kö) in 2025; let's see what we can achieve together in 2026. If you'd like to contribute creatively and on a voluntary basis, or simply join the association, please follow this link - membership application .

To let you in on a little secret: witnessing how an idea and the dedication of numerous volunteers suddenly give rise to networks that bring together organizers across North Rhine-Westphalia and enable them to implement joint plans – that's truly something special. I won't reveal much more just yet, at least not until we've taken a few more steps. And check out the new Rund um die Kö website – we've got a fresh new look.

On the Road.

Now, let's take a look at the stories for which we and our fellow riders value our bikes – the rides. In 2026, we'll be embarking on the longest tour we've ever been involved in: The Grain . Our friend Pierre-Charles – who was part of the Mützenteam a few years ago – has been running a company called scops in Dijon for some time now, which passionately focuses on gravel tours. They offer local rides as well as long-distance tours from Paris to Dijon. Pierre-Charles spent the last two years planning a ride from Düsseldorf to Dijon, finding a route that, as an all-road option, combines half gravel and half small paved roads. It wasn't about singletrack and scree slopes, but rather a beautiful, easily rideable route. And so, a total of 860 kilometers with 12,000 meters of elevation gain was created. All participants in The Grain have 135 hours, making it clear that this is a rather ambitious event that can't simply be breezed through. So, if you enjoy a challenge and can spare a few days on May 29, 2026: the website is up, registration is open, and tickets are limited to 99.

We are delighted to have gained Orbea, one of our partners, as our main sponsor. In addition, four more of our partners – Quoc, Ciclovation, Shimano and Brooks – are on board, as well as Baroudeur Cycles, a colleague from Dijon who shares some common ground with us, not only in terms of product range.

Not quite as ambitious, but sufficiently challenging for regular cyclists, is an event that debuted in 2025: Crossing Borders. Together with our friends from Off the Map in Maastricht and our colleagues from Albion, Hunt, Chimpanzee, Brooks, and ClimAid, we launched this cross-border tour towards Maastricht. While we completed a one-way edition with a bus transfer back in March 2025, July saw the full, double-crossing challenge: starting in both Düsseldorf and Maastricht, with a refreshment stop in Floßdorf, a break at Off the Map or Mütze, and then the return journey. This resulted in a total of 265 kilometers, which we covered last year in two guided groups of nearly 25 people each.

In 2026, we'll be expanding Crossing Borders. We're limiting the number of tickets to 80 participants on the Düsseldorf side, and we also plan to increase the size of the Dutch delegation. You can join one of the guided groups with a defined average speed or tackle the route alone or with friends. Therefore, the opening hours of the refreshment station and the Mütze and Off the Map turnaround points will be adjusted. Details coming soon at crossingborders.cc.

Currently, we brave the elements every Sunday, riding at a relaxed pace along our favorite country lanes on the left bank of the Rhine as part of our winter cycling tour. For the past three years, the first Sunday of the month has been dedicated to gravel biking; depending on the weather, we roll along the gravel paths heading northeast or southwest. At the end of February, the WSP (presumably a cycling event) takes center stage, and March is reserved for Cyclingworld and the necessary preparations. As you know, we're not only looking forward to the exhibition halls, but also to our rides during the event.

The women's road cycling movement kicks off its season there, and the Giro Del Basso Reno will delight road cyclists, while Sunday's gravel, pebble, and moss edition will make the gravel riders happy. Schorsch from CYCLE4WATER is back on board at Cyclingworld 2026, both with his donation stand (aka alcohol-free beer truck) and on his bike. Stay tuned for what we'll be putting together with Schorsch and other allies – we're working on it! Volker will once again invite the classic bike community to an edition of the classic bike ride, which, based on past experience, is a fantastic opportunity for all friends of vintage road bikes to get together during the trade fair. After all, it's one of the founding pillars of the event.

Our group rides are close to our hearts; they're part of the club's DNA, and their open, accessible approach has shown countless riders the joy of riding together over the years. We try to enforce our no-drop policy quite consistently and are just as successful with it as with our pre-ride instructions. Even though you can probably tell that giving a weekly pep talk about the "do's and don'ts" of a group ride isn't exactly my favorite thing to do, the success of these pep talks is undeniable. It's important to us to be able to share our experiences and create the best possible conditions for fantastic group rides.

Goals

In that vein, I'd like to offer a brief critique of the developments in the cycling community over the past few years. It fits perfectly here, as it makes a great New Year's resolution. I know these year-end reflections are always widely read, so this might be a better place for it than elsewhere. Remember, not everyone riding a drop-bar bike is in race mode. Life isn't a competition. We all share a passion, and that alone makes us a community. We should show that, to ourselves and to everyone else.

It might seem surprising if you've never heard of it, but there was a time when road cyclists greeted each other on the road. Yes, all of them. When passing each other or overtaking. A small, friendly gesture that completely contradicted the stereotype of the autistic cyclist. It would actually be desirable to re-establish this custom. You're welcome to expand it and greet all cyclists in general, but if the drop-bar community manages to do it for themselves first, that's a nice outcome. And feel free to take one hand off the handlebars and greet clearly; a raised eyebrow behind your glasses doesn't count. Let's see if we can't make 2026 the Year of the Greeting. In times like these, when so much else is going downhill and what unites us is becoming less and less apparent than our differences, that would be a great start.

Wishing you all a fantastic start to the new year. Let's rock 2026!

Carsten