The Kids' Bike Leasing Ecosystem Is Fragmented — And No One Wins This Way

What’s blocking Circular Kids’ mobility — How smarter cooperation can unlock progress On the surface, it looks like progress. Everyone says the Cycling industry is moving forward: more funding, more bikes, more climate goals. But beneath the surface, a dysfunctional system is quietly undermining all of it. And behind every missed delivery, every blocked partnership, every stalled service — is a child still waiting for a bike. Let’s be honest about what’s really happening. Who Carries the Weight when the System Breaks?

Each layer affects the next — but when decisions are disconnected, the ones with the least power pay the highest price. When Layers Don’t Align, the Center Breaks. Understanding the weight of the system so we can rebuild better. Bike Shops

They want growth and margin — but block the very partners 

Some bike shops wear multiple hats — also acting as retailers, service hubs, and gatekeepers. But when that influence is used to throttle stock, delay deliveries, or quietly freeze out leasing entrepreneurs, the whole system starts to crack.

·       Customers are left in limbo.

·       Revenues collapse.

·       Collaboration dies.

And the irony? In trying to “win,” these actions weaken the very ecosystem that supports their long-term success. Worse still, some extract operational insights from early companies — pricing, delivery flows, service terms — only to later cut ties and replicate the model on their own.That’s not partnership. That’s short-sighted exploitation. This isn’t about blame. It’s about misaligned incentives — and a system that fails to reward transparency, trust, and collaboration. It’s about development of the markets. Manufacturers

They want to grow market share — but allow middlemen to filter access to innovation.

From the factory floor, it looks like bikes are shipping and orders are rising. But what’s invisible is the control some retailers exert — quietly blocking communication, manipulating flow, or ghosting new leasing entrants. Manufacturers lose — they just don’t always see it. Bike brands think their customer is the shop. But when shops block communication, manufacturers miss out on long-term B2B partnerships with leasing services that could 10x lifetime sales per bike. The cost? Missed scale. Missed insights. Missed retention, and product development.

While I running a leasing company, parents would ask: “Can’t you just call the bike manufacturer? You can get a bike to us”. What they didn’t see was what I already knew. Blocked access. Strategic silence.

The result? A child left waiting. A manufacturer losing future B2B growth, and developing the product more child-friendly. Trust eroding — silently.

“If the people closest to your end customer can’t reach you, you’re not just losing deals — you’re losing direction.”

Dealers

The ones who do it right? Independent dealers who operate with transparency and integrity. They remind us what real partnership looks like — service-first, ego-free, and collaborative by design.

Entrepreneurs

They came to build — not to fight gatekeepers.Entrepreneurs are trying to create better systems. They pay the suppliers. They pay logistics. They serve the customer. And yet, the resistance comes from within the system itself. If this is what innovation is met with, no wonder it stalls.

Logistics

They’re ready to deliver — but can’t fix upstream chaos. The pressure lands here when upstream players fail. In 2023, Europe handled 19 billion parcel deliveries — 6.2 billion during peak season alone. A single missed swap? One delayed bike? It’s not a small thing — it’s a lost subscription, a lost customer, a lost mission.

The Scale of the Problem Is Bigger Than It Looks Europe’s bicycle ecosystem is vast and deeply interconnected. Retail networks like ZEG, which represents over 1,100 bike shops across Europe (including more than 600 in Germany), illustrate how large and complex the supplier–dealer landscape has become. When cooperation breaks down — between shops, manufacturers, or service providers — the ripple effects aren’t isolated. What looks like a local supply issue can cascade through the system, slowing access, blocking innovation, and eroding trust across the entire network.

Policymakers

They invest — but don’t realize their funding flows through broken infrastructure. Funds are flowing. Cycling is trending. But without visibility into the real barriers — the power plays, the broken data flows, the misaligned incentives — public investments hit walls. Companies can’t scale if they don't understand.

Policymakers are making rules, and investing public money into cycling. But without visibility into the real dysfunctions on the ground, funds are misallocated, and progress stalls. Where are the real bottlenecks? Where is innovation being blocked? What does meaningful cooperation actually look like? The European children’s bicycle market alone is valued at over €2 billion annually — yet much of this market is still fragmented, inefficient, and underserved by scalable, circular models. The question is not if kids need access to better mobility — but who is really building the systems to deliver it?

Policymakers putting real capital into cycling — and the intent is right. But without operational visibility, that funding is diluted, blocked, or redirected.

Please ask yourself:

• Where is innovation in the kids' bike leasing ecosystem being quietly blocked?

• Who controls the flow of bikes — and who’s being systematically shut out?

• Are we funding real access — or just preserving the status quo?

• And once public money enters the picture:    → What position is that company expected to hold — operationally, strategically, and long term?
  

Because if we’re funding purpose-driven companies, we must also protect their ability to deliver — not leave them to navigate power structures alone.

“You can’t fix a system if everyone’s pretending it works.”

Customers

And the customer? Always pays the price. While the system debates margins and market share, the child is still waiting for the bike.They’re the reason this industry exists — yet they’re the first to lose when it fails. The family who believed in something better. The child who didn’t get the bike. They didn’t ask for infighting. They asked for movement. We promised access — and delivered bureaucracy. They believed in something better — and got delays, complexity, and excuses.

There Are No Winners in a Broken System

Not the Bike Shops. Not the Entrepreneurs. Not the Manufacturers. Not the Cities. And certainly not the Child / Families still waiting.

So What Do We Do?

We don’t need more bikes, and products. We need smarter systems.

Systems that:

• Share data, and act

• Integrate new service providers into the system

• Deliver what’s promised

• Back entrepreneurs

• Empower policymakers

• Keep the customer at the center
  

This is why I created the Kids' Mobility Playbook

A strategic, evidence-based guide for leaders who want to build smarter, fairer, more circular mobility models — together.

“I’ve seen what happens when systems don’t speak to each other. I’ve also built what works when they do amazingly perfect. And what are the customers needs, and expectations in different levels”.

🫱 If we’re serious about sustainable Kids' Mobility, we can’t keep pretending these cracks don’t exist. Let’s stop blocking the flow - Let’s redesign it.

- Jaana Ylikoski, Founder

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