Shimano-backed BikeFolder tracks lifecycle of bicycles

Shimano Nordic has partnered with software company BikeFolder, which offers a solution for bicycle manufacturers that gives them insights into where their products go once they leave the factory and what happens during their lifecycle.

The system made a flying start in Norway with over 1 million bikes currently in the database covering 80% of the Norwegian market of new and used bikes. Shimano Nordic is now opening the door for implementation in other countries.

Shimano Nordic is launching BikeFolder to all bicycle shops in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland in this first quarter of 2025. All 87 XXL sports warehouses in Norway have already implemented the system, and participating brands now include Giant, Merida, GT, Scott, Winora, Raymon, Specialized and more. These brands are using the features Anti-Theft Protection, Warranty Management, Direct Product Updates and Dealer Out-of-Stock Reports.

Global potential

“We truly see the global potential with the BikeFolder solution, which is designed for international scalability,” said Andrew Cowan, CEO of Shimano Nordic when the cooperation was announced. Each user, whether it is the manufacturer, the bike shop owner, the mechanic or the consumer, enjoys the benefits of the system, from optimising and automating bike shop databases to taking control of the ownership data.”

“The limited communication between dealers and customers after the purchase provides the industry a significant challenge and an opportunity. Statistics reveal that only 20% of bicycles are actually repaired – not just serviced – each year. BikeFolder fosters a closer connection between dealers and their customers.”

In-store inventory overview

The software empowers manufacturers to see which markets are performing well and which are not. They can enter each bike into the system once it leaves the factory and trace to which store it goes. Afterwards, the maintenance can be monitored.

“We have an estimated 200,000 different bike models in our database and each of them has 43 data points,” said BikeFolder founder and CEO Sondre Norland. “That’s why it took us so long to create this database. We collected the data via the manufacturer’s websites where we found all the specifications. They didn’t mind us taking this data as they get a lot of tools on BikeFolder in return immediately.”

“This can change the way we do business in the industry…”

Planning and automation

Once the bicycle has been entered into the system, retailers and mechanics can automate communications regarding sales and servicing and it gives them a complete overview of the components used and maintenance history. Seasonal peaks in servicing can be smoothed out. Dormant customers can be re-engaged and businesses can plan resourcing and sales better. Workshops can see every detail they need to ensure a successful repair. The Digital Bike Garage, gives the individual cyclist access to everything they’ll need for each bike they own. They can track servicing records, component upgrades, important documentation and a variety of smart tools.

Saving millions of tonnes of paper

A major side effect of the digitalisation of the documentation which is part of BikeFolder is the impact on sustainability. “Consider the 120 million bikes being produced every year worldwide. Each comes with documentation and manuals most people don’t read of about 4600 grammes of paper. If we can replace at least a part of that with a PDF, it will save millions of tons of paper,” says Sondre Norland. “Some brands have decided to go fully paperless, streamlining their operations further.”