Covation rides Shanghai's extreme sports wave to expand Huffy in China

by YANGSHU Hongji

Global bicycle maker Covation Holdings is stepping up its push into China as the country's extreme-sports market surges, using the FISE World Series in Shanghai as a platform to promote its U.S. brand Huffy.

At the 2025 FISE event in Shanghai's West Bund, BMX rider Nick Bruce — the first to land a double tailwhip-to-tailwhip — drew cheers as he soared above the ramps. Bruce and his teammates also joined local promotional events and donated bikes to young riders, part of Huffy's campaign to build its profile in China.

Based in Hong Kong, Covation owns global cycling brands including Huffy, Batch, Niner, VAAST, Buzz and Royce Union. The vertically integrated company sells in more than 50 countries and ranked third worldwide in bicycle sales in 2024.

Long popular in North America, Covation's brands are still little known in China. That is beginning to change. The company has opened Batch flagship stores in Suzhou and Ningbo, following a Shenzhen outlet that serves as its China base. Batch targets leisure and entry-level cyclists with ready-to-ride bikes priced between 1,500 and 4,000 yuan (about US$210–560).

China's extreme-sports industry was worth 201.6 billion yuan (about US$28 billion) in 2024 and is expected to grow more than 15% a year, driven by young consumers and rising urban leisure spending. A professional BMX can cost up to $2,000, highlighting the market's premium potential.

Bruce said China's investment in extreme sports has grown rapidly in recent years, pointing to 18-year-old DENG Yawen's BMX freestyle gold medal at the Paris Olympics as an example of its progress. Huffy BMX team manager Nic Long added that the brand is exploring sponsorship opportunities with promising young Chinese riders.

Photo from 2025 FISE World Series of Extreme Sports

The Shanghai FISE stop, organized by France's Hurricane Group, attracted 900 athletes from 34 countries this year, including two UCI World Cup events, and drew more than 80,000 spectators, up 60% from last year. Hervé André-Benoit, Hurricane's chief executive, said the surge in participation and audience numbers showed how extreme sports have shifted from a niche pursuit to a mainstream activity in China.

The event featured family, pet, outdoor and lifestyle zones with over 220 brands across sports, gaming, automotive and retail — reflecting China's growing "sports + lifestyle" consumption trend.

Host district Xuhui is turning the West Bund into a hub for sports, culture and leisure. Once an industrial riverfront, the area now features museums, parks and public facilities such as skateparks, climbing walls and BMX tracks — part of Shanghai's broader goal to become an international center for consumption and urban living.