What Is the BIDEX Bike Data Standard and How Does It Work?
BIDEX is the digital backbone connecting cycling brands to specialist retailers across German-speaking Europe and beyond. If your products are sold through independent bike dealers, BIDEX is an easy way to ensure your data reaches their shelves.
What Is BIDEX?
BIDEX — short for Bicycle Data Exchange — is a German cycling industry initiative that defines common digital standards and cloud applications for cycling specialist retail (Fachhandel). Its mission is to answer a deceptively simple question: how do product data from manufacturers reach the ERP systems, online catalogues, and homepages of hundreds of independent bike retailers in a standardized, scalable way?
BIDEX was founded by Eurobike/fairnamic, RIM, 53-ELF (Ulf-Christian Blume), and Velobiz, and is headquartered in Ennepetal, Germany. Today it connects over 800 retailers and 60+ brands, generating more than 6 million data actions per month.
BIDEX is not a vendor product — it is an industry initiative operating shared infrastructure for the benefit of the entire specialist retail channel.
What Does BIDEX Actually Do?
BIDEX BikeData
The product data exchange format at the heart of BIDEX. Currently at version 1.6, BikeData uses Excel-based templates — with separate files for Bikes, Accessories, and Clothing — containing defined fields for:
- Technical specifications and filtering parameters
- Geometry data across three groups (frame sizing and fitting)
- Logistics data (dimensions, weights, packaging)
- Media references (images, videos, PDFs)
- Multi-language catalogue data (DE, EN, FR, IT, NL)
Products are classified using the BIDEX Warengruppenschlüssel — a free 6-digit product group key (for example, 103030 = Bicycles > City/Urban > Dutch bike) available via online search, Excel download, XML web service, and Veloconnect. The key also includes labour values and revenue account recommendations (SKR03/SKR04).
Brands submit compliant BikeData files to BIDEX; from there, BIDEX distributes them to retailer ERP systems, the Onlinekatalog, and Veloconnect. Compliance can be tested at bidex.bike/BikeData-Onlinetest before submission.
This is a data standard that is free to use by bike and component brands.
BIDEX online catalogue
A central online product catalogue for specialist retailers, populated automatically with data from compliant BikeData submissions. Retailers use it to browse products, compare specs, and place orders without needing to contact brand sales reps directly.
Retailers pay to get access to the online catalogue feature.
BIDEX BikeLocal
A service that shows real-time retailer stock availability directly on a brand’s homepage and portal. Retailers connect their ERP (Warenwirtschaft) via one of 45+ supported interfaces or via Veloconnect VC 1.4. End customers can see which local dealers have a specific model in stock and use Click & Reserve functionality — at 0% commission to BIDEX.
BikeLocal pricing for retailers: €49/month for BikeLocal alone, €59/month for the Onlinekatalog, or €99/month for the full homepage solution.
BIDEX Brand Page
A digital brand presence embedded directly on retailer websites via a JavaScript widget. Free for retailers to embed; the brand pays for creation. When combined with BikeLocal, it adds live stock display, Click & Collect, and dealer pricing. Without BikeLocal, it shows the product overview with RRP only. This gives brands consistent presence across their entire dealer network without managing individual retailer website integrations.
Who Uses BIDEX?
BIDEX is the standard for cycling specialist retail in German-speaking markets and is increasingly relevant across Europe. Its ecosystem includes:
Brands and manufacturers: Any bike brand, component supplier, or accessories manufacturer selling through German or European independent bike dealers. Over 60 brands are already connected, including major international players.
Retailers: 800+ independent cycling specialist retailers rely on BIDEX data for their ERP systems, product catalogues, and customer-facing stock displays.
ERP and software vendors: BIDEX is integrated into major retail software systems, including systems that also support Veloconnect.
What Is the BIDEX Warengruppenschlüssel?
The Warengruppenschlüssel (product group key) is one of BIDEX’s foundational contributions to the cycling industry. It is a free, open classification system using 6-digit codes to categorize every type of cycling product in a consistent, hierarchical taxonomy.
For example:
- 100000 = Bicycles (top level)
- 103000 = City/Urban bicycles
- 103030 = City/Urban > Dutch-style bike
The key is maintained by BIDEX and available in five languages (DE, EN, FR, IT, NL). It is used not only in BikeData templates but also in Veloconnect VC 1.5 and VC 1.6 modules for product classification and sales reporting. Any brand selling into European specialist retail is likely to encounter this classification system.
BIDEX vs. Veloconnect vs. DST: What's the Difference?
These two standards are often mentioned together and are genuinely complementary, but they do different jobs:
BIDEX is a data classification and attribute standard — it defines what product data looks like: which fields exist, how products are categorized, what geometry data is required, and how media references are structured.
Veloconnect is a transport protocol — it defines how data moves between systems via machine-to-machine XML communication. Veloconnect VC 1.5 (the Catalog module) can carry BIDEX-formatted product data, and VC 1.6 (Sales module) includes BIDEX product group classification fields.
In practice, many brands use both: BIDEX defines the data structure, and Veloconnect handles automated delivery to retailer ERP systems. They are not competing standards; they are layers in the same distribution stack.
DST is the Dutch-market equivalent of combining BIDEX Basics and Veloconnect in a single non-profit platform. It standardizes both what the data looks like and how it is distributed. Find out more about how DST works.
Common questions about BIDEX
Is BIDEX free for brands?
BIDEX charges brands for its services (BikeData distribution, BikeLocal, Brandpage). Retailers pay for access to BikeLocal and the Onlinekatalog at the pricing tiers above. The Warengruppenschlüssel classification is free to access and use.
Does BIDEX replace a PLM or PIM system?
No. BIDEX is retail distribution infrastructure. It does not create, govern, or lifecycle-manage product data. Brands need an upstream data management system — typically a PIM/PLM — to prepare and maintain the data they submit to BIDEX.
Can BikeData be tested before submission?
Yes. BIDEX operates a compliance testing tool at bidex.bike/BikeData-Onlinetest that checks whether a submitted template meets all required field rules before it is distributed.
Is BIDEX only relevant for German-speaking markets?
BIDEX originated in Germany but supports product data in five languages and is increasingly used across European markets. Its Warengruppenschlüssel is widely adopted. However, other regional standards (such as DST for the Netherlands and Belgium) serve as the primary infrastructure in their respective markets.
BIDEX and PIM Systems: Where Does Data Management Fit?
BIDEX defines how data is formatted and delivered to retailers. It does not help manufacturers create, manage, or govern that data internally.
Filling and updating BikeData Excel templates for hundreds of articles every season is time-consuming and error-prone. For brands managing 50 to 1000+ products across model years, this becomes a significant operational burden — especially when the same product data also needs to flow to other channels like DST (for Benelux), websites and brand webshops.
This is where a PIM/PLM system (Product Information Management / Product Lifecycle Management) plays a role. Purpose-built software solutions for the cycling industry, such as NOCA, map their internal data structure directly to BIDEX BikeData fields, enabling one-click export to templates. This eliminates manual column matching, reduces the risk of compliance failures, and ensures that every downstream channel — BIDEX, Veloconnect, DST, Bike Matrix — is served from the same single source of truth.
Master your product data with the NOCA portal
Ensure everyone uses the same, consistent, and up-to-date product data across your organisation and the data is synchronised across marketing and sales channels – like BIDEX BikeData – to create less manual work and more revenue.
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