If you’re in the market for a new bicycle, you may want to hit the brakes. Nationwide bike shortages are making it difficult for customers to purchase bikes, as supply chain companies struggle to keep up with demand.
“Here in Burlington, we are seeing that since the start of Covid, people really want to get outside,” said Cooper Willsey, salesperson for Skirack. “Bikes in particular are really sought after, and because many of the parts are made overseas, it’s been very tricky for any manufacturer to get them.”
Hartl mountain bikes priced at around $2,000 are a convenient choice for many Vermonters, but overwhelming demand makes them far from easy to purchase. Some have waited since September to get one, and the waiting game is expected to continue until next year, Willsey said.
In many cases, customers settle for bikes from similar brands or different price points.
“If customers wanted something in particular and had an order placed for a while, we’ve been able to find something similar from a different brand or at a different price point. So, there are ways to work around it,” he said.
In Morrisville, Chuck’s Bikes has yet to run into issues with supply.
The key for the local bike shop was to order early and prepare for high demands. “We got a lot of bikes here, and we haven’t had any problems with running out,” said Hank Glowiak, lifetime rider and owner of Chuck’s Bikes. “We ordered them very early on. We also had a lot of bikes here all winter. Then, March came and it was crazy.”
Old Spokes Home, a nonprofit bike repair shop in the Old North End, has seen an increase in sales since early spring. “There was a bike boom last year, and recently when we were doing our April numbers for sales in March, we noticed an increase. A ton of people are coming in,” said Kelly Duggan, marketing and program manager of Old Spokes.
Bike sales across the country rose by 50 percent in March, according to the NPD Group, a market research company. A recent story by The Washington Post reported that the company experienced a 121 percent increase in adult bike sales and a 59 percent uptick in children’s bike sales compared to the previous year.
With the pandemic bringing people outdoors along with the warm weather, it is no coincidence that bikes are in high demand. “I think [biking] was an important way for people to socially distance themselves and take care of their physical and mental health,” Duggan said.
However, the surge in biking also flags the issue of transportation equity in Vermont.
“We’ve got about 90 years of building a system that supports motorized travel,” said Richard Watts, co-founder of Sustainable Transportation Vermont and director of the Center for Research on Vermont.
The car, and systems that support it, allow people to travel safely. Outside of driving the car, especially in Vermont, there are very few protected bike lanes, he said. “The research is absolutely clear. If you make it safer for people to bike, more people will bike.”
In Burlington, a city populated by more than 40,000 people, there is only one bike lane.
“That’s just wrong,” Watts said. People who are not able to drive due to old age, choose not to drive or try to use other modes of transportation are disadvantaged, he said.
“That affects people who are lower income, poor, or Black and brown, much more than those who are white. From a transportation equity system, it’s a shame what we have done to not recognize the other ways that people want to get around. We’ve privileged the car for a long time,” he said. With lifted restrictions and more bikers on the road, Watts hopes that the increase in people cycling and walking will extend into a time “when things get to be more normal.”
Though current shortages have made it difficult to sell and purchase bikes, Willsey believes there is a silver lining. “It’s really wonderful to be so busy and be in a position where we can provide people with the means to get outside,” he said.
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National bike shortages project continued demand until next year - vtdigger.org
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