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Tuesday, March 19
The Indiana Daily Student

business & economy bloomington

Bloomington bike shops see increased demand, shortages during pandemic

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Normally, Revolution Bike and Bean is fully stocked, on the main floor and in the basement, sales manager Jesse Smith said. Now, he can barely keep bikes on the floor.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “I’ll build up a new bike, and it’ll sell 20 minutes later.”

There has been a global shift in demand for bicycles, according to the New York Times. As people look for different ways to commute and get out of the house, the demand for bikes has brought a shortage to the U.S. This economic change affects Bloomington as well, a bicycling community.

“Especially this town, we have amazing biking in all three categories of off-road, on-road, mountain biking,” Smith said. There’s just so much to do here.“

For Bikesmiths, another Bloomington bike shop, bike sales were up 68% in the beginning of April to May 23 from the same time last year, general manager Adam Rodkey said. He said he suspects they are up because it is spring but also because people are in quarantine.

“I believe people are kind of all of a sudden more concerned with their health,” he said. “You kind of look at bicycling and other outdoor activities, walking, running, that sort of stuff as a good alternative to doing nothing. Bike sales have just kind of skyrocketed.”

Rodkey said there are a couple reasons for the shortage. The supply chain was disrupted back in 2018 due to tariffs placed on goods from China. But manufacturing in countries such as Taiwan and the Philippines also shut down due to the coronavirus for months at a time. Now, production is behind. Bike shops are relying on bikes already in the U.S.

“Whatever was in warehouses here in the U.S. is all that was available,” Rodkey said. “Basically everything that was left in the country just got completely bought up.”

Anne Holahan, co-owner of Bicycle Garage, Inc., said she has noticed that people of all ages are coming in for different reasons, including fitness, commuting and family activity. She said more people have been bringing their bikes in for repair, too.

Bicycle Garage, Inc. has seen demand from many places in Indiana, Holahan said. The store typically serves south-central Indiana, but more customers have been coming from northern Indiana as well searching for specific bike models.

“It’s not unusual to have a customer come from, say Terre Haute or Greenwood,” she said. “We’ve seen more customers coming from a wider geographic area during the pandemic.”

The pandemic may have helped bike sales, but Smith says it also brought a loss.

“We probably lost a good chunk of business from whenever Little 5 got canceled,” he said. “It’s not just all happy things.”

The shortage is affecting most businesses, small and big, Rodkey said.

“It’s global,” he said. “A very big bike shop with a lot more buying power may have been able to bring in more units earlier on, but the fact is no one really knew this was going to happen like this.”

Holahan said the wait for bikes may also be because the industry is between model years. She said new bikes come out in June or July, but they will be delayed because of the pandemic. 

Rodkey said Bikesmiths sold out of children’s bikes. He said they still have adult bikes because they keep more adult bikes in stock than children’s. Smith said he noticed the same trend with children’s bikes at Revolution Bike and Bean.

“Most people are just trying to buy anything they can get their hands on,” he said. “It’s just weird.”

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