Are you looking to get into bicycling? Whether for general exercise around your neighborhood or town or to train for future triathlon sport races, that sounds like a fantastic idea!
However, you’ll have to get ready to backorder a bicycle from your local bike shop or even online.
But why, though?
Here’s the short answer. The Washington Post reported the NPD Group’s findings of adult bicycle sales skyrocketing by 121% and increasing by 59% for children’s bicycle sales in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bike sales have increased due to reduced demand for public transport
YesCycling.com believes bike sales have increased during the pandemic as not only a way to get exercise in between staying at home, but they are becoming a safer transportation alternative rather than using public transport.
The Transit App shows that metro cities throughout the United States have seen an overall negative 69% demand for public transportation demand due to COVID-19.
While personnel on public buses and trains may take the safety precautions necessary to sanitize and disinfect seats, it does not mean that it’s completely safe using this option.
Many people refuse to wear a mask while on public transportation, and some individuals with COVID-19 may even be using the same bus or train.
It’s not worth the risk.
Biking is an outlet for fun and recharging during COVID-19
More people are quarantining and/or working from home to stay safe during the pandemic. Think about the kids who are also virtually learning from home as well while their parents are possibly trying to balance working from in or out of the house.
People have been looking for an outlet to exercise and recharge during the stressful demands of having to transition to doing mostly everything from home to stay safe from COVID-19.
It’s one thing to go on a brisk walk around the block, but it’s an entirely different experience to jump on a break and use all your strength and endurance to ride around your neighborhood.
According to Harvard Health, bicycling builds your muscles and bones and provides you an aerobic workout that is healthy for your heart.
While biking is relatively easy to do, and you can customize a bike ride to your own pace using the friction shifter, any bicycle workout intensity will have you feeling refreshed at the end.
How behind is bike production in China?
According to Industry Week, Giant Manufacturing Company in China is the world’s largest bicycle retailer.
They had to move operations to Taiwan and the Netherlands because of President Trump’s imposed 25% increase on tariffs back in 2019. Giant Manufacturing just opened a production plant in Hungary, and its goal is to produce 300,000 bikes by the end of 2021.
The New York Times reported that Trump temporarily lifted the tariffs due to COVID-19 up until the end of August 2020 for particular bike models.
While this reduced distribution costs for Giant Manufacturing, it could not aid in the increasing bicycle demand in the United States.
There are only 5 production plants left in China, which makes up about 70% of the manufacturing company’s production output. Bicycle production in China is suffering because younger individuals are not as interested in manufacturing jobs anymore as in earlier years.
The overwhelming increased demand of U.S. orders is also making production more difficult even for the largest and most popular global bicycle manufacturer.
Despite running their factories full-time to continually produce different bike models, there is just not enough manpower or production plants as of now to keep up with the demand.
How do I backorder a bicycle from my local bike shop?
Visit your local bike shop and browse the inventory to see which model you would like to buy. If the one you want is not in stock, ask the customer service representative when the model will be in stock again.
He or she can take down your contact information and give you a call when the bike has arrived at their store.
If you need a bike immediately, try one of the models that are currently in stock at the shop. An alternative would be to rent a bike for temporary use at a bike rental shop, especially if it is just for a short vacation.
Interesting related article: “Three ways people are taking back control of their travel.”