Bike Shops Grapple with High Demand, Low Stock
When the COVID-19 Pandemic hit last spring, many people from around the world turned to the great outdoors for a safe escape. Here in the Hudson Valley, an area rich with beautiful scenery, trails, and tourist attractions, things were no different.
According to the Outdoor Industry Association, there was a large uptick in the number of Americans who took up new activities during the months of April, May, and June 2020; when COVID numbers were at their worst levels across many parts of the country. The most popular new activities were running, cycling, and hiking.
While the increase in outdoor recreation is generally positive, it did create a problem for many local retailers who have had a hard time keeping up with high demand for their inventory. Local bike shops were perhaps the most impacted by the increase in outdoor hobby participation. According to The Washington Post, bike sales were up more than 120 percent over the previous year in the early months of the pandemic. In fact, the global uptick in demand for bicycles created a global bike shortage.
“We sold the vast majority of our bicycles early on in the pandemic,” said Bev Whalen, an employee at Bikeway Bicycles, “after that we didn’t know when we’d have more in stock… we basically had a waiting list for months in advance for bicycles we didn’t even know if we were getting.”
The shortage was experienced at other bike shops in the Hudson Valley as well, Wheel and Heel in Wappingers Falls was taking orders last August for bikes scheduled to arrive in January.
Yeison Ramirez, who had been trying to buy a bike since last October, was finally able to get his hands on one in late March. “I was constantly refreshing several shop’s websites to see if they had stock. As soon as I saw it was available, I drove 90 minutes to make sure I didn’t miss out again.”
The bike shortage has impacted many traditional brick and mortar retailers who now have to rely on repair service fees to supplement income they’ve missed out on due to the bike shortage. Retail locations are also being outmatched by brands that ship directly to consumers at a more affordable price.
As COVID-19 case numbers have dropped and the FDA authorized vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson) have become more widely available, things have started to return to normal. However, that isn’t yet the case for the bike industry, as factories and suppliers from around the world have been forced to put operations on hold. According to Yahoo, most brands have sold out of their 2021 inventory, and it remains largely unclear how things will look into 2022.
