Bicycles flying out the door during pandemic lockdown
Early data suggests more people are out biking, with big increases in traffic on popular trails
WATERLOO REGION — Normally at this time of year, Blake Hetherington would have a couple of hundred bikes for sale in his shop. This year, he’s down to 16 or 17 bikes.
Bicycles have been flying out the door at his Cambridge store, Grand River Cycle, as they have at bike shops across the region and around the world.
When the COVID lockdown hit in mid-March, the gym, the arena and the basketball court were off-limits for fun or exercise. Hockey, soccer and dance lessons ended.
So people turned to their bikes. That’s been a boon for local bike shops, which have seen skyrocketing sales, and a huge boost in demand for repair and maintenance services.
“We’ve seen a lot of bikes getting pulled out of garages and basements and sheds because there’s no bikes to be had, so we’re resurrecting old ones,” said Lori Lackenbauer at King Street Cycles in Waterloo. Many customers are bringing in used bikes they’ve bought online, looking for a tune-up or minor repair.
The lockdown, an early spring, and a lack of other options for fresh air and exercise have led to record demand for bikes.
“This is the first day in two months we haven’t had a lineup out the door,” said Ryan McDonough, manager of McPhail’s Cycle and Sports in Waterloo.
The range of buyers is broad, Lackenbauer said: “It’s everyone. It’s families, it’s parents wanting to get out with their kids. We just had a group of three guys in their early 20s. They usually go to the gym, but
they can’t so they’re looking to get mountain bikes and try our local trails.”
Early data suggests more people are out biking, with big increases in traffic on popular trails like the Spur Line and Iron Horse.
The uptick in bike sales, like the pandemic itself, is global, Lackenbauer said, so that shops aren’t able to get more inventory from their suppliers.
“All of the big bike companies are out of bikes ... By mid-April we started seeing a shortage (of bikes),” Lackenbauer said. “By May there was very little in the $500 to $1,000 price point, which is our bread and butter.”
In the early days of the pandemic, when the rules weren’t entirely clear, Hetherington said his shop wasn’t allowing people to test-ride bikes. To his astonishment, people still bought them, without ever having ridden them.
Hetherington says his supplier of BMX bikes, a popular model with kids, has sold as many bikes in the first four months of 2020 as it usually sells in an entire year.
“People are buying literally everything. You’re lucky if you can find the bike you’re looking for in your size,” McDonough said, adding that bike racks, helmets and other accessories are also selling. “If it has the word bike attached to it, it’s sold.”
Longtime cyclist Jack Hawkins of St. Clements isn’t surprised that so many have turned to cycling. “It’s a healthy pastime. You’re outdoors. And there’s naturally built-in distancing when you bike.”
The bike shop folks believe people taking up cycling again after a number of years will stick with it.
McDonough said a number of his friends from high school have taken up mountain biking, and they’re now getting together for a weekly ride and a socially distanced beer, the way many old friends get together for a weekly hockey game.
He’s sure many new riders will soon realize cycling is convenient and fun. “Once they get the experience, and they see they can cover quite a bit of ground very easily, you get hooked.”