Bicycles made a triumphant comeback in 2020 with sales exploding during the height of the pandemic as people tried to find activities they could do safely and at a distance.
There was $4.1 billion worth of bikes sold in the U-S from January to October of 2020. Sales went up 65 percent over the same period in 2019.
Founder and owner of Erik’s Bikes, Boards and Skis, Erik Salvold says his sales in the Midwest were up over 40 percent last year.
“We are also seeing huge growth in the kind of bikes that are being sold. So, in combination with people embracing cycling as an activity they could do doing Covid, they also embraced e-bikes,” Salvold said.
If you’re a fan of the e-bike, you’re not alone. Electric-bike sales were up over 144 percent in 2020.
But the bicycle industry was hit with a double whammy during the pandemic and it created a major backlog in bikes.
“There was a combination of demand going off the charts and production wasn’t able to ramp up as quickly as the demand did so that created a shortage of bicycles,” said Salvold.
But if you were hoping to get your hands on the bike of your dreams this year, you might not want to press your luck.
Salvold says they’re trying to secure product as possible so, there will be bikes to choose from but you may have to be a little less picky.
“The movement of product through our stores comes in and goes out very quickly. We encourage people to get out early to find what they’d like to have or there may be some longer wait, in terms of ordering a bike and when it can be delivered.”
So, if you’re looking for that perfect bike to enjoy a nostalgic childhood flashback on two wheels, unfortunately you may have to wait a little longer or sit out another year- to get exactly what you want.
