вЂњIf a customer were to order a new bike today, the earliest we would likely receive it is December and maybe even as late as May,вЂќ Jimmy Revard, co-owner of The Bike Line, told Bicycling in mid-September. Those bikes were gone in fewer than six weeks. They eventually bought the entire inventory of Linus cruiser bikes-a brand that they typically donвЂ™t carry-from a dealer that went out of business just before the pandemic. Although primarily a Trek dealer, The Bike LineвЂ™s inventory was so low this summer, they needed to find alternative means of getting bikes. With sales more than doubling, they are still mostly unable to keep the store stocked with new bikes. The Bike Line has been feeling the pressure to keep up with demand. People were-and still are-looking for alternate ways for transportation, as well as find new ways to get outside and get exercise, with gyms either still closed down or opened at partial capacity across the country. Early on in the COVID-19 crisis, bike sales were up more than 120 percent over the previous year, per the Washington Post. ItвЂ™s a commonplace scene at bike shops throughout the U.S. Subscribe to Bicycling All Access for the latest cycling news!

The repair area is packed with bikes, waiting for back-ordered parts to arrive. Inside The Bike Line, showroom floors once packed with shiny, new bicycles are now nearly bare. But, as we all know, 2020 is not a normal year. In a normal year, these requests would be quickly handled. The Times reported there was a 27 percent increase in bike thefts last year.ДЄll the leading mayoral candidates have pledged to continue installing more bike lanes, and many have agreed to increase the number of parking spots for bicycles.At a makeshift counter outside The Bike Line, an independent bike shop in Indianapolis, employees regularly help a steady stream of customers looking to buy a new bike or replace the rusty chain on the an old ten-speed thatвЂ™s been gathering dust in a garage for years. вЂњWeвЂ™re fortunate that CitiBike can fill the bike supply gap in parts of the city, but we also need secure bike parking so that New Yorkers who have bikes or have recently obtained bikes continue to have those bikes,вЂќ he said. Jon Orcutt, director of advocacy at Bike New York said as cycling grows more popular, the city needs to do more to protect bikes. For comparison, in May 2020, Citibike saw an average of 48,697 rides a day. On May 14th, Citibike broke its own single-day ridership record with 106,558 rides. And Citibike continues to see record high ridership, with one week in May seeing more than 600,000 riders. Data from the Department of Transportation shows a 19 percent increase in bikes crossing city-owned bridges compared to the same time last year. We donвЂ™t have products to sell, and weвЂ™re hoping to stay alive for the next year.вЂќД®ven as ridership steadily increases on mass transit, New Yorkers appear to be eager to hop on a bike. вЂњI tell a lot of my customers I feel terrible right now, but I'm in the business of letting people down. вЂњAbsolutely mental, we canвЂ™t get anything,вЂќ sales associate Lucas Wissell said. McCorkell said when his staff repairs bikes, they often have to scavenge around different shops to find replacement parts.ДЇor smaller shops like Bicycles NYC on the Upper East Side, which has been family-run since 1977, the dip in supply could shutter the shop.

Who wants to plan to get a bike in August or September right now?вЂќД«ut even if you have your own bike already, getting it repaired could be challenging. вЂњYou might get on a waiting list to get it in two or three months,вЂќ said McCorkell.

This year, he said the demand remains as high as last year, but unless someone wants a kidвЂ™s bike or a $2,000 road bike, there isnвЂ™t much for the average customer to buy. In addition, factories in Asia that make these parts have shut down due to the pandemic, which continues to hobble many countries.Д«icycle Habitat, which has three locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, sold more than 5,000 bikes in 2020, a 50% increase over 2019, according to owner Charlie McCorkell. ThereвЂ™s also increased demand for raw supplies, like bolts, leather and aluminum. Shops across the city are reporting a record low stock of bicycles, and parts like grips and pedals are hard to come by as supply chain issues related to the pandemic prevent shipments from arriving on time. And some bike shops worry about whether they can stay in business until then. New YorkвЂ™s bike shops had a booming year for sales in 2020, but so far this year, a shortage of supplies means New Yorkers may have to wait until the fall or longer to get a new bike. Shop owners say this is due to supply chain problems related to the pandemic, a shortage of raw materials overseas, as well as factories being closed in Asia because of COVID. Many stores report months-long waits for new bicycles, and a shortage of basic bike parts. Bike shops in the city are having difficulty meeting the demand for bicycles.

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