Economic Indicators

Our local bike shop can barely keep up. Last year it was common to be in the shop for an hour and never share time with another customer. Yesterday I was there at an odd time for about an hour and 8 different customers came in.

Business is good for them and I am glad to see it. The most interesting change is the shift from stocking 2 commuter models to having an entire rack of them. Racks, clothing and other accessories are flying off the shelves as well. They were completely sold out of chain rivet tools yesterday, who would have thought.

I’m continually amazed by the lack of commuter appropriate bikes in my local bike shops. It seems they can’t expand their focus beyond mountain bikes and road bikes. By way of example, I was in a LBS buying a double kickstand for my commuter. This late middle-aged man comes in and says he’s looking for a bike to take to work and back. You can tell he’s not interested in a sales pitch, just practical advise on what to get. Out of the dozens and dozens of bikes on the floor, not one seemed set up to function as a commuter and the clerk seemed unable to give appropriate advise on what he should consider. This seems to be case at nearly all of the last 5 or 6 shops I’ve been to; little in the way of commuter bikes and even less in the way of accessories for commuters. Only one shop here in Houston, West End Cycles, even seems aware of what I believe is a dramatic spike in interest in bike commuting.

@Doug,

I’ve heard the same thing and spotted a Walmart bike online that honestly, really didn’t have anything wrong with it. Good thing is that consumers are going looking, but I don’t think shops are quite ready to handle this new transportation market. They’re used to higher-end, road, and Mtn. I don’t know if the online sales are up as well, but I’d expect so. Mellow Johnny’s in Austin certainly spotted this trend.

Also just learned that the shop selling our jerseys only has one left!

Regarding lack of commuter-centric LBS: I agree. I think one reason is there’s much higher margins in high-end road and mtn bikes than a $500 commuter bike. Also, take a look at who typically works at an LBS. I think, in general, there’s a disconnect between LBS employees and the non-enthusiast who walks into a shop looking for practical advice and options for commuting around town and to/from work. I even continue to see LBS advertising in newspapers that continue to cater to the high-end, enthusiast crowd. Now, I’ve made some generalizations, of course, based on my limited experience, and knowledge of my own LBS here in Bend, OR. There are undoubtedly many shops that do an incredible job of understanding the commuter (Portland LBS comes to mind). I’ve bounced around the idea of actually opening a commuter-focused shop to address that growing niche here in my town.

Well, CleverCycles is that shop and had to shut down … the industry is scrambling to respond with the retro-attack mentioned above. More steel, simple bikes, and I think a really good time for a drop-bar Nexus or other internally geared drivetrains to arrive en masse. At least once a week, I pass or see a cyclist trying to climb in some monster gear or on the flats in the wrong gear. Shimano tried to make bikes less confusing with Lime (ignoring the fact that consumers also like bikes that don’t weigh 50 pounds), but making more simpler choices available I think will really help.

It’s the spectrum from Campy 11 to Bianchi Milano (still an upscale, really, very nice bike). And where I think the industry really needs to innovate: bring back nice, simple steel frames with a simple drivetrain. Nuvinci has done that in part and I know working on a lighter version.

I also failed to mention above in my post that folding bikes are also struggling to meet demand, with double-digit growth.

@Doug - the small, local shops around Seattle are doing a better job of carrying commuter options than the large chains. Performance Bicycles here is just starting to dribble in some decent commuter bikes. It’s only one or two models, however. By contrast, Velo Bike Shop on Pine and 11th has a decent selection of commuter-friendly picks, including a Giant Transport that has me salivating. (Two ultra-sturdy racks - one front, one rear. Oh my, yes…)

In terms of supplies, ALL of the shops seems to have a problem keeping rear racks and bags in stock.

i’m in santa monica, and after having my bike stolen (how’s THAT for economic indicators?) i settled on a swobo folsom. in the process of shopping for and info gathering i was in and out of several LA-area shops, a few visited and re-visited, over the last month or so, and they all seemed to be experiencing heavier foot traffic. i also went on my weekly evening ride last night and there were more people than ever out enjoying a bike ride. aside from the fixie fascination that’s still growing, i’d bet my new bike that local sales are stronger than in recent years.

I just got a call from the owner of one of my local bike shops here in Montclair, NJ. He call to tell me that my Kona Ute has arrived and is all set to go.

I aksed about sales and he told me that sales of sub $500 daily commuter stle bikes wwere definitely up and that repairs were also up.

It is a good sign.

I live in brooklyn and bike to manhattan daily, and in the past month, it has gone from passing four or five cyclists on the span of the bridge to passing 20 or more.. sure the weather helps, but its the gas, stupid.

I live on the Ga/SC line, and I recently purchased a Lime bike so I can begin using the car less and the bike salesmen said that sales were up due to the gas crisis. My bike store is small, but has a good mix of bikes. I asked about folding bikes and they ordered me one… and today when I went to pick it up, they said people who saw it on the floor this week had been asking about it. I’ll be curious to hear if they sell more…