WASHINGTON — As families spend more time outdoors following the long pandemic winter, demand for bikes continues to be at an all-time high. However, if you are in the market for a new bicycle, you may find there are not many options.
Because of the challenges with ordering bike parts from overseas, many local shop owners said they no longer have inventory to sell.
John Logan is the CEO of a new bicycle company in northeast DC called You Move. The company is based around helping people service their bikes because he says it is extremely difficult to enter the selling market right now.
"As of right now, if you are looking to get a bicycle, you’re looking at two or three years for anything from any big brand unless there is a massive factory expansion," said Logan.
More than a year after the pandemic started, Logan said the bike shortage likely won't go away anytime soon.
Many bike shops are still unable to order bicycle parts because many of the shipments come from countries outside of the United States. The disruptions in the supply chain are now impacting nearly every bike shop across the country.
"No one company really produces everything and most of the machines and labor and materials for the assembly of a bicycle all occur overseas. To be honest, I think the secondhand bicycle market is a really reasonable look at the moment," said Logan.
Retailers are running out of bicycles earlier in the season and many store owners cannot find important parts for bicycle repairs, including brake pads and inner tubes.
"I would say there’s going to be an expansion of manufacturing but overall the traditional bicycle industry is probably going to transfer to new innovation. The original device that was used in the 1820s in Germany did not even have the pedal system and now we have a new electrical battery motor system," said Logan.
Logan said the future of the bicycle industry will likely start to move away from the traditional bicycle and instead will likely see a rise in electric bikes or three or four-wheel devices for kids to ride.
"The best thing for consumers is to be a little bit more creative about what they are looking for," said Logan.