As the weather starts to warm up, people are beginning to get outside for some fresh air. But, if you’re looking to buy a new bike this spring, you may be out of luck.
Local bike shops in Lethbridge are struggling to meet the growing demand. Alberta has been experiencing a shortage of bikes since the start of the pandemic. The shortage is being felt across the world as suppliers can’t keep up.
Easton Beaulieu, sales manager at Ascent Cycle says the shortage has carried over from last year, with their shop already selling out within the first warm week in March.
“We have no bikes left to sell, everything on the floor is pretty much on hold for somebody or pre-sold. We’re getting shipments, but it’s all delayed because the suppliers can’t keep up with the demand right now. It’s the same everywhere, all of the shops are dwindling down with what they have.”
Bike stores across the world have seen a huge spike in sales at the start of the pandemic, with many across Western Canada selling out of stock by June of 2020. The spike in sales resulted in factories overseas running out of supplies. With COVID-19 closing down large factories, they were unable to produce new products in a timely fashion to meet the rising demand. Experts say they expect it will take manufactures three to four years before they are able to catch up.
Jon McFadden, the general manager of Bert & Mac’s Source for Sports says they are already placing orders for 2022, without knowing how many bikes they will get this season.
“On a regular year if you were to come in to buy a bike, we’d say, ‘hey we got two or three bikes from each company and two or three choices of colours, let’s send you on a test ride and see what you like’ and if we were running low, we’d order some more and it would be here next week, that’s a regular year. That is not happening this year, so if we sell out of anything which we’ve sold out of everything, we can’t order more. So, we’re now placing orders today with one of our major suppliers for 2022 not even knowing what we’re going to get this year and how many we’re going to sell.”
With the high demand for supply, lead times have increased on components from 30 to 60 days up to more than 300 to 400 days for some parts such as suspension, contact points and wheels. McFadden says people looking to purchase a new bike this spring are being advised that it will take a few months before the product arrives.
“We have a long waiting list for bikes coming in, if you put your name down for a new $500 adult bike today, we’re probably looking at seeing the delivery of the product and hoping to get you on a bike around June or July this year. It’s absolutely crazy, we have never seen these long of wait times, but it’s the same everywhere.”
Beaulieu says Ascent Cycle has also created a waiting list with people hoping to buy a bike this spring.
“Our waiting list is over 500 people. We’re calling people all the time, every week. We sometimes get in a few more bikes, knock a few people off the list and add a few dozen more, it’s a never-ending cycle.”
As for other outdoor recreational items such as scooters and rollerblades, McFadden says demand has also increased with orders being pushed back for several months.
“We’ve got probably 300 to 400 scooters on order. We were told that we’d have those in by March, but that’s been bumped to either June or July. We’re running pretty skimpy on scooters and rollerblades, in a regular year we’d order rollerblades to be here in about a week, but this year, if there are no products in the warehouse, we’re not going to see any.”
The shortage is expected to last for the next couple of years before supply is back to normal. Beaulieu says they will be getting bikes throughout the year, it just depends on how much and when.
“We’re happy to give you a call when stuff gets here, but just being patient. You honestly can’t be too picky right now either, if you want something specific, it’s something you’re going have to wait a lot longer for.”