Cycling through the pandemic

NORWALK — The cycling boom that sprang up during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic continues unabated, and bike shops are still having trouble getting enough merchandise to meet demand. Excel Bike & Fitness in Norwalk was one bike store impacted by the increase in demand of bicycles and bicycle parts. Joe Missler, owner of the shop, says it began in March of 2020 because there was "an increase in demand of health products. People wanted to get ahead when the gyms shut down, and they wanted to keep their lungs healthy." All bike supplies were in high demand and hard to get. Missler found that he had to order ahead of time because parts were on backorder. While many stores around the world had to raise their prices due to demand and extra shipping charges, Excel Bike & Fitness has not run into this issue. However, used bike prices have been rising due to demand. Missler stated, "this is unique, people's desire to stay healthy is at an all time high." Suppliers are having a hard time keeping up. Right now, Missler has the best supply inventory than he has had in a long time. "We just hope people keep cycling and hiking," Missler said. "The bike path has played a key role so people have a safe place to ride." Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer checked with several Northeast Ohio bike shops, including some we visited with last year, and found one owner who likened the demand to that experienced 50 years ago during the energy crisis. Others reported dwindling inventory, back orders and waiting lists. "We've got a ton of stuff on back order" said James Rychak, owner of Blazing Saddle Cycle on Detroit Avenue on Cleveland's West Side. "It's just a matter of when we're going to see it." Bicycle makers and sellers were caught off guard last year, when schools and gyms closed because of pandemic-related stay-at-home orders and triggered a surge in cycling as a way to safely exercise and enjoy the outdoors. The inventory at shops quickly dwindled, and manufacturers in China and Taiwan, hampered by the pandemic, could not keep pace with the demand for more bicycles. That supply shortage has carried over to this year, said Jacob English, owner of Mountain Road Cycles, which has shops in Chagrin Falls and Chardon. Asian manufacturers are back up to speed, he said, but a backlog of orders and delays getting ships into U.S. ports on the West Coast are holding up re-supply efforts, he said. Consequently, Mountain Road Cycles' inventory, which includes mountain, road and hybrid bikes, is at half the usual volume. The scenario is similar at Blazing Saddle Cycle, which sells mostly Kona, Marin and KHS bike brands. Rychak spends much of his day checking with vendors to secure more bikes. He had about 200 in stock this time last year, with some carrying over from the previous winter. Today he has about 30. "Everything is just kind of trickling in at its own pace and at complete random," Rychak said. He has about 100 people on a list to call when the bike they want or something similar comes in. Those getting special service are looking for bikes in the thousand dollar-plus range, he said. Fridrich Bicycle Inc. in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood is dealing with the same inventory issues, with about 75 to 100 bikes in stock, compared to 300 to 350 bicycles last year, said Fridrich employee Rodger Zanny. "We have been told its going to be a difficult road pretty much the whole season," Zanny said. " . . . Right now every dealer is fighting over every bike coming into the country." One way Fridrich has adjusted to the dearth of new bikes is to buy more old ones and fix them up. "We do have a better selection of used bikes than we normally do, substantially so, so that's going to help us out quite a bit," Zanny said. Used bikes are the only bikes sold at Fleet Bike Shop in Cleveland. Al Zaleski, who runs the Fleet Avenue shop along with his wife, Marty, said they refurbished about 175 bikes over the winter and will sell them at prices that range from $25 to $150. He wishes he had another month of winter to fix up even more. Zaleski expects the demand for repairs to start ramping up this week, as pleasant cycling weather approaches. He already is experiencing problems finding parts, particularly replacement wheels. "It's going to be another mad year," he said. It's hard to say how the supply shortage will affect the bottom line of the bike shops. Rychak said he expects to lose some sales because he can't obtain as many bikes as he would like. On the upside, sales in February were higher than a year ago as people are anticipating the market getting tighter. "People are getting pretty hip to what's going on in the industry right now," he said. So, if you do find a new bike of your liking, consider yourself lucky. But, also be prepared to spend a little more than you did last year. Bikes at the lower end, say under $1,000, are selling for about $50 to $100 dollars more, Rychak said, as manufacturers and shippers have upped their costs. "We've got hit with a lot of shipping charges this year that we have not in the past," he said. English said the last time the bike industry experienced a similar run was during the energy crisis of the 1970s. "It's a great time to be in business," he said. At the same time it's frustrating and exhausting to deal with the supply disruptions, whether it's acquiring new bikes or the parts for repairs. "We have had to buy parts at retail just to finish client's bikes," he said. Contributed story from Peter Krouse with cleveland.com.