{"id":2458721,"date":"2020-05-21T23:04:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T05:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/pandemic-driving-bike-sales-in-the-valley\/"},"modified":"2020-05-21T23:04:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T05:04:00","slug":"pandemic-driving-bike-sales-service-in-the-roaring-fork-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/pandemic-driving-bike-sales-service-in-the-roaring-fork-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandemic driving bike sales, service in the Roaring Fork Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/bikeworld-gpi-052220-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/bikeworld-gpi-052220-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/bikeworld-gpi-052220-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/bikeworld-gpi-052220-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/bikeworld-gpi-052220-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/bikeworld-gpi-052220-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>Susan Shola helps a customer with an electric bike at Sunlight Mountain Ski and Bike shop on Thursday afternoon in Glenwood Springs.<\/strong><br \/><em>Chelsea Self\/Glenwood Springs Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Navigating the coronavirus pandemic is as easy as riding a bike.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Or at least soaring bicycle sales might indicate people are willing to give it a spin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While some local bike shops have seen an increase in service requests, bicycle sellers are reporting a large increase, following a national trend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Bike sales<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Michael Hardy, manager and buyer at Sunlight Ski &amp; Bike in Glenwood Springs, said the shop is \u201c40% up for the month of May\u201d in bike sales.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">And it\u2019s not just locals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019ve had people driving from the Front Range to buy bikes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Darren Broome, owner of Aloha Mountain Cyclery in Carbondale, said, \u201cBike sales are up much higher than previous years for the first three weeks of May.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While sales of entry-level bikes have been strong, Broome said, \u201cMost increases have been on normal stock bikes in the $700 to $3,000 range.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Will Bradford, store manager at Basalt Ski &amp; Bikes\u2019 Willits store, said booming pedal power sales is a valley-wide phenomenon. He estimated the shop\u2019s bike sales are up in the 20% to 30% range.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe entire valley is buying bikes, trying to get whatever they can get their hands on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Eric Sampson, of Sampson Sports in Glenwood Springs, is partially targeting the entry-level bike customer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI have some older frames that work well for this, so I\u2019ll be building these as parts and time allow, and I can get somebody a quality bike for not much more than a Target bike,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Bike service<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Bike tunes and repairs always keep bike shops busy in May, but Broome doesn\u2019t see an increase in service requests at Aloha.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe are alway booked out four to six weeks in the month of May,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But other shops have seen increased demand for tune-ups and the like.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe probably doubled our service. We\u2019re typically two weeks out this time of year, while this year we\u2019re four weeks out,\u201d Basalt Ski and Bike\u2019s Bradford said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Supply chain<\/p>\n<p>While coronavirus may be inspiring people to ride bikes, it is also affecting the supply chain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI had a very hard time getting wheels and many components that come from Asia. It\u2019s tough to build bikes without wheels or tires,\u201d Sampson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Sunlight\u2019s Hardy said the shop is expecting some trouble getting parts from China, and he predicts shortages over the summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019d recommend anyone looking to get work done should get it in sooner rather than later,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Dave Iverson, owner of Colorado Ebikes in Glenwood Springs, is also seeing an impact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cShipping is slow, especially for anything coming out of China,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But issues are not limited to China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe sell a lot of Easy Motion ebikes out of Spain, but we\u2019ve been told we can\u2019t get any more bikes for the rest of the year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Reinvigorating clunkers<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just new bikes getting all the attention right now \u2014 vintage bikes may be getting a new life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Bradford said Basalt Ski and Bike has seen \u201ca lot of old bikes that people have sat on for a few years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cA huge number of people are pulling out old bikes and getting them rideable so they don\u2019t have to use mass transit and some for recreation,\u201d Sampson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Kazzy Saito, of Zen Bikeworks mobile bike shop, said, \u201cI\u2019ve had so many customers asking if I fix those kinds of bikes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He said he\u2019s worked on bikes from the \u201980s and \u201990s \u2014 everything from old-school hardtail mountain bikes to vintage road bikes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI love to work on them, too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SILVER LINING<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A surge in bicycle riding is probably one benefit of the lockdown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re super stoked that people are getting out on bikes, and people who haven\u2019t gotten out on bikes before are now enjoying the experience. It\u2019s too bad it takes a pandemic to reap the rewards of cycling but if that\u2019s what it takes, it\u2019s good,\u201d Broome said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><span class=\"Body Copy Italic\"><a href=\"mailto:cwertheim@postindependent.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cwertheim@postindependent.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/pandemic-driving-bike-sales-in-the-valley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Susan Shola helps a customer with an electric bike at Sunlight Mountain Ski and Bike shop on Thursday afternoon in Glenwood Springs.Chelsea Self\/Glenwood Springs Post Independent Navigating the coronavirus pandemic is as easy as riding a bike. Or at least soaring bicycle sales might indicate people are willing to give it a spin. While some [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2458721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-17 09:34:01","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458721\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}