SAN ANTONIO — The bicycle boom that started during the pandemic is now in a different gear.
Some shops across the country are waiting on bicycle parts due to supply chain issues.
One San Antonio shop says customers do not have to worry.
Efren Rodriguez gives this bicycle a test spin at the service area of Bike World.
The manager of Bike World’s location at the Pearl says the rush to buy bicycles at the height of the pandemic was a surprise.
“It was unexpected, we weren’t expecting that many people where we had lines out the store and having to deal with the shortage of bikes in a sense of that moment where we went low,” Rodriguez said.
Right now—he says shipments are coming in—but estimates more than 3,000 bikes are on backorder since the start of last year.
In-store, Rodriguez says they have a steady stock thanks to their owner.
“We’re kind of prepared in the sense of just waiting for bikes to arrive is where we’re at now,” Rodriguez said.
He says supply chain issues have caused some delays
Market research group NPD says it’s an industry wide-trend.
They say bicycle sales are up 57% from last year to April 2021—reaching $6.5 billion.
“The San Antonio cycling community has grown, it’s more family-oriented. You have different offsets of groups but we always come together,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez says it’s a tight-knit group in San Antonio and is glad people are helping grow the sport. He doesn’t want people to be deterred by any shortages.
“We have bikes. There are going to be bikes coming in throughout the day and throughout the year, if not early next year. Come in and get the information, see what’s available…If we don’t have a bike, somebody in San Antonio may have the bike,” Rodriguez said.
