A Cycling revolution fueled by the pandemic

Haven’t we all noticed a sudden surge in the number of people riding cycles on the road ever since the lock down?

Cycles are literally flying off the shelves. The pandemic has injected much-needed doses of steroids in the cycling industry which has been going through a long period of muted growth/de-growth. The phenomenon is global.

Retailers and brands are struggling to catch-up with the sudden spurt in consumer demand. As a cycling enthusiast, I am sticking my neck out and calling this a Cycling Revolution – a much needed one. It needed a pandemic of a global scale to get large population on the saddle!

How big is the surge in Interest?

Google trends shows a massive surge in web search around buying cycles online starting March and the upward trend still continues. I compared it with the web search trend for sports shoes online (another fast selling sports gear) to demonstrate how drastic the surge in interest towards cycles has been over past 4-5 months. The trend chart for India is no different.

Demand >>> Supply

NPD Group, a market research company, reported that sales of bicycles, equipment and repair services in March 2020 nearly doubled compared with the same period last year across all regions in the US. The demand was so unprecedented that by April 2020, all major cycle store as well as large retailers ran out of stock. The demand surge in Europe – other major cycling market, is not any different.

In India, all the major cycling brands and stores have been positively surprised by the surge in demand.

“I have not seen this kind of excitement around bicycles and you are talking to a 57-year-old man,” remarked Pankaj M Munjal, the head of Hero Cycles – India’s market leader. Decathlon Sports India, which offers bikes under the brand name Btwin, witnessed more than 2x surge in sale of cycles across all its 50+ stores in India.

The factories in China and Taiwan – the two biggest producers of bicycles, plagued by severe production bottleneck are not able to keep up to the global demand. The supply chain disruption has further exacerbated the problem. And, on top of this, the worldwide trade disputes with China is not really helping the cause.

Why this demand surge?

It is a fact that no one saw such a surge in demand coming. But, with the benefit of hindsight, some clear reasons are emerging to explain such sudden spike in consumer demand.

In the world constrained by lock-downs and social distancing norms, a good old cycle has emerged as the preferred mode of commute – economic, safe, and healthy.

People with the need to travel are scared of using the public transport and find more control and comfort on a cycle. The gym goers and sports enthusiasts are taking to cycling to continue burning their daily calories targets. Further, the roads are devoid of traffic and there is plenty of room for cyclists – a rarity in cities plagued with traffic.

The demand is predominantly driven by the first-time buyers or people who have not cycled since their childhood days.

Can this revolution sustain?

Like other pandemic induced trends, there are always questions around sustainability beyond the pandemic. Cycling boom is a welcome change and it is one trend that we would want to see outlive the pandemic.

Cycling drives the twin benefits of improvement in health and fitness of the population and reduction in carbon emission. So, more people taking to cycling is great for cities and therefore for countries.

Public Authorities and Policy Makers have a significant role to play to ensure that this boom sustains. This is the right time for them to:

• Fast track work on setting up dedicated cycling lanes on the city roads
• Address concerns around safety of cyclists with implementation of stricter traffic regulations on the city roads
• Introduce policies like tax benefits to promote cycling
• Set up cycle friendly infrastructure around the public areas – train/bus/metro stations, government office, parks etc.
• Incentivise corporations with large workflows to nudge their employees towards adopting cycling as a primary mode of commute
• Set-up definitive and progressive policies to promote bike sharing

The COVID-19 pandemic has ironically been a blessing in disguise for the ailing cycling industry. It has triggered an unprecedented demand in the cycle sales as well as cycle riding resulting into a cycling revolution of sort. The twin benefits of improved health and reduced carbon emission makes it imperative for the policy makers to seize this opportunity with both hands and do everything possible to sustain this boom.

#cyclingrevolution #cyclingboom