Bike shops are running out of stock as Britons rush to get on two wheels in preparation for the post-lockdown world.
Halfords, Decathlon, Evans and WheelBase are selling out of mountain and road bikes as Cycle to Work schemes see a 200 per cent surge in orders from emergency workers.
One bike store in Bicester has revealed it is selling 50 bikes a day, up from 30 a week, while another in Chiswick, London, has seen sales more than double to three a day from one every other day.
Seven out of ten customers heading to bike shops are new or returning cyclists, said cycle industry body the Bicycle Association, compared to the usual level of seven out of ten being enthusiasts, revealing rising demand.
Transport for London has warned cycling could be up tenfold after lockdown, triggering calls for roadways to be converted into cycle highways in the UK’s major cities.
Bicycle retailers have seen a surge in demand as Britons take to two wheels in a post-lockdown world. Pictured above are two cyclists in Greenwich, London, during lockdown
Halfords has seen a sharp rise in sales prompting the company to upgrade its pre-tax profits. This has caused a 23 per cent surge in its share price
Many mountain and road bikes sold by the company are already listed as ‘limited availability’ and at least one is listed as ‘out of stock’
Halfords website shows many bikes are now in ‘limited availability’, meaning they can now only be purchased in certain areas of the UK, with at least one listed as ‘out of stock’.
The bicycle and car parts retailer has adjusted its pre-tax profits to up to £55million in response to rising demand, causing its share price to leap by 23 per cent.
The company has kept 325 out of 446 of its shops open in the UK while observing social distancing, alongside 346 out of 371 garages.
A message on Decathlon’s website warns customers: ‘Please note that due to high volume of orders we are currently experiencing some delivery delays.’
And WheelBase said online ‘high demand is meaning stocks are running low on many lines’ as it revised up order delivery time scales to seven to ten days.
Independent bicycle shops that stayed open have also seen a surge in sales on the high street.
Andrew Wagerer, at Chiswick’s Pi Squared Bicycles, told MailOnline that his sales more than doubled once spring hit.
‘We’re a small shop but we’ve seen orders at least double,’ he said. ‘It’s spring and nice to ride on the roads at the moment. It’s created the perfect storm for us.’
Cycling has seen a surge in popularity during the coronavirus crisis as people are encouraged to stay home. Cyclists are pictured above in Central London
Many bikes are also listed as out of stock on its website. The company is also warning that it could take seven to ten days to deliver orders due to the uptick in demand
Stuart Taylor, who manages Broadribb Cycles in Biester, told the BBC sales have ‘just gone crazy’.
‘People are dragging bikes out of sheds and garages and finding they need new tyres and cables,’ he said.
‘We normally take in bikes for repair and servicing and deal with them for next-day (collection). Now we’re booking services for two weeks (in advance).’
The Bicycle Association said the coronavirus pandemic has brought a ‘complete change’ in what customers are buying in shops.
‘The vast majority of bike sales are in the below £500 bracket,’ a spokesman said, ‘with reports from some retailers of some models at these price points selling out.
‘We’ve also seen strong interest in ebikes.’ They added that there had been a spike in interest for bikes below £1,000.
Evans cycles has also seen models of some bikes sell out as more Brits consider taking to the road on two wheels
And indoor cycling trainer sales have surged by 500 per cent, Halfords has revealed
Halfords also revealed its indoor cycling trainer sales have leapt by 500 per cent, as many Britons fear they will have to stay inside due to the pandemic.
It comes as Britons assess new methods of transport in the post-lockdown age, with many thought to be planning to steer clear of public transport.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has predicted millions of journeys a day will need to be made by other means – as he warned social distancing policies could reduce public transport capacity to a fifth of pre-crisis levels.
The city is planning to expand pavements and create more cycle routes along major corridors to deal with the change in demand.
Boris Johnson has said the post-lockdown age could be a ‘golden age for cycling’ as he backed plans for thousands to get to work without using public transport.
‘We’ll certainly be working with the mayor to try to achieve that,’ he said during Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday. ‘(However), there must be – and we’ll come to this on Sunday and next week as well – mitigation to help people, for those reasons of social distancing, who cannot use mass transit.
‘There’ll be a huge amount of planning going into helping people to get to work other than by mass transit, and this should be a new golden age for cycling.’
He also called for a ‘bigger and more expansive tube service’ to get Britain moving again while observing social distancing, but unions have threatened to put a brake on these plans.
Three cyclists take to the streets near Hyde Park for their daily exercise
A cyclist shoots past shops at Broadway Market, London, as the UK remains on lockdown
Train drivers union Aslef, as well as Unite, have called for assurances on driver safety following the deaths of 26 TfL workers due to Covid-19.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: ‘There have been no discussions on a return to full service but, given the fluctuating staff numbers, logistically it would be unlikely.
‘There would also need to be a very strong case made before we would be assured that it would be 100 per cent safe to do so.’
Finn Brennan, the district organiser for Aslef, hit out at plans to increase services tweeting: ‘So the government wants full public transport services running in three weeks.
‘Are we to pretend that transport workers dying just didn’t happen? Or that many will still be ill or self-isolating?’
Their comments came after a leaked exit strategy suggested the country could be brought back up and running in stages, from May 11, with rail and bus services the first to be brought up to normal levels.
The government is gearing up to change its message from ‘stay home, save lives’ today, to a new slogan.
Restrictions are also expected to begin to be relaxed from Monday, as ministers begin to get the UK back to work.