Bike sales increase as more people pedal to work
09/20/2008, 10:44 pm
By Jermaine Pigee
[email protected]
815-937-3321
Hal Trovillion, pastor of First Baptist Church of Manteno, rides his bike four blocks to his church every Sunday.
"I have ridden my bike to church for a couple years," Trovillion said. "It saves me money, but I mainly use it for exercise. It can also be eco-friendly."
Trovillion is not alone. As the cost of getting from here to there increases, local stores have reported a spike in bicycle sales as more people look for alternative means of transportation to save money.
Even as car sales ramped up in places like China and India, high fuel prices and eroding consumer confidence led more people to reach for Kryptonite bike locks rather than car keys.
And strong sales continue even as winter approaches, bike shop owners say. The national trend can be seen at Tern of the Wheel bike shop in Bradley.
"We have experienced a 10 percent increase in sales compared to last year," said owner Steve Linneman. "People are saying they want to ride their bike to work because they can't afford to put gas in their car."
Linneman also rides his bike regularly.
"I have been riding my bike for 40 years," he said. "I haven't spent money on gas in two months."
Linneman said he does more than ride his bike to work. He runs errands and he says a bike ride frees his mind.
"I ride about 35 miles to run errands and another 100 miles in recreation in a week," Linneman said. "At the end of the year, I could end up riding about 2,000 to 4,000 miles. I also save about $500 or $600 a year in gas."
Bike shops all over the country report an increase in bike sales by people trying to save money. While gas fell from historic highs a few weeks ago, prices are once again hovering around $4 a gallon thanks to Hurricane Ike, which battered the Texas coast and shut down oil refineries there earlier this month. The cost for a gallon of gas today is about 30 percent more than it was this time last year.
Those prices have brought new business to bike shops, where customers are asking mechanics to tune up old cruisers that have gathered dust for years.
"People are dragging out bikes from their basement and saying, 'I'm not going to put any more gas in my car,"' said Jim Rose, owner of Rose Bike in Orono, Maine.
Business has jumped about 20 percent in recent months, said Rose, who entices customers with a large "No Gas Needed" sign.
Linneman said there is more to the sales increase than just gas prices.
"People also decide to ride a bike as a recreational activity," Linneman said. "People can kill two birds with one stone. They can become healthier and they are getting to work."
Other local stores are seeing the spike, too.
Managers at MC Sports in Bradley and at Blaine's Farm & Fleet in Bourbonnais both report noticing the spike.
"We've had about a20 to 25 percent increase in bike sales" since about the end of July, said Pete Beres, store manager at MC Sports.
"Bikes all across the board are selling," Farm & Fleet's Jason Forman said. "There are more people using them for recreational purposes along with getting to work."
There are no solid figures tracking bicycle use, but everyday biking seems to have spread beyond traditional stalwarts like Portland, Ore., where bicycle traffic has more than doubled since 2001.
In Houston the number of bus riders using bike racks has more than doubled since April, though precise statistics on where users are commuting from and to aren't available, officials said.
"The fact that people -- even in Houston -- are riding in record numbers is a clear sign to us that this is happening across the country in places you wouldn't expect," said Elizabeth Kiker, a spokeswoman for the League of American Bicyclists.
In this county, bicyclists have been trying and trying to make it a more bicycle friendly erea, but they don't work to fast at doing so, so I hope this article helps push things along a bit. A proposed bike trail has been in the works for years, but just never seems to get built. Also the LBS that they talk about the Turn of the Wheel has had increased sales, but what they failed to mention is the fact that it is the ONLY Bike shop within 100 miles, other then department stores, and half the time they wont work on department store bikes, but offer to sell you an over priced high end bike that most folks just don't need.
09/20/2008, 10:44 pm
By Jermaine Pigee
[email protected]
815-937-3321
Hal Trovillion, pastor of First Baptist Church of Manteno, rides his bike four blocks to his church every Sunday.
"I have ridden my bike to church for a couple years," Trovillion said. "It saves me money, but I mainly use it for exercise. It can also be eco-friendly."
Trovillion is not alone. As the cost of getting from here to there increases, local stores have reported a spike in bicycle sales as more people look for alternative means of transportation to save money.
Even as car sales ramped up in places like China and India, high fuel prices and eroding consumer confidence led more people to reach for Kryptonite bike locks rather than car keys.
And strong sales continue even as winter approaches, bike shop owners say. The national trend can be seen at Tern of the Wheel bike shop in Bradley.
"We have experienced a 10 percent increase in sales compared to last year," said owner Steve Linneman. "People are saying they want to ride their bike to work because they can't afford to put gas in their car."
Linneman also rides his bike regularly.
"I have been riding my bike for 40 years," he said. "I haven't spent money on gas in two months."
Linneman said he does more than ride his bike to work. He runs errands and he says a bike ride frees his mind.
"I ride about 35 miles to run errands and another 100 miles in recreation in a week," Linneman said. "At the end of the year, I could end up riding about 2,000 to 4,000 miles. I also save about $500 or $600 a year in gas."
Bike shops all over the country report an increase in bike sales by people trying to save money. While gas fell from historic highs a few weeks ago, prices are once again hovering around $4 a gallon thanks to Hurricane Ike, which battered the Texas coast and shut down oil refineries there earlier this month. The cost for a gallon of gas today is about 30 percent more than it was this time last year.
Those prices have brought new business to bike shops, where customers are asking mechanics to tune up old cruisers that have gathered dust for years.
"People are dragging out bikes from their basement and saying, 'I'm not going to put any more gas in my car,"' said Jim Rose, owner of Rose Bike in Orono, Maine.
Business has jumped about 20 percent in recent months, said Rose, who entices customers with a large "No Gas Needed" sign.
Linneman said there is more to the sales increase than just gas prices.
"People also decide to ride a bike as a recreational activity," Linneman said. "People can kill two birds with one stone. They can become healthier and they are getting to work."
Other local stores are seeing the spike, too.
Managers at MC Sports in Bradley and at Blaine's Farm & Fleet in Bourbonnais both report noticing the spike.
"We've had about a20 to 25 percent increase in bike sales" since about the end of July, said Pete Beres, store manager at MC Sports.
"Bikes all across the board are selling," Farm & Fleet's Jason Forman said. "There are more people using them for recreational purposes along with getting to work."
There are no solid figures tracking bicycle use, but everyday biking seems to have spread beyond traditional stalwarts like Portland, Ore., where bicycle traffic has more than doubled since 2001.
In Houston the number of bus riders using bike racks has more than doubled since April, though precise statistics on where users are commuting from and to aren't available, officials said.
"The fact that people -- even in Houston -- are riding in record numbers is a clear sign to us that this is happening across the country in places you wouldn't expect," said Elizabeth Kiker, a spokeswoman for the League of American Bicyclists.
In this county, bicyclists have been trying and trying to make it a more bicycle friendly erea, but they don't work to fast at doing so, so I hope this article helps push things along a bit. A proposed bike trail has been in the works for years, but just never seems to get built. Also the LBS that they talk about the Turn of the Wheel has had increased sales, but what they failed to mention is the fact that it is the ONLY Bike shop within 100 miles, other then department stores, and half the time they wont work on department store bikes, but offer to sell you an over priced high end bike that most folks just don't need.
