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Be Local: Area bike shops persevering despite supply chain difficulties

By John Sacco for The Observer-Reporter newsroom@observer-Reporter.Com 4 min read
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Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter

Raffaele Zallo, an employee at The Tandem Connection bike shop in Cecil Township, sanitizes a returned rental bike in May of 2020.

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Courtesy of Katherine Mansfield

The Tandem Connection in Cecil Township is a popular stop on the Montour Trail.

Editor’s note: This is a weekly series focusing on the importance of buying local.

Biking is a popular sport right now. It is so hot that those who want a new bike or need one fixed are being burned by a most difficult supply chain.

“We can’t get bikes,” said David Poe, co-owner with his wife, Lori, of the Tandem Connection on the Montour Trail in Cecil Township. “The (COVID-19) pandemic changed the entire supply chain.

“They allocate bicycles as they see fit. It’s made things very difficult.”

Tandem Connection sells, rents and repairs bikes.

It also serves ice cream and, refreshments, and Nobby’s Subs and sandwiches.

Nobby’s Pizza, Subs and Sandwiches is located on Georgetown Road, Canonsburg.

Other bike shops in Washington County, Trek in McMurray and Pedego -recently opened in McDonald – reported similar issues.

In addition to having a difficult time obtaining new bikes in a typical timely manner, pressure is also being put on repair shops at these venues because parts are not in great supply and delivery times are lagging.

“The supply chain is horrible,” said Al Montuoro, Jr., who operates Pedego. “Electric bikes are popular. We can’t get any until mid-June or the first part of July. It’s painful sitting here with the huge investment we have made and not being able to sell at the rate people are willing to buy.

“We have a backlog of 30 bikes. We’re getting emails about ordering bikes and what might be available.

“We got four in (Tuesday) by the luck of the draw. It’s just crazy right now. Getting parts for repairs is really tough. We have six bikes for rentals. I can’t sell them because we have to have some rentals.”

Brendan Cook, sales associate for Trek, said lines at the McMurray store have been “out the door and the phone rings off the hook.”

“People want bikes,” he said. “The pre-ordering is incredible. Getting to the service side is crazy. Demand is so high for service, it’s impossible to keep up because of the difficult to get parts.

“It is starting to get a little bit better. But lead times for bikes are three to four months and in some cases eight to nine months.”

Bicycles are in short supply because nearly all bikes sold in the United States are imported, predominantly from China. Chinese factories produced about 95% of the 17 million bikes sold in the United States in 2018, and they provide 60% of U.S. bike component imports. Bikes made in Taiwan accounted for 6.3% of sales in 2019.

It was a commonplace scene at bike shops throughout the United States early on in the pandemic that there was little supply or stock. Bike sales were up more than 120% over the previous year, according to the Washington Post. People were –and still are — looking for alternate ways for transportation, as well as new ways to enjoy the outdoors and to exercise, with gyms closed down or opened at partial capacity across the country.

That interest in bike riding continues to soar as the pandemic wanes.

Bike shops have felt pressure for more than a year now to keep pace with demand. With sales more than doubling, they are still mostly unable to keep the store stocked with new bikes.

“We’ve definitely seen an uptick in new faces and traffic on the trail,” David Powe said. “It’s biking, running and walking. With more activity, we are seeing that people are enjoying what we provide.

“It seems everyday we see a new face. Hopefully, we get some more bikes in the pipeline. We never got a 2020 shipment. We’re making the best of it as the supply chain gets better. We just want to have bikes for all who want them.”

Those interested in joining the Be Local Network can contact Chris Slota at 724-225-1326 or by email at chris@belocal.net. Discount cards are available at the Observer-Reporter and Almanac office, 122 S. Main St., Washington.

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