Phillip Barron
The Herald Sun
October 13th, 2005
DURHAM — In April 2004, I took a road trip to the Grand Canyon. Just inside the Arizona state line, I stopped for gas. I’d always heard that gas is more expensive on the west coast, and here was proof. The price of “premium” gas began with a “2” — I cleverly took a picture of the sign so that my friends back home could have a good laugh at gas prices in excess of $2 per gallon.
Now, the joke’s on us.
Gas prices are hovering around $3 per gallon, and that’s reason enough for me (and my wallet) to think twice about driving my car to Raleigh to go mountain biking. An October 6th Washington Post commodities article reports that while “SUV sales plunged in September more than 50 percent, U.S. bicycle sales have outnumbered car sales.” Sounds like mine is not the only wallet taking a hit.
On my route to work, I’ve met more first-time bicycle commuters in the last two months than in the last two years. Heck, probably more than I’ve met in the last 5 years. But at most, my experience merely anecdotally suggests that ridership numbers may be up.
Is the national bicycle-sales trend holding true for Durham as well?
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in sales this year” says REI-Durham’s store manager Jim Bennett. “And we certainly have seen a bigger increase in the last three months. The [Durham] store showed a 39% increase for the year through June, and since June we’re up 59% over last year’s sales.”
Durham’s other full service bicycle retailer, The Bicycle Chain has evidence to support the same trend. Chris Hull, the new general manager of the The Bicycle Chain’s Durham store, says the store has definitely seen one of its best fall seasons in a long time. “Sales are up, business is up,” he said.
But just as the New York Times bestseller list for books tells you nothing about whether people actually read the books they buy, new bicycle sales don’t necessarily indicate new ridership.
An increase in business for bicycle repair shops, however, would suggest that people are riding the bikes they have.
“When people ride their bikes, they need to be repaired,” says REI’s Bennett. “Revenue we’ve taken in from the bike shop shows that people are riding their bikes as well.”
Hull says The Bicycle Chain has also seen a significant increase in business for the service department. “People are dusting off their old bikes that have been sitting in the garage and bringing them in to get them in shape to ride,” he said.
Whereas service customers are famous for making requests along the lines of, “just do the minimum to get the bike running again,” Bennett says that customers are now taking bike maintenance more seriously.
“When people are willing to spend more money on their bikes, it’s often because they are riding more regularly,” Bennett says. “They’re riding to work or school and need their bikes to be reliable.”
Separating the effect of gas prices on bike sales from the effect of Lance Armstrong winning a 7th Tour de France may be difficult.
But Bennett says that REI has also seen an increase in the sale of commuter-specific accessories like fenders and racks. Although manufacturers are producing newer bike models with frame geometries designed specifically for commuting, you can also retro-fit just about any bike with the components that turn your sleek road bike or heavy duty mountain bike into a more utilitarian commuter – semi-slick tires for mountain bikes, locks, racks, panniers (saddlebags that hang over the racks), baskets, lights, and even reflective vests.
Components like fenders and tires with low rolling resistance make your everyday ride more comfortable. Cargo racks, panniers, and baskets make your bike more useful.
So, whether or not there are more folks riding to work due to higher prices at the gas pumps, there are more folks investing in bicycles and in the kind of equipment you’d use to ride to work.
Are there more new riders in Durham? I don’t know. You tell me. And come tell me at the next Bicyclist Breakfast.
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The Durham Bicyclist Breakfast happens on the last Friday of every month. Drop by Mad Hatters (1802 W. Main Street) between 7:30 and 9AM.