Many Tasmanian bike shops are seeing an increase in interest and sales of e-bikes in response to the fuel crisis and general cost of living pressures.
Bicycle Network did a ring-around of Tasmanian bike specialists at the end of March and found that shops are experiencing different responses to the fuel crisis.
Some stores aren’t seeing a noticeable difference other than an increase in inquiries, but others are being run off their feet with test rides and sales of e-bikes.
There’s also been an increase in people taking their bikes out of the shed and taking them to shops to be serviced.
Two Launceston stores have responded to this desire by offering free basic safety checks and discounts on parts if people need repairs.
We saw a big uptick in bicycle sales during COVID-19 lockdowns and some people who may have bought a bike then but not used it recently could be dusting them off again.
The national Cycling and Walking Survey is run every two years and found that 48% of Tasmanians had access to a working bicycle in 2019; that jumped to 57% by 2021 because of the benefits of exercising outdoors during the worst months of the pandemic.
Shops specialising in e-bikes or stocking entry-level e-bikes seem to be benefitting the most from the worries over increased fuel prices.
While some shops are selling out of bikes, supply is not currently a concern although freight costs are increasing and may impact on future prices.
One north-west business reported selling out of their entry-level e-bikes in the last week of March but had new stock arriving immediately. Likewise, a Launceston store was selling bikes so quickly it had put in a large order for bikes hoping to avoid any increased freight costs.
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