Commuters opt for two wheels

Bicycle stores have been inundated as people returning to work in cities around the world shun public transportation in favor of making the daily commute on two wheels.

Shares in Halfords, the United Kingdom's biggest cycle retailer, rose by 17 percent after the government relaxed lockdown restrictions on May 11. The company said bike sales have been double the normal levels.

Evans Cycles said it has seen unprecedented demand, while Brompton which makes folding bikes in London, said its UK online sales have grown rapidly. The company added that its website traffic has rocketed, especially in the United States, where there has been an "incredible surge in interest".

Some independent cycle stores in the UK have sold their entire stock in recent weeks, and are waiting for new bikes to be delivered, while supply chains catch up.

Nick Freilich, owner of the Giant Camden bike store in North London, said the number of bikes sold by the business in April rose by 120 percent month-on-month. Sales in the first half of May grew by 320 percent month-on-month.

There was frenzied demand for entry-level bikes costing less than 1,000 pounds ($1,250), until they sold out, he added. "Now, anything under 1,500 pounds is sold out or selling out. I thought I might have bought too much stock, but it's mostly gone now. It's very different times. It's almost been a cultural shift."

There has been no rest for employees in the store's workshop. "We've been fully booked since the beginning of the outbreak. We started with an initiative to support health workers with free repairs, then spent time working through that backlog, and since then all resources have gone to building and setting up new bikes," said Freilich, who joined the trade 30 years ago and bought the Giant Camden store in 2014.

The current surge in demand is unprecedented, he said. When a terror attack was staged on London's public transportation system in July 2005, many commuters took up cycling to avoid the subway and buses," but nothing like this".

Demand for e-bikes and e-scooters in the UK could also surge, as it has in other European countries. Halfords said e-bikes currently account for 11 percent of its sales.