Tucson-area bicycle shops are bustling as people dust off their old bikes or look to buy new ones to get out and get some exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most of the roughly 20 bike shops in the Tucson metro area are open with safety measures such as masks, social distancing and curbside service in place, and they are seeing an unprecedented surge in bike sales and repair orders.
Bicycle shops are allowed to stay open in Arizona and most states as an “essential service,” though an estimated 20% to 30% of bike shops nationwide are closed due to closure orders or owner’s concerns about the coronavirus.
Roadrunner Bicycles has seen its sales increase at least fivefold, to an average of about six or seven bikes per day, and repair orders have jumped since Gov. Doug Ducey ordered all but essential businesses to shut down in mid-March, owner Elliott Dumont said.
Dumont said his shop on East Broadway across from Park Place initially saw a spurt of business from people who had been laid off from their jobs and needed to fix their bikes for cheap transportation.
But Roadrunner soon saw a wave of repair orders and sales as people looked to hit the road for fitness or to enjoy a healthy activity with their kids.
“I kind of jokingly say, I think everyone in Tucson wants to ride a bike, they just didn’t have the time,” Dumont said.
He noted that Roadrunner has found it challenging to build new bikes — which don’t come pre-assembled from the factories — fast enough to meet demand that pushed the shop to record sales in March.
To safeguard customers and staff, Roadrunner has limited the total number of customers and staff in the shop at one time to five, roped off certain areas of the store showroom for repair service and stopped offering bike rentals.
Employees wear masks and gloves, and the store is sanitized with stepped-up procedures about once every hour, Dumont said.
“We try and control what we can and operate as a business,” Dumont said, adding that the store also has instituted an all-sales-are-final policy to control customer traffic.
Cory Foster, manager of the Oro Valley Bicycle store on East Sunrise Drive, said bike sales at his shop have tripled or quadrupled, led by sales of “fitness bikes” — with an upright riding position and typically multiple gears — costing about $500 to $1,000.
“It’s a huge increase in entry-level bikes, and a lot more service,” Foster said.
With children home from school, many parents are pulling out their kids’ bikes for the first time in a while and realizing they no longer fit, he added.
“A lot of people are dragging stuff out of their garage and bringing it in,” Foster said.
March and April are usually busy months for bike shops in Tucson, but Foster said he expects the repair rush to continue through May, when things usually are slowing down.
Oro Valley Bicycle also has stepped up store sanitization and staff hygiene practices, but the Sunrise store is relatively big, so it hasn’t had to limit the number of people in the shop, Foster said.
Like other shops, Bicycle Ranch has seen a huge jump in sales of kids’ bikes and and entry-level adult bikes, owner Steve Morganstern said.
The shop on North Oracle Road has reduced its hours and closed Sundays, while taking safety steps such as discouraging browsing and touching, using protective gear and disinfecting bikes as they come and go.
“We’re seeing a large increase in new customers, people pulling bikes out because they can’t go to the gym,” Morganstern said.
The bike shops are enjoying their boom now, as economists warn of a relatively short but relatively severe recession through at least part of next year.
“I think some of our new sales will go down, I think our bigger problem will be the supply chains,” Morganstern said. “We’re hoping people are actually falling in love with being outside and riding.”
Amid the sales surge, Bicycle Ranch and other bike shops are having trouble getting adequate supplies of kids’ bikes and entry-level adult bikes.
Factories in China — which produces more than half of the world’s bicycles — are starting to ramp up production again, and the supplies are expected to rebound by July, Morganstern said.
“Were just taking it as it comes,” Oro Valley Bicycle’s Foster said. “We did OK during the last recession, so I think whatever happens moving forward, we’ll be OK.”
Photos for April 23: Tucson gets by during Coronavirus Pandemic
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Erika Munoz, owner of Seis Kitchen, hands over a bag of meals to Michael Gallagher Carondelet, a registered nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital, to distribute to other nurses and hospital workers, on April 23, 2020. The donation was made in conjunction with A+C (Athletes/Artists+Causes) Foundation's “Project Frontline.” In two deliveries, 400 meals (200 poc chuck chicken and 200 puerco verde burritos) will be given to medical personnel at Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital. The particular donation was made possible by the Houston Astros' Pitching Coach Brent Strom, who lives in Tucson.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Hospital workers wheel in carts full of catered meals donated by Seis Kitchen to Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital, on April 23, 2020. The donation was made in conjunction with A+C (Athletes/Artists+Causes) Foundation's “Project Frontline.” In two deliveries, 400 meals (200 poc chuck chicken and 200 puerco verde burritos) will be given to medical personnel at Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital. The particular donation was made possible by the Houston Astros' Pitching Coach Brent Strom, who lives in Tucson.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Kristi Hall, a sixth grade teacher at Desert Sky Middle School, participates in planning a lesson with a fellow teacher on Zoom, at her home on April 17, 2020. Schools in the Vail School District are supposed to open in July due to their year-round school calendar. Plans are being made for the possibility of students returning to the physical classroom.
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Bry Kelley, a warehouse assistant, places a pallet filled with food down next to other items donated to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on on April 21, 2020. Forty-one thousand pounds of flour, pasta and canned goods were donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The donation is part of an ongoing global effort by the church to address immediate needs of people and orgainzations due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Tucson, coronavirus
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A pallet of food is placed down next to other items donated to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on on April 21, 2020. Forty-one thousand pounds of flour, pasta and canned goods were donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The donation is part of an ongoing global effort by the church to address immediate needs of people and orgainzations due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, takes the temperature of a patient outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. “This is a vulnerable population in our community; they can’t defend themselves in a society already running short on supplies and resources,” said Bergman. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Lekha Chesnick, 1st year medical student at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, talks with a homeless man (whom choose to not give his name) outside of the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, checks on a patient outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. “This is a vulnerable population in our community; they can’t defend themselves in a society already running short on supplies and resources,” said Bergman. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Elliott Dumont, owner of Roadrunner Bicycles, 6177 E. Broadway Blvd., works on a customer's bike on April 22, 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not slowed down bike shops. With many people at home, they are bringing bicycles for repairs and buying new ones for exercise. Dumont says he's booked out till the first week of May for tuneups on bikes.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Elliot DuMont, owner of Roadrunner Bicycles, 6177 E. Broadway Blvd., far left, helps Ethan Sasz, far right, and his son, Evan, 10, with a mountain bike purchase on April 22, 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not slowed down bike shops. With many people at home, they are bringing bicycles for repairs and buying new ones for exercise. Dumont says he's booked out till the first week of May for tuneups on bikes.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Marcella Montoya waits in her vehicle as general manger David Kessler brings out her order, as Bear Canyon Pizza serving their customers despite COVID-19 restrictions, April 22, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Kitchen manger Koa Hoffmann tosses dough while working up a crust for a call-in order as he and few others keep cooking at Bear Canyon Pizza despite COVID-19 restrictions, April 22, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Alvaro Enciso, a local artist, works in one of his studios at his home on April 9, 2020. Every Tuesday Enciso travels into the Sonoran desert to post crosses where migrants have died after crossing illegally over the U.S./Mexico border as part of a project he's titled Donde Mueren Los Suenos / Where Dreams Die. With the outbreak of the coronavirus disease his six year project is on hold and instead he works on other artwork at home.
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Dolly Spalding works on a pen and ink drawing in her apartment at the Redondo Tower Apartments on April 7, 2020. During her quarantine, Spalding has been creating drawings of all the Greek goddesses. She is collaborating with Emlyn Boyle, an artist from Ireland, and plans to publish a book with Boyle's writings.
