Bicycle retailers have seen a drop in sales compared to the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic-led cycling boom

Some shops that had opened during the pandemic have since closed down due to a drop in demand

The cycling scene is still stronger than it was before the pandemic, retailers observed

Many people who had picked up cycling in the past few years have sustained an interest in it

A pair of foldable bicycles that 44-year-old Firdaus Ismail once treasured during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic is now gathering dust in the corner of his home.

The owner of a logistics company bought the pair of bicycles for S$750 each in June 2020, so that he and his wife could cycle together during the strict social gathering restrictions imposed back then.

The couple would sometimes cycle with their friends, covering distances of up to 60km in the east of Singapore.

Back then, it was the "only way to get fresh air", Mr Firdaus said. Such rides are now a distant memory.

"In late 2021, my friends started working again from their offices (as opposed to working from home)," he said. "Everybody started to get busy and had to tend to their own lives again."

He added that as the border controls lifted in 2022, he and his friends would rather spend their time travelling overseas than plying the roads on their two-wheelers.

Seeing as his bicycles were gathering dust, he decided to sell them online on Carousell early last year. He had initially tried to sell both bicycles for S$1,300, but there were no willing buyers.

It was only after one year, and a lowered asking price of S$700 for both bikes, that he managed to complete the sale earlier this month.

Indeed, while cycling saw a boom at the peak of the pandemic, the gears have shifted since Singapore's post-Covid reopening.

On one hand, some cyclists such as Mr Firdaus are looking to get rid of their two-wheelers, and on the other, some bicycle shops have started seeing a sharp decline in their sales, with some having shut down.

However, the cycling scene is still stronger than it was before the pandemic started in 2020, bicycle retailers and cyclists said.

FALLING SALES, SHORTER WAITING TIMES FOR BIKE SERVICING

Bicycle retailers told TODAY that they have seen a drop in bicycle sales compared to during the peak of the pandemic-led cycling boom.

For instance, Treknology3 saw a decline in sales of about 20 per cent compared to previous years.

Mr Azhar Abdullah, the firm's retail, marketing and distribution manager, said that the difference in the waiting times for its servicing centres had also shortened dramatically — from a two-week waiting period at the height of the pandemic to a two- to three-day turnaround now.

The same trend was also observed at sports retail chain Decathlon.

It did not give figures, but said that bicycle sales saw a decline in recent months after the pandemic, while cycling gear and accessories such as lights, locks and pumps had seen a smaller drop in sales.

"(This) suggests that people are continuing to maintain their bike and to cycle safely after the pandemic," it added.

Even though customers had to wait as long as five days to get their bikes serviced during the peak of the pandemic, Decathlon — which also provides maintenance and repair services for bicycles — added that customers may now get them repaired within the day.

SOME CYCLING FIRMS HAVE SHUT

Some shops that had sprung up during the pandemic to ride on the high demand for cycling products then had also shut down recently, retailers also noted.

One was a shop that freelance bicycle mechanic Lynten Ong, 56, had helped to open back in March last year.

Mr Ong and a friend saw the cycling scene becoming highly active during the pandemic and felt that it was an opportune moment to try to open a bicycle servicing shop.

However, the pair soon realised that they had stepped into an over-saturated market, with many bicycle retail and repair shops having opened during the pandemic.

Ultimately, they were not able to attract many new customers, since most cyclists already had their go-to mechanic.

"As we were still new, people didn't know about us and we couldn't sustain the upkeep of the shop," Mr Ong said. The waning interest in cycling did not help their cause, he added.

"I decided at the end of the day to shut down, as there was no point working for your landlord."

Mr Ong said that about S$30,000 to S$40,000 was poured into the venture, which lasted just three months and closed in June last year.

CYCLING STILL MORE POPULAR NOW THAN BEFORE COVID

The interest in cycling may have dropped since its Covid-led boom, but it is not all doom and gloom for the cycling scene. Cyclists and retailers said that many people who have picked up the sport have sustained an interest in it even as "normal life" resumed.

Decathlon said that it is making 20 per cent more from bicycle sales now compared to pre-pandemic. For Treknology3, there is a 15 to 20 per cent increase in sales revenue.

Mr Azhar from Treknology3 said: "While there is a segment of new customers who had ditched their new-found hobby after the pandemic, there is an even larger proportion who have made cycling very much a part of their daily routine."

Agreeing, Mr Lim Zhi Xuan, 28, founder of bicycle repair service the Bicycle Wrench, said that he has seen a sustained growth in his business since he started it in October last year.

This was due in part to his customers being typically "serious" cyclists — those who cycle at least three times a week.

"These people continued cycling, even though they can travel," Mr Lim said.

"This pool of serious people has grown and it is definitely more than it was during pre-Covid."

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by JUSTIN ONG

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