Minnesota’s pandemic-driven bike boom is showing no signs of slowing down

With restaurants, bars, concerts and other public spaces closed, the pandemic drove people outdoors. Parks were swamped, Minneapolis and St. Paul closed streets to accommodate a flood of people on foot and wheels, and stores that sold equipment for getting out — tents, snowshoes, skis — were often sold out.

Demand for bikes surged, too. In 2020, U.S. consumers spent an estimated $29.5 billion on bikes and accessories, up 17 percent from the $25 billion spent in 2019, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Many shops had trouble keeping up with demand, as bikes flew off the shelves. Further, pandemic-related global supply chain issues — bike parts are often made in Asia — constricted manufacturers’ ability to keep up with demand for new bikes and shops’ ability to stock parts to fix old ones.

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