Business Booming at Local Bike Shops

ST. CLOUD -- Between the warmer weather and more people staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, bike stores in St. Cloud have seen a significant increase in business.

Mike Rathlisberger is the owner of Fitzharris Ski, Bike, and Outdoor. He says this spring the store has been particularly busy, and many of the bikes coming in the door are older.

We've definitely seen a lot of people breaking a bike out that they maybe haven't ridden in 10 or 15 years and getting it tuned up. We've been really busy with tune-ups.

He says manufacturers are not making as many bicycles right now because of the pandemic, but the store is still stocked and trying to keep the turnaround on repair appointments as quick as they can.

Rod Niedzielski is the owner of Rod’s Bicycle Shop. He says customers could start to see supply shortages and longer maintenance wait times.

If you're going to have a bike repaired, expect to have delays. It's going to take some time, so you've got to have patience. You've got to wait for shops to be able to get them done. If you're going to get new ones, you'll want to do it immediately and expect to pay a high dollar because all the discount stores are clean out of bikes.

He says the extended turnaround time is due to both the increased volume of bikes coming in and a limited number of mechanics working at once because of social distancing.