An Amusement & Diversion for The Genteel Cyclist. Daily.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Tough times for the economy — and your gazifit


It's become a truism that bike sales are up in this particular recession (which is, by the way, shaping up to be an actual depression, depending on your definitions), but it turns out that's not exactly true. Bike shipments overall were down in the third quarter of this year. Kids bikes, 24-inch bikes, and 26-inch bikes were all down -- led by double-digit declines in sales of double-suspension mountain bikes, which suggests that when the going gets tough, the tough ride a hard tail. (Not me, dude!)

BUT! Sales of bikes in the Big Wheel (700c/29er) category are actually up. This category includes commuters, hybrids, city bikes, road bikes, and most cargo bikes that look really gay. So it would appear that even if bike sales are down overall, the area where you'd expect solid sales -- commuters, realpolitik riders who are desperate to avoid the financial/emotional expenses of car commuting, etc. -- are in fact up and staying there.

Put those winter studs on and ride proud, young commuter!

2 comments:

brother yam said...

Can you give an example of a gay-looking commuter? A Big Dummy? Jim Thill's rickshaw? A Kona Ute? A bakfiet?

Oh, the bakfiet. I getcha...

Jim Thill said...

My rickshaw is gay-looking in the extreme. In fact, it's so gay that when I ride it, I have to wear a spangled leather jacket and matching chaps to send the message that I'm a badass, non-gay MFer.