[baebeegeezus]

It’s the US too. I was in a car accident with 2 bikes on the back that were unrepairable. Trying to find replacement bikes are close to impossible. Just yesterday I went to 2 local bike shops who had no stock and the bikes they do get in are pre sold, so there’s never any inventory. All manufacturers I’ve checked also don’t have anything available online. I guess they prioritize their dealers who can deal with the customer facing stuff so they can focus on more manufacturing. Even finding basic parts like a tube can be difficult! I found that the service levels at my local shop also went way way down, as they just can’t keep up with the volume. When I asked one of the bike store people about it yesterday, he just shrugged and said that it’s probably being used as a social distancing safe sport and replaced a lot of gym memberships and other sports.

[3nf]

Yeah, here in Denver there has been a huge amount of novel cyclists. Lots of old bikes dug out of storage and brand new bikes with slightly wobbly riders. Also, more diverse riders. I think it's great.

There's also a big increase in poorly maintained bikes- a squeaking chain is not just wearing itself out faster than usual, but also wearing out expensive drivetrain parts. Lubricate and clean your chains (and WD-40 is not lube)!

[taxcoder]

Like you say, not just bikes but parts too. Finding a replacement tube for my son's bike was quite difficult about two months ago.