Owner of Regina shop seeing surge in bike sales

It has been a stunning reversal of fortunes for Freddy Vandelinden at Regina’s Dutch Cycle.

A year ago, he believed his store was in peril, as public health orders forced businesses to close. Instead, he has seen the opposite.

“To have an exact 180 of that is a very pleasant surprise,” he told the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday.

With people stuck inside and craving outdoor activities, Vandelinden has seen a resurgence in the activity, with sales outpacing supply.

“(There has been) a 300 per cent increase in demand for product. Manufacturers haven’t stopped making products (and) they haven’t stopped shipping products, they just can’t make them fast enough,” he said.

“Then there’s the logistics issue of getting the products from overseas to North America. And shipping right now is very heavily delayed as ports are heavily delayed.”

Vandelinden said many of the bicycles in stock have been pre-sold.

In 31 years, he has seen several waves of interest in the sport. His grandfather has told him stories about the Peugeot 10-speed bikes being introduced in the 1970s. Decades later, mountain biking “reinvigorated cycling.” Then, there was Lance Armstrong’s dynastic run of Tour de France victories.

But nothing compares to what Vandelinden is seeing now.

“It never had the participation factor that we’re seeing now. I think it’s just people wanting an out; they want to experience outside. We’ve been locked off long enough and we want our spirits to sail,” he said.