The world ran out of bicycles because of COVID-19. But this Miami shop is thriving
It’s bigger even than toilet paper: Who could have predicted that the humble bicycle would become one of the hottest -- and scarcest -- commodities in a grim pandemic?
Certainly not Marcelo Penengo, owner of Elite Cycling, a small bike shop on U.S. 1 just north of The Falls. Just three months ago, bike stores in Miami-Dade County were ordered shut down as nonessential businesses as the novel coronavirus began its relentless spread. Penengo thought the epidemic would spell doom for his business and his half-dozen employees.
But so many people stuck at home have discovered -- or re-discovered -- the joys and benefits of riding a bicycle that shops around the nation are in the midst of a boom the likes of which have not been seen since the 10-speed craze of the 1970s.
No one is more amazed -- and thankful -- than Penengo. Not only has he been able to keep all his salesmen and mechanics employed, but they’ve happily gone from furloughed at home to working overtime six days a week. Store business is up as much as 40 percent over last year, Penengo said.
“We’ve been running a marathon, non-stop, some days before 8 a.m. until 9 pm.,” Penengo said. “It has been mayhem.”
The pandemic impact has taken some strange turns for Elite, opened in 2006 by Olympic ice skaters Jennifer Rodriguez and K.C. Boutiette, who later sold the shop to Penengo.
Elite’s business started taking off unexpectedly even before the shutdown order was lifted. When people began calling to ask about affordable cruisers and hybrids, or ordering the bikes on the closed shop’s website, Penengo went back to the shop and set up a curbside pickup system. Thanks to a paycheck protection payment, he brought his full staff back to sell and assemble bikes as business ramped up.
Then, another twist: The world ran out of new bikes.
Across the United States alone, sales of casual and kids’ bikes doubled and tripled, according to market research firm NPD Group. It was much the same in Europe.
Most affordable bikes are made in China, where the virus originated and where production was interrupted in response, curtailing supply temporarily. Even as production resumed, though, it was outpaced by soaring demand. Global supply was soon all but exhausted.
At Elite, Penengo said he can get his hands on only five to 10 new bikes a week, and those have been sold weeks in advance. He has 300 back orders for bikes.
But now the saving grace for the shop has been repairs -- such a flood of people bringing in rusty old bikes to get them back in working order that service has gone from 20 percent of Elite’s business to 90 percent since the shop was allowed to reopen in May.
“People started bringing out bikes from I don’t know where,” Penengo said.
Many of the bikes have obviously not been ridden in years. Some just need a new chain, new tires and inner tubes or a saddle and a tune-up. But some are in such disrepair they require extensive work, like new brakes or gears, and resuscitation bills can climb as high $300, close to the cost of a casual new ride, Penengo said. With new bikes virtually unavailable, customers are willing to pay the tab, he said.
And now it’s getting increasingly hard to get parts, especially tubes and tires, or accessories like affordable helmets, he said. The biggest manufactures of bike components, like Japan’s Shimano, have warned bike makers and distributors that parts will be in short supply for a while, Penengo said.
As much as to manage workflow as to protect customers and employees, Elite is taking bikes for repairs by appointment only, and given the crush of work, those must be made at least a week in advance. Penengo said he has been “super strict” on limiting entry into the store, and reduced the hours it’s open to customers just so he can put the gate down and focus on getting repairs done.
“There is so much demand that we need our quiet time to work,” he said.
Several dozen bikes hang from the ceiling, waiting for repairs or done and ready for pick-up. The shop floor, normally crowded with new bikes, is close to empty. It might seem Elite is going out of business.
That he’s not when so many other small businesses have been devastated was a matter of happenstance, Penengo said.
“Without me planning it, it’s worked out for us,” he said.
In the longer run, Penengo acknowledges it’s impossible to tell what new turn the pandemic might bring to his business. But he said all those grown-ups and kids now out cheerfully pedaling down their neighborhood streets and exploring Miami are a reason for hope -- for their own well-being no less than for Elite Cycling’s future.