Two wheels good

Abstract

In the teeth of a severe economic downturn, the global bike industry enjoyed an impressive year in 2009, following a spectacular 2008. Retailers in recession-hit Britain have told of record sales, and shortages of their most popular models. Europe, one London cycle shop owner commented, running out of bikes. Brompton, purveyors of folding bikes that are built from scratch somewhat incongruously perhaps in ritzy west London, explained that a bike ordered in early December could not be with the purchaser for 13 weeks. It was a similar story over at Pashley's factory in Stratford-upon-Avon. Technical director Dan Farrell commnted that sales were up by 30 per cent year on year, and that it was a case of 'all hands on deck' to get orders that had been placed months before boxed up and shipped out in time for Christmas.A combination of convenience, cost saving and health and environmental concerns seems to have inspired this urge to saddle up, for both the daily commute and for getting out and about at weekends. In Britain, the government's 'Cycle to Work' tax incentive has been a trigger; it is estimated to account for as much as half of all sales in some bike shops. London is leading the way, with a dramatic 90 per cent increase in the number of cyclists since 2005, amid worries about obesity and carbon footprints, with a cycling Mayor, and a cycling leader of the parliamentary opposition. It has also coincided with the gentrification of areas once derided as 'inner cities'. Their affluent residents have discovered that a five-mile daily commute is easily achievable in normal, non-lycra, clothing and often preferable to the costly hurly burly of rush-hour public transport. Homes that are close to a city centre-bound cycle path have become highly sought after.