When COVID-19 lockdowns shut down public transport and limited entertainment, bicycles came as a solution for both issues, pushing Ukrainians to rent, buy and repair two-wheelers.
Since spring 2020, when the government introduced the first quarantine restrictions, demand for bikes has spiked, and so did their prices. With the international supplies interrupted by the global crisis, some of the biggest bike retailers in Ukraine are now experiencing a shortage.
“Now we are selling whatever is left, grab small shipments here and there, but it is not enough,” Oleksii Kushka, the founder of Veliki bike retailer and rental, told the Kyiv Post.
The bike boom has been a global trend, with sales growing by 50% in the United States and going up by 60% in the United Kingdom. And the market is projected to keep growing in the years to come.
Though Ukrainians rarely use bicycles for transportation because of the poor infrastructure and lack of bike culture, the pandemic might have laid the foundation for the development of such.
Popularity
As Kyiv went into another lockdown this spring, the limitations on public transport overlapped with the start of the regular bike season, causing a new wave of popularity, according to the local non-profit City of Bicycles.
“Although people ride bicycles all year round, they switch to them en masse in April,” Mykhailo Tatsii, the head of City of Bicycles, told the Kyiv Post.
According to Tatsii, more Kyivans started cycling in casual wear rather than sports outfits, suggesting they use bikes for transportation rather than for exercise.
The number of cyclists during the morning rush hour in Kyiv has also increased, Tatsii said, with about 3,500 commuters getting to work by bike now.
Kushka, who is also a co-founder of the Bikenow sharing service in Kyiv, said that the spike in bicycle popularity in Ukraine was provoked by the need for outdoor activities. As malls and fitness centers closed, people found cycling as a good leisure alternative, he said.
“The pandemic just gave it another strong push,” Kushka said.
According to Kushka, the demand for bike sharing services has grown in Kyiv by four times. Bikenow alone has put out over 2,000 two-wheelers on the city streets that are rarely seen unoccupied.
However, renting a bike is more expensive than owning one. Rentals on average charge Hr 60-100 ($2-3) per hour of cycling.
Meanwhile, a good-quality bicycle costs around Hr 14,000 ($500), according to Kushka. But the price for a brand-new bike can go as low as Hr 5,000 ($180) in Ukraine.
Some Ukrainians brought out their dusty old bikes from garages, deciding to repair them rather than make a pricey purchase during the crisis, said Kushka, whose business also provides maintenance.
Yet many others invested in a new one, pushing the demand up.
Sales and shortage
Some of Ukraine’s biggest bike retailers, including Veliki and Veloplaneta, experienced a growth in sales of about 50% in 2020.
Meanwhile, as the pandemic took a toll on the global bicycle production, which is mostly based in China, Japan and Taiwan, stores struggled with receiving the regular supplies.
Online bike retailer Cycles experienced a 50%-fall in supplies from China, the biggest bike importer to Ukraine, in spring 2020, said its owner Ivan Rybka.
According to Maxim Ivanov, CEO of Veloplaneta, another issue is that the freight transportation fees have tripled already, and they keep climbing.
“The risk of further price growth remains high, and the situation is crucial for the store,” Ivanov told the Kyiv Post.
With expenses going up, the prices for bikes followed, growing by 10-30% across the stores. However, the increase has appeared to be not much help, since many retailers are now experiencing a shortage.
“No supplies means no sales,” Ivanov said.
