Covid-19 had a devastating effect on the global manufacturing market. The cycling industry has been hit hard with dwindling stock levels of parts, bikes, and all accessories. Full Sus caught up with various industry experts to shed some more light on this issue and the challenges it presents.

Local manufacturing company cSixx has seen a boom in their production. Alex Mancini heads up the Sales and Marketing division and explains why lockdown did not halt their progress: “Despite the first hard lockdown we were lucky enough to be back at work during Level 4 thanks to our production of 3D printed face masks and ventilators. We had lots of design time to create new cycling products to further expand our range. With some downtime the team at cSixx could increase stock levels,” says Mancini.

“We made a huge effort to build more derailleur pulleys and chainrings. Our lead time stayed at 10 days and our nightshift crew enabled us to keep up with demand.” Some brand new and 100% locally made products will keep consumers interested commented Mancini. “We’ve worked hard to design and create brand new products such as a 100% locally built handlebar and a nifty on-bike tool storage unit.”

Marc de Decker is the brand manager at Get Stoked Distribution and stock levels remain a big headache.

“Demand is so high that we are selling out of stock in record time! The bigger problem is, as a distributor, the stock landing right now was planned up to a year ago when the industry wasn't sure how long this demand would last.”

De Decker admits that the maintaining of stock is a difficult task. “Maintaining stock levels is largely a juggling act, with multiple factors at play: limited raw materials, longer production lead times and it being impossible to predict shipping times. This means that while something might be in good stock at time of writing, the same stock could be sold out literally by next week.” Some of their current stock that was available at time of writing include Formula brakes, Ride Concepts shoes, DT Swiss spares and spokes, Ruby silicone grips and Race Face and Ethirteen cockpit parts.

“Currently our longest lead times are by far the DT Swiss wheels. If you ordered a set from us today, you would not get it before November next year. That's a lead time of just over 600 days,” says De Decker.

The unprecedented boom in new riders taking up the sport excites De Decker. “One thing we can all bank on is that this influx in new riders is almost certainly not going to go away, after all, how many first-time cyclists do you know who have eventually given up the sport? It rarely happens!” De Decker expects more of the same for the rest of 2021.

“I can tell you from a distribution and production point of view the absolute earliest these delays caused by demand will start to subside is end of 2021 when, hopefully, shipping stabilizes more and infrastructure that brands have invested in start to come into play.” According to De Decker new and exciting products are still being developed! “Every brand we work with is still planning to launch new products, at worst they have simply had to shift the launch dates by a few months.”

The cycling industry is definitely facing challenges that aren’t unique to this industry, but once again despite the unprecedented demands, lockdowns, production and shipping challenges, the industry has proved that two-wheel self-powered (and pedal assist of course) transport and sport in the form of cycling is never going away. Despite, and in spite of, a global pandemic the industry has proved resilient and innovative. The world’s demand for healthy living is being met by the cycling industry albeit slowly in some corners of the world. It is also fantastic to see that local producers have stepped up to the plate. Apparently never before has Queen’s lyrics been truer: “I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike!” however this is countered by sage advice by rockers Guns and Roses: “All we need is just a little patience!”