The Kettering Bike Shop has been seeing many more older bikes coming in for repairs than in past years, said owner Tom Tegtmeyer.
“People are doing more tune-ups to keep their old bike going, rather than purchasing a new one,” Tegtmeyer said.
The K&G Bike Center stores also have seen more older bikes coming in for repairs, said Stein Pedersen, co-owner of three stores in Centerville, Kettering and Xenia.
“Not to say that they have cobwebs on them, but they’ve been sitting around for a while and they want to fix them up,” Pedersen said. “That’s been a trend since later last year.”
New bike sales are down, especially for more expensive models. “We’re still selling a lot of new bikes, but you’re selling at a lower price point that you would not have seen in years past,” Tegtmeyer said.
Pedersen has seen an increase in the sales of commuting-style bicycles, as more people ride their bikes to work.
“Whether it’s necessity or whether it’s the fact that they just want to save a little bit of money, we’re seeing more of that,” he said.
Bicycling remains popular in part because it’s an inexpensive family activity.
“Riding a bike, particularly in this area with the tremendous bike paths that we’ve got, is a fun way of exercising and a fun way of recreation,” Pedersen said.
Tipp City Cyclery has benefitted from the recent construction of the Miami County Bike Trail, which now runs 10.6 miles from Tipp City to Troy.
“We are seeing a lot of people riding casually that probably wouldn’t be riding if it wasn’t for the bike path,” said Ezio Miconi, owner of Tipp City Cyclery.
Fearing the worst from the economy, Miconi ordered light this year in terms of his inventory. But it’s turned out to be a fairly busy season, he said.
“We always do a ton of service in the spring and early summer, and this year has been no exception,” he said. “I’d say service-wise it as been as strong a season as we’ve ever had.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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