Three weeks before Christmas, Marion is desperately looking for bikes.
“One for my 7 year old and one electric for me.
At Décathlon and Go sport, I can't find anything available for the 24th. So I go around the independents, ”plague the mother of Clichy-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis).
In Lyon, Quentin still bites his fingers: “I have been eyeing this city model from the Orbéa brand for months, and when I finally decided to give it to myself a fortnight ago, there were no more. stock.
I will not be delivered before April ”, regrets the 30-year-old condemned to pedal on his“ old teenage bike ”until sunny days.
The pros do not find their happiness either: Yann, who is due to open his Compression bicycles shop in January in Puy-en-Velay (Haute-Loire), exposes as follows: "My biggest concern is to find new bikes, I I have an agreement with the supplier Tribe Sport Group but the stock is very limited, the 2021 range has already been sold!
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Shortage of bikes: why you have such a hard time buying a new one
In the Cycles Laurent boutique, temple of cyclists for 75 years on Boulevard Voltaire in Paris, the boss Cédric Laurent sighs.
“Obviously, we are disappointed, there are delays up to six months, a year.
The bicycle has now become a scarce commodity.
Particularly among city bikes and electrically assisted bikes (VAE).
No return to normal until spring!
How to explain these excessive waiting times?
"By a sequence impossible to anticipate", replies Virgile Caillet, general delegate of the Union sport & cycle which brings together the cycling industry.
On the one hand, with the health crisis, the little queen appeared as a way to avoid crowded public transport in France, Europe, the United States or Japan.
In France, after deconfinement, coronapistes like purchasing aid for electric bikes have put many French people back in the saddle.
"Over the first nine months, sales of electrically assisted models have grown by 30%," said Virgile Caillet.
In addition, "from November to February, the strikes disrupted the French ports in particular that of Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) where parts transit".
Then, when the epidemic broke out in China, deliveries were slowed down.
"Slow supply and global boom in demand are causing a perfect jaws effect", analyzes Virgile Caillet.
Bike shortage: why you have trouble buying a new bike
The factories are running 7 days a week
As a result, at Decathlon, which sells almost half of the new biclous in France, we do not expect a return to normal before spring and even beyond.
“The entire market has concerns for the year 2021,” indicates Didier Morelle, Mr. Cycling Europe.
Because there are tensions and not only in France on the components.
"For example, on the speed control systems sold for the vast majority (80%) by the Japanese company Shimano:" Our factories operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We plan to invest to increase our production, but not everything is done in the blink of an eye, ”says the French head office of the Japanese brand.
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So to offer a bike for Christmas, going through the occasion can be the solution.
But beware of Leboncoin type sites, prices increase as we advance in the Advent calendar.