E-bikes electrify cyclists

Created: 06/03/2022, 06:00

Electric bikes like this mountain bike are very trendy.

Florian Pfeiffer (left) from Radsport Pfeiffer in Langengeisling advises Armin Landshammer.

He's just one of many fueling the boom.

© Günter Herkner

Bicycles are very popular.

Demand literally exploded, especially during the corona pandemic.

Will cycling continue to be a boom? We asked the dealers in the region on Cycling Day.

Erding - "We had a wave last year when people weren't allowed out," explains Markus Unger, Managing Director of the Vit:Bikes shops.

Since then, bicycle sales have remained at the same high level.

According to Unger, the branch in Erding sells an average of 300 bicycles per year.

The delivery times depend on the model, they can take four weeks, but also up to six months.

"But we have a few bikes in stock," explains Unger.

He believes that the high fuel prices are fueling demand.

“There are customers here and there who have previously considered cycling more than driving.

The fuel price was the final kick,” says Unger.

The demand for e-bikes is also unbroken and, Unger is convinced, will continue for the next few years.

“Ninety percent of the time we actually only sell e-bikes,” he explains.

In the Erdinger branch there are only electric bikes.

Not only e-bikes and normal bicycles are currently in vogue.

The city of Erding has been offering a support program for cargo bikes since April 1st.

The city administration came up with this idea because other municipalities also subsidize the purchase.

Since Erding has also been an official member of the Working Group for Cycle-Friendly Municipalities since January, there is a lively exchange there.

14 applications have already been received at City Hall.

"However, the number of inquiries by telephone and e-mail is significantly higher," explains press spokesman Christian Wanninger.

Andrea Holbl, Managing Director of Zweirad Holbl from Taufkirchen, is also seeing increasing demand for cargo bikes.

"Cargo bikes are more and more in demand with us due to rising fuel prices, and the word leasing is also being mentioned more and more frequently."

The general demand for bicycles of all kinds has decreased somewhat, but is still generally high.

There are no delivery problems.

“We have enough bikes there.

Everyone can find what they are looking for with us.

It becomes difficult for manufacturers when certain components are no longer available,” says Holbl.

E-bikes are still number 1. The sales share is 70 percent.

Werner Bilda from Mo.Bi.Tec in Wörth reports the same percentage of e-bikes.

Only at Radsport Pfeiffer in Langengeisling does it look different.

"For us it's about 40 percent," says Hansi Pfeiffer.

But when it comes to the delivery time for the bikes, Bilda and Pfeiffer agree: “We are sometimes still waiting for bikes from 2020. The delivery situation hasn’t really improved.

We are already in the process of placing the first orders for 2023, although we do not yet know whether we will even get the wheels from 2020/2021," says Bilda.

Demand has also changed.

The peak has probably been passed, and there is also a decline in the number of units.

"It all comes together: high demand, low availability and inflation," analyzes Bilda.

Cargo bikes are also in demand in his shop, but they won't be available until autumn.

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At Radsport Pfeiffer, on the other hand, there are no cargo bikes at all.

Overall, customer interest remains high.

Peiffer feels the dilemma just like his colleagues.

"It's like everywhere: there is nothing, and there is still demand." The delivery time is up to two years.

It becomes particularly difficult when there are special requests,” says Pfeiffer.

Alicia Steber/Lenny Mende