DesiCycle Opinion: Because of Covid, Indian Cycling is in a Boom. But Will it last?

A few positives ( no puns intended ) that have come out from the pandemic is that pollution has lowered, nature is reclaiming itself, and we Indians are taking upcycling. 

Over the last 6 months, over 12 friends of mine have bought a cycle, one has picked it up so well that going from a completely stagnant life, has gone on to do 1100+ Kilometres in less than a month, doing his first-century ride this month. 

Newspapers have reported that cycling has picked up so much so that all the stores are out of stock! 

All India Cycle Manufacturers’ Association (AICMA) is said to have registered a 25 per cent jump in countrywide sales in June for an industry worth Rs 7,000 crore manufacturing 20 million cycles every year.

A Hindi newspaper says that cycles are selling like Chole Bhature, a North India delicacy

I have personally noticed that in Decathlon, the budget cycles are almost always out of stock,  the accessories that go with these cycles are also out of stock. I have been trying to buy the cheapest helmet decathlon sells and it has been perpetually unavailable for the last two months!

A few recent videos have also gone viral from popular cycling hotspots like India Gate crowded with cyclists, most of them first-time owners, or people who have picked up cycling after a long long time.

Cycling groups that I personally belong to have seen huge surges,  our own Facebook group, DesiCycling has seen a surge and gone from 100 members to 600 members in that last 1 month. Popular Local Riding Chapters are seeing a huge surge as reported by a few news articles.

Why the boom has happened?

The two major causes which have led to this are: 

 - Gyms being closed for 6 months now. 

 - Work From Home is a sedentary lifestyle, and people end up doing long hours just sitting in the same place. 

Cycling is one of the few sports after running that fills this gap easily, and it is the easiest sport to start without any or limited background in fitness, and almost everyone knows to cycle because it was every kid ride before sadly moving to a motorised vehicle and this need for fitness has pushed them back to there favourite rides as children again. 

Will the boom stay? 

It Depends a lot on how the pandemic situation stays. 

We are at 31 Lakh cases as of the writing of this article, and social distancing norms are still required to stay safe.  It is highly unlikely that offices will open back anytime soon, my own office is said to be closed till December. Who says that it could take another year or two for the pandemic to end. 

In a situation like this, cycling will continue to boom. People will strive to stay fit, as there are no other safe means. 

What happens when COVID goes way? 

There will be a gradual decrease in interest. People will go back to their monotonous fossil-fuel-based lives, and gyms will have their subscriptions back. A lot of the newbies will start selling their cycles, and we the regular bikers will benefit from cheap deals on all buy-sell platform. 

What do you think is your opinion? 

Are you a new rider? 

Do you think COVID will go away soon? 

Tell us in the comments. 

You can also join our communities on Discord and Facebook and learn more about the joys of cycling.