:: cyclists inciting change thru live exchange
Armstrong, tour spur interest in bicycles
Published July 17, 2005 by Billings Gazette
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Interest in the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong is helping bicycle retailers ride the road to profits. But it's an uneven road.
Industry observers all agree that Armstrong and the annual race help cycling and related businesses. But the supporting data is spotty and it's not clear who is benefiting the most from all the attention.
Joe Stout, a bike technician for The Bike Shop in Billings, said there has definitely been an increase in road biking.
"The overall increase is certainly due to Lance's popularity," Stout said. However, sales increases are not confined just to the dates of the Tour.
"The best business is in the spring," he said.
Stout said many people take up road biking because of the exercise benefits and the fact that it's easier than mountain biking.
"All it requires is a road and a bike," he said.
Jim Downs of The Spoke Shop, another popular cycling shop in Billings, agrees. He said Armstrong's popularity certainly gets people interested in the Tour and in biking.
Because of the Tour and Armstrong's popularity, "July will always be a strong month," Downs said. July used to be the month when bike sales tapered off.
Downs said the store does have people come in and ask what Armstrong and the U.S. team are riding.
"They see that the bike holds up to the rigors of high-level racing," Downs said. The store carries Trek bicycles, the bike used by Armstrong and the Discovery team.
In Jacksonville, Fla., stores report mixed results.
"During the Tour, we're nonstop around here," said Michael Scarbrough, owner of Bicycles Etc., an 11-year-old store on Philips Highway.
Sales increase by 40 percent from May through July as customers get inspired, dust off their bikes, buy new helmets and other accessories, he said. A major factor in Bicycles Etc.'s favor is that it carries Trek products, Armstrong's brand of bike.
In San Marco, Open Road Bicycles owner Scott Summey said the number of visitors to his store rises about 10 percent during the Tour de France - but not his sales.
Business is steady year-round, no peaks nor valleys at Open Road, he said. Regular customers are typically involved in cycling regardless of the sudden attention it's receiving, Summey said.
"People who are training or cycling enthusiasts are enthusiasts anyway," he said. "Generally, it's business as usual. But interest is high."
Megan Tompkins, editor of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, said Armstrong's effect on sales depends mostly on the type of bike shop. High-end specialty shops for the hard-core cyclists do their best business during the Tour de France compared with more general, family-oriented stores, she said.
Nationally, retailers are responding to the increased demand Armstrong and the Tour de France have created, said Andy Clarke, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists.
In the 1990s, the major stores carried mainly mountain bikes and hybrid bikes because of their versatility and comfort. Meanwhile, the thin-tired road bikes (with low-slung handle bars) fell out of favor.
But during the last six years, the trend has shifted toward higher-end road bikes. And Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, is selling a road bike for the first time, Clarke said.
"The Lance factor is alive and well," he said.
A consultant for the National Bicycle Dealers Association, Jay Townley, agreed.
Road bike sales have increased 20 to 25 percent annually during the last three years, he said. That's good news for the nation's 4,800 specialty dealers because the more expensive road bikes are more profitable to sell than less expensive mountain bikes, Townley said.
Although dealers sell about 16 percent of all U.S. bikes, they make about 45 percent of the industry's profits. The remainder goes to the larger big-box retailers, he said.
Scarbrough said it's not unusual for customers to order bicycles and other products because Armstrong uses them. "They want to participate; they want to ride like Lance," he said.
But the industry is more than just bikes. Accessories - shirts, shorts, helmets, shoes, water bottles, odometers - can add up to 50 percent to the cost of the bicycle they're used on, Scarbrough said.
For example, the helmet Armstrong uses sells for $225.
Clarke said April and May are usually the crucial bike-buying months, and if the weather is poor, it's reflected in slow sales. But the bicycle industry is notoriously poor at tracking sales.
The industry doesn't have a central clearinghouse association and international trade issues in the 1970s proved divisive for the manufacturers, Townley said.
"The industry is very fractious and highly competitive," he said. "There's just a complete lack of cooperation."
U.S. bicycle sales peaked in the early 1970s, during the Mideast oil crisis when sales reached about 24 million, he said. In 2001, the latest year in which figures are available, bicycle sales hit 16.6 million, according to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
Although there are no figures to prove it, Tompkins said Armstrong's success has boosted bike sales along with cycling. "It's certainly become more mainstream," she said. "It can only help retail sales."
But what happens when Armstrong retires after the Tour de France? Townley said many of the buyers of road bikes will quickly tire of the hard rides and find something easier to ride.
"They just want to be Lance today," he said. "Some of these people are just going to hang it up."
Jasa Santos of The Billings Gazette contributed to this report.
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