Las Vegas Cyclery Enjoys Big Jump In Electric Bicycle Sales
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
When electric bicycles hit the market, bike shop owner Jared Fisher was a believer from the start — even if it meant taking grief from other retail bicycle store owners and even his own employees.
Fisher, also owner of bicycle-touring business Escape Adventures, believed at the time that e-bikes would change the way people looked at physical activity and even commuting in congested areas.
“I was excited about it. It would change the way people approached physical activity and change the way people approached commuting in congested cities. I knew we’d have to make legislative changes, as well, to allow for the e-bikes (on national lands),” Fisher told LVSportsBiz.com Thursday.
The pandemic has accelerated what was already a growing market for e-bikes.
The bicycle industry’s trade publication, Bicycle Retailer, cited a sports industry analyst at The NPD Group for reporting that e Electric bike sales were up 84 percent in March, 92 percent in April, and 137 percent in May when the shutdowns occurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fisher said electric bicycle sales at Las Vegas Cyclery have quadrupled this year over last year, in part, “because of the pandemic and the pandemic encouraged people to get outside and be healthy.”
Fisher said national parks and Bureau of Land Management lands are opening more and more of their lands to e-bikes, which is helping grow sales. Plus, he noted, legislation is paving the way for tax credits for e-bike purchases.
“Everything has its purpose. E-bikes are for people who can’t normally ride. My mom rides and E-bike up to 15 miles a day,” Fisher said. “It gives her a way to exercise and move her legs and feel the wind on her face that she could not before.”
“E-bikes have been the best thing for the bike ships who have embraced them,” Fisher said. “I got a lot of flak from my own people. But not anymore.”
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