BENGALURU: The first thing that wildlife enthusiast Hari Somashekhar did after the lockdown eased was gift himself a cycle. The reason: To improve his fitness level and in turn, boost immunity.
“Sitting at home for months with no exercise made me health-conscious. With gyms and swimming pools closed, I decided to go for a cycle as it ensures social distancing too,” he said. Now, the wildlife photographer-cum-conservationist goes out for a spin early morning. “It’s been a week on the saddle, and I’m enjoying my daily rides of 15km, mostly in the central business district,” he said, adding that he aims at building endurance through longer rides.
Hari is among the many Bengalureans heading to cycle showrooms. According to Venkatesh Shivarama (Venky) of Wheel Sports, there has been a 60% rise in queries through calls and showroom visits. Of the queries, 50% translate into sales. Venky, who has been into the cycle business for about 12 years, attributes this to commuters fearing use of public transport in Covid times and gyms and pools being inacessible.
Agrees Manjesh Chandrasekharan of ICycle. “Post-lockdown, we are seeing a steady increase in footfall. People have become fitness-conscious and sales reflect the trend.”
Santhosh Anand, who looks after ICycle’s Electronics City showroom, said they’ve sold 80 cycles after reopening on May 5. In the pre-Covid era, they were selling an average of 35 cycles a month. Sellers say they make suggestions to customers based on their needs — daily exercise, leisure rides or commute.
While Wheel Sports sells imported bikes, ICycle deals with a mix of Indian and foreign brands. Sagar MC, who looks after the bicycle section of a sports equipment major, said he’s seeing a rise in sales of cycles, running shoes and gym equipment. “Most prospective customers would like to get initiated into cycling. So they usually pick up entry-level models, with or without gears,” he added.
The cost of cycles sold across showrooms is between Rs 6,000 and Rs 80,000. A common problem all sellers are facing is replenishing the stock, which is flying off the shelves. With no shipment for three months, showrooms have not got their regular supplies. Besides balancing this demand-supply equation, sellers are confident of seeing more cyclists criss-crossing city roads in the near future.
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