Inner Southeast dealers see rise in sales of “city” and “cargo” bikes

By Merry Mackinnon

The Bee, Feb 4, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

Woodstock Bike Gallery Manager Ryan Manner says his store recently started carrying cargo bikes, which can be used to haul children, groceries and, even, compost.

Merry MacKinnon / THE BEE

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When it comes to bicycles, now the operative word is “functional”.

Inside the Woodstock Bike Gallery store, up front by the entrance, are the bicycles that sell well these days — and they aren’t mountain bikes.

“The future is functional city bikes,” declares store manager Ryan Manner, as he gestures toward a display of road bikes.

Not surprisingly, 2008 was a growth year for some local bike shops, despite the downturn in the economy. It helps that Portland is a bicyclist’s haven — a place where employees generally have the option to bicycle to work. That’s an option which came in handy last summer when gasoline hit $4 a gallon.

“It’s exploded,” says Sellwood Cycle Repair Owner, and Woodstock resident, Erik Tonkin. “It’s really exciting to be in this business, and see so many people come to cycling.”

In 2008, at Sellwood Cycle Repair on S.E. Milwaukie Avenue, and at Woodstock’s Bike Gallery on S.E. Woodstock Boulevard, requests for repairs and service parts grew, as did sales of functional city bikes.

“Most of the bikes we sell are geared toward commuting,” Tonkin says. “They’re designed to be ridden on the street.”

Both Tonkin and Manner report that demand for mountain bikes has faded, although popular hybrid bicycles continue to sell, combining both mountain bike and road bike features. “Sales of mountain bikes are stagnant, at best; and sales of luxury bikes have shrunk a little,” Manner reports.

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