At beginning of the year I started habitually checking the usual suspects for cycling consumables. Then Europe basically eradicated outdoor exercise in most to many countries. I awaited sales to reduce warehouse stock and keep fiscally viable.
Imagine my surprise when virtual shelves started clearing off and not being restocked. Then came updates stating no further orders were possible for the indefinite future on product pages. Instead of sales, the typical online discounts from RRP/MSRP vanished.
Apparently in the UK and Australia cycling has become the new toilet paper. People are buying and trying to repair so many bikes there simply isn’t enough stock or manpower to meet demand. So much so it is threatening to deplete the othewise unsaleable stock in Europe. At a premium no less.
Tabloid newspaper shock coverage included. This is a confirmed panic buying product right up there with paper goods. Bike shops that were losing ground to the internet are having a quarter surpassing entire recent years trying to keep up with the volume of work.
A very English joke about clags that (re)appeared more satirically relevant than previously thought possible.
