"Used bike shops offer wheels at a steal"
The Working Bikes store featured in an article (hyperlink here) published by the Chicago Sun-Times , in their business section, on the upsurge in bicycling in response to high petroleum prices on Monday, June 30th 2008 ...
Consumers who want to save money on gas by riding their bikes, but don't want to break their budgets with a new set of wheels are finding used bikes a good compromise.
Regularly, 50 to 60 people wait outside the Working Bikes Store, 1125 S. Western Ave., when it opens at noon on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The bikes go for about $60 to $100 each.
"A lot of people say I haven't ridden a bike in 25 years and gas prices are so high. But I don't know if I want to spend 600 dollars on a bike," said General Manager Nick Colombo
The store is part of the Working Bikes Cooperative that repairs and ships bikes to the needy internationally. About 25 percent of the bikes it repairs are sold to locals.
"The ones we sell, we can't keep up with demand," Colombo said.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. has pegged bicycle manufacturers and shops as places that might be hiring more as a result of higher fuel costs.
"Bike shops, especially used bike stores, are seeing an uptick in business as workers find alternatives to driving. Bicycle manufacturers and mechanics will undoubtedly need more help if this trend continues," firm CEO John A. Challenger said.
Service and repair departments have been busy, as folks pull older bikes out of garages, said Fred Clements, executive director of the National Bicycle Dealers Association.
Amling's Cycle & Fitness in Niles is seeing a 20 percent increase in repair business, owner Joe Reichert said. Its sales of new bikes are not up dramatically, he said.
He expects the repair business to stay up as long as the weather stays nice.
"In Chicago, cycling is a very weather-dependent activity. If it's rainy or humid, then all the gains we've seen this year could be wiped out."
BY CHERYL V. JACKSON Staff Reporter/ cjackson@suntimes.com
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