Can we sustain the bike boom when the pandemic is over? Based onhistory, probably not.

Can we sustain the bike boom when the pandemic is over? Based on
history, probably not.

While a lot of businesses are suffering greatly due to Covid-19, a few
are doing better than ever. Amazon, Walmart, and Costco of course, but
an unexpected beneficiary has been bicycle shops. I thought bicycle
shops would suffer greatly, but because many governments classified them
as essential businesses, and because gyms are closed, bicycle shops have
been doing a booming business both in sales and service.

Can this be sustained? Probably not:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2020/05/01/bicycling-booms-during-lockdown-but-theres-a-warning-from-history/#3adf8c8f41cf

Some other articles on the boom in cycling:

https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/local-bike-shop-sees-boom-in-business-as-more-las-vegans-turn-to-cycling/

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/As-COVID-19-spreads-bike-sales-boom-15248527.php

https://www.slowtwitch.com/News/The_Covid-19_Bike_Boom_7665.html

The downside for shops is that even though they're selling a lot more
units, it's not the high-cost bicycles that are selling well. "Bikes at
$500 and under, they’re selling like toilet paper. In fact, the scarcity
of these bikes has forced the price points higher." Service departments
are also very busy, even doing shifts.

Another upside is that while bicycle shops can be open, some of their
competitors, stores for whom bicycles are just one product line (REI,
Sports Basement, Dick's) cannot be open. OTOH, online bicycle sales are
booming. My next door neighbor has bought two Linus bicycles online and
brought them over to me for free assembly.

Could it be that some of the entities advocating for a premature end to
shelter-in-place, and reopening everything even though all the medical
experts have stated that doing so will cause a second wave of infections
and deaths, are seeking to benefit financially from the second wave?
Hopefully not.