FBOATSB

Yes. I have several projects on hold mostly because of spoke prices, not shortages. It's also hard to justify a bolt that costs more than the seatpost it's going on but I did buy that anyway.

Rick

The Virus and assorted shutdowns created the current state of affairs.

Cpn_Dunsel

The pandemic certainly was and remains a large factor and it may have been a confluence of some other previous events that unfolded very quickly to get us to where we are right now.

1. 2018 US White House tariffs on China compel many manufacturers to move production outside of China to Taiwan Vietnam and some other SE Asia nations to avoid fees and tariffs.
2. Lunar new Year December 2019 All plants & factories shut down for one month for the holiday.
3. Covid 19 hits January 2020. Factories do not reopen. Orders start piling up. Normal bike production of less than 2 months start expanding to 4 to 6.
4. Most companies have not fully shifted to other nations stuck with factories not producing in multiple locations.
5. China opens factories back up. Most companies try to shift back to mainland China for production and manufacturing ramps back up. Manufacturing delays and orders now shipping 6+ months
6. Global pandemic, increased shipping and demand on all global goods causes worldwide shipping logjam.
7. Raw materials slow. Auto makers, silicon chip manufacturers suffer material shortages, cut back production.
8, Bike business has increased demand, runs through 12 months inventory in 4 months.
9. Manufacturers have not increased production due to multiple factors including fear of bubble and lack of raw materials.
10. Shipping logistics fail to improve. Increased demand across all sectors and all industries forces bike industry to start pushing back timelines now well past 12 months.

.... and here we are.

Bike industry production has always been a narrow and fragile system. Very few players are providing 97% of all the bikes goods and services. The main players were hit hard and it will take years for a full recovery.

Years.

rossiny

Depends on where you live. Suburban sprawl has made the bike obsolete as far as transit in some areas. Luckily hear in my town we have traditional streets laid out in North , South East West streets and a good deal of bike lanes so you just stay off 4 lane highways . We have a way to go to be like Holland and countries that have good infrastructure. As far as parts, I'm a bit of a bike collector and its amazing how many people upgrade and sell fantastic bikes on Facebook market place .. so with a bit of maintenance I can go for 100,000k miles!!!

guachi

Just-in-time manufacturing is great when everything works right but a mess when the supply chain is disrupted.

Gresp15C

Indeed, I run a tiny business that makes a product, and all it takes is a shortage of one part to cut me down a few notches.

Another outgrowth of just-in-time is quick-turn manufacturing, where a plant making bike parts can switch over to something else overnight if there's a major shift in demand.

unterhausen

I guarantee that the OP's local bike shop wishes things were better. It's a tough time now to run a bike shop in the U.S. because there isn't a lot to sell. From behind the scenes my LBS is doing a lot more work now sourcing parts than they were pre-pandemic. And it doesn't always work out that they get the parts that they need.

koenbro 

I agree, dedicated bike lanes are a prerequisite for mass commuting (or other bike-as-transportation activities).

Rick

I commuted to work by bicycle most of my life. There were no bike lanes whatsoever. I don't need bike lanes so that I can ride my bicycles.

Rolla

While many of us have been commuting for decades with or without bike lanes, it's no secret that improving safety and access increases the use of bicycles as transportation. One recent study found that in cities where bike infrastructure was added during the pandemic, cycling increased up to 48 percent more than in cities that did not add bike lanes. This European study similarly correlated infrastructure improvement with cycling participation in 2014. Myriad other examples abound.

Rick

I am aware of the studies and the need for many people to believe they are safer with the bike lanes. I am against poorly designed bike lanes that lull people into a false sense of security. In the early1980s A friend of mine invited me to a meeting were the public was allowed input on a proposed bike lane. Our recommendations feel on deaf ears and the painted line bike lane with two way bicycle traffic on one side of the road was put out there. They removed it several months later. They found out why it is a bad idea to ride against traffic. I have seen some bicycle infrastructure that I consider acceptable but there is little done to educate people especially motorists as to what and how they are supposed to behave around these facilities.