Electric bike shop sees boost in sales during coronavirus pandemic

There's a bike boom happening.

"It's kind of a little uncomfortable to say at times, but my business has been doing pretty well lately," said Chris Nolte, owner of Propel Electric Bikes in Long Beach, CA.

Nolte said that the shop's sales in May 2020 were close to double those in May 2019, and he's not alone.

According to the market research firm The NPD Group, adult leisure bike sales increased 121% in March 2020 versus March 2019. The same study found that sales from children's and BMX bikes increased 56% in that same time period.

"Gyms started closing down and people started looking to other alternatives to getting out there and exercising and bikes kind of became a savior for a lot of people," Nolte said.

The New York native opened his first location in Brooklyn and moved to Long Beach in 2018 to launch his second storefront.

"All of the bikes that we sell are electric assist, which means that you have to pedal them and they just provide assistance," Nolte said.

Propel Electric Bikes is located at 100 W Broadway Suite 110, Long Beach. For more information, visit propelbikes.com.