COLUMBIA, S.C. — The bicycle is a holiday favorite that is harder to come by this year as the pandemic continues to cause delays across industries.
One Columbia man said he's waited eight months so far, and he's not the only one. At Outspokin Bicycles on Devine Street, sold cycles line the ceiling and floor.
"Traditionally, when we start running low on bikes, we would place an order and, three days later, we’d have more bikes," Owner Brian Curran said. "Well, now if I order a bike, I don’t see it for 12 to 14 months in a lot of cases.”
Jeff Brandenburg bought a bike for his wife in May hoping to get it by her birthday in July.
"Currently, it’s looking like March or April arrival. So, almost a year," Brandenburg said. "I’m willing to wait, but understandably many people aren’t ... I have talked with friends who are in the market for other bikes from different bike stores and they are facing the same lack of availability.”
Getting bike parts for repairs has also been a challenge, but Curran said not all bikes are hard to come by.
They have children's bikes, but mountain and road bikes are rarer.
He said shoppers shouldn't give up hope.
"...because we do have bikes. It might not be the exact bike that you want but we probably have something that's close," Curran said.