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Under the epidemic situation, it's common for us to rob rice, toilet paper and other daily consumer goods. But this time, Americans are scrambling for bicycles! Some American bike suppliers say that sales have soared more than 600% this year!

In the United States, where the epidemic hit hard, people are worried that they may be infected with the new coronavirus by taking public transport. At the same time, for the need of fitness, people choose cycling as their first choice.

According to data from the N.P.D Group, a market consulting agency, in March this year, sales of bicycles, equipment, and repair services nationwide almost doubled compared to the same period last year. Compared with the same period last year, the sales of commuting and fitness bicycles increased by 66%, the sales of leisure bicycles increased by 121%, the sales of children's bicycles increased by 59%, and the sales of electric bicycles increased by 85%.

Due to the surge in bicycle sales, some stores have sold out inventory and manufacturers have insufficient supplies, facing serious bicycle shortages.

Sales soared more than 6 times

According to the New York Times, by the end of April, many shops and distributors had sold out low-end bicycles under $1,000. Now, the United States is facing a serious bicycle shortage.

Ryan Zagata, president of Brooklyn Bicycles, said: "I have never seen such a scene. Compared with the same period in 2019, sales this year have soared by more than 600%."

"We are like Dairy Queen (DQ) without ice cream supply, and then we can only rely on selling spare parts." Pierre Poulet, founder of Cycle Robert, a bicycle equipment manufacturer in Montreal, said in an interview with CityNews. Pierre Poulet said he thought the epidemic would make him cold. But now, the bicycle inventory he ordered last year is scarce.

In addition, according to FOX reports, since the outbreak of the new coronary pneumonia two months ago, in Acadiana, Washington, bicycles and toilet papers have been vigorously fired. Hub City Cycles, a bicycle supplier, said that more than 250 bicycles have been sold in two months, basically reaching their usual one-year sales (300). "People all over the United States want a bicycle." The media said that due to the surge in bicycle demand and the impact of China's production schedule under the epidemic, a chain reaction has occurred.

Hub City Cycles supplies high-end bicycles and equipment.

According to National Post reports, not only in the United States, but also in South America, there is a wave of bicycle travel. From Bogota in Colombia to Buenos Aires, the pandemic of the new coronavirus has prompted city officials to expand bicycle lanes and promote cycling as a safe way to travel. Some major capitals in South America Of residents are riding bicycles more and more.

Relevant trade data shows that 96% of imported small wheel bicycles in the United States come from China. China also produces a large number of bicycle accessories. 80% of the imported foot brakes and about 70% of bicycle ringers in the United States come from China. Kevin Tsu, general manager of a bicycle manufacturer in China, said that in the first six months of this year, he has received twice the number of orders in previous years. However, the manufacturer can only produce 20,000 bicycles per month, as in previous years. He said: "In Asia, there is still a serious shortage of labor and parts. Therefore, the delivery time of bicycle manufacturers is two or three months behind."

Chinese bicycle industry: high-end, intelligent, brand

According to the research of AiMedia Data Center, in the future, China's bicycle industry will transform and upgrade in the direction of "diversification, high-end and branding", and more will be devoted to the intelligent development of bicycle equipment and the expansion of bicycle exports. Resources.

Ai Media Consulting analysts believe that compared with bicycles, the replacement rate of bicycle parts is significantly higher. Therefore, how to further develop the spare parts market and stand out through differentiated competition of spare parts is an effective way for bicycle companies to seek breakthroughs.

In terms of bicycle terminal manufacturers, according to the analysis of the Ai Media Research Institute, the industry concentration of the Chinese bicycle industry is relatively high. After years of development, it has entered a mature period, forming a base including the Yangtze River Delta Industrial Base, Tianjin Bicycle Industrial Base, and Shenzhen Bicycle Industrial Base. China’s three major industrial bases, which include more than 1,600 enterprises, whose output accounts for more than 90% of the total output of enterprises above designated size in China.

In addition, as an environmentally friendly energy source, electric bicycles have a wider range of application scenarios. In the future, as consumers gradually accept this, the proportion of this part in the bicycle industry will tend to rise.

Rising demand for bicycles unleashes plastic opportunities

As bicycles become more and more a healthy and safe way to travel, it will bring potential opportunities to the bicycle industry. So, in terms of materials, which parts of the bicycle need to use plastic materials?

Saddle: Elastomer polyurethane

Bicycle saddles are designed to absorb impact and improve stability. The materials need to have comfortable, breathable, elastic and shock-absorbing effects. In this regard, the commonly used materials are elastomeric polyurethane materials.

For example, Specialized's 3D printed polyurethane bicycle saddle produced earlier with 3D printing expert Carbon. The S-Works Power saddle with mirror technology uses an elastic mesh made of Carbon's elastic polyurethane (EPU) material to make the saddle The ability to rebound quickly gives the rider the impression that there is a “suspension” under his ischium. It is reported that the bicycle saddle is scheduled to be put on the market in 2020.

Specialized is a 3D printed polyurethane bicycle saddle produced with 3D printing expert Carbon

In addition, BASF is also committed to developing bicycle saddle materials. Its Infinergy® foamed thermoplastic polyurethane (E-TPU) material is suitable for bicycle saddles. Thousands of lightweight, high-elasticity Infinergy particles enhance shock absorption and suspension performance. The high resilience performance optimizes the pressure damping around the saddle. Once the pressure subsides, the core of the saddle immediately returns to its original state. Even under continuous load, the material can maintain this characteristic.

Tire: polyurethane

Bicycle tire materials need to have characteristics such as wear resistance, shock absorption, and low resistance. Commonly used materials include rubber and plastic. In terms of plastics, polyurethane has become an important material in recent years.

Compared with rubber solid tires, the weight of polyurethane solid tires can be greatly reduced, the shock absorption is better, the ground resistance is reduced by 30%, and no rubber vulcanization is required, which is more environmentally friendly.

For example, Mobike bicycles use Dow polyurethane materials to create polyurethane solid wheels. Compared with the previous rubber solid wheels, not only the weight is reduced by 20%, but the shock absorption performance and durability are also greatly improved.

Frame: Carbon fiber

Bicycle frame usually chooses materials are aluminum frame, steel frame, titanium frame and carbon frame. Among them, carbon fiber materials have become a popular choice for bicycle frames due to their unique characteristics. Since the mass of carbon is only 1.6 grams/cubic meter, modern technology can easily make a carbon frame vehicle within 5kg, so the use of carbon fiber frame is a suitable choice under the trend of light weight.

At the same time, the carbon fiber has good impact absorption performance, can effectively absorb shock, and maintain good rigidity. At the same time, the basic forming method of carbon fiber is to spread fiber sheet on the mold and then flow into resin and burn it to make various shapes of frame.

In this regard, Toray’s carbon fiber material, a large-scale composite material expert, can be used to produce bicycle frames.

Car lights: PC, PMMA

At present, the material commonly used for lamps is PC, but most of the materials for shared bicycle lights are PMMA materials. This is because PMMA is superior to PC in weather and ultraviolet (UV) radiation resistance. At the same time, it has excellent comprehensive performance. Transparent material, PMMA has excellent light transmittance, the light transmittance is up to 92%, and the apparent gloss is good.

Handle cover: TPE/TPR

Common bicycle handlebar material applications include: TPE/TPR individually formed ordinary bicycle handlebar covers; TPE/TPR overmolded bicycle handlebar covers, overmolded with common PP, ABS, PA hard plastics, and nylon process Complicated; high-end bicycle handlebar covers, usually made of 10-30A TPE/TPR soft material and 70-90A TPE/TPR hard material two-color injection molding, feel more soft, delicate and smooth, widely used in big brand bicycles. In addition, bicycle pedals need to have good wear resistance, mainly applied to engineering plastics, such as nylon.

The popularity of electric bicycles further drives the demand for plastics

With the further popularity of electric bicycles, it also brings greater demand for plastic applications, especially electrical plastics. For example, exposed battery pack box, lampshade, instrument panel, short circuit protection device, power connector, connector and protective cover plastic parts, single battery plastic case, built-in protection device plastic case, built-in battery pack box, charging Plugs, plastic shells for chargers, plastic shells for controllers, plastic parts for electrical switches, plastic parts for electric door locks, and plastic parts for power cutoffs.