Any mountain biking excursion comes with the risk that the bike might not make it out intact.
And these days, any such incident could prove to be quite disappointing.
Supply chain shortages have rocked nearly every industry during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the market for bikes and components has been no different.
One simple, potentially summer-saving solution is for riders to take pristine care of the bikes they already own.
That comes from True Mobile Bike Mechanics co-founder Kirill Kokorin, who is getting set to launch the venture with business partner Agustin de la Maza this spring.
“If you don’t maintain things frequently, those parts that wear out are going to wear out and break, and then you’re actually going to be in a position where you won’t be able to ride,” he said.
Kokorin, of course, understands the temptation to cut corners when it comes to maintenance, but with some parts in short supply, it’s best to keep those components free of dirt and mud to avoid a breakdown.
“You go, you ride it, you put it away. You’re busy with whatever you have going on. You want to go riding the next day, but you only have a couple of hours,” he said. “All of a sudden, you’re riding, riding, riding and you’re not necessarily having the time to wash it with a lot of detail, taking all the dust and mud out.”
Raring to go
Kokorin and de la Maza will run True Mobile out of a retro GMC van in various places throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor.
The duo serviced bikes out of a garage last summer, but after preparing the van (purchased initially by de la Maza with an eye to using it as a camper van), are getting tready to take the show on the road in 2022.
With the idea coming to fruition in 2021, Kokorin views it as being shaped by the pandemic, rather than undercut by it. Kokorin and de la Maza viewed the mobile mechanic services through the lens of supply-chain volatility, landing on a happy medium of service.
“We knew what we were coming into, so we were able to build the business model around that landscape,” he said. “It wouldn’t have made sense for us to come in and say, ‘We’re a repair shop for everyone and everything.’
“It’s impossible for us at that level to do that.”
Kokorin said the service will run seven days a week, with an eye to servicing three or four bikes a day to start. The plan is to post up regularly at popular trailheads throughout Whistler, Pemberton and Squamish (including Perth Drive and Quest University). Riders will be able to prebook weekday service when the van is in town, while weekend service will take more of a walk-up approach.
Kokorin added that there are wheels turning on fixing up and repairing parts for a complete bicycle to donate to the Indigenous Youth Mountain Biking Program.
“Hopefully the community sees us as those people that care about the rider, not just fixing the bike,” he said.
True Mobile on Instagram can be found on Instagram.
Retail backup
Like much of the world right now, bike shops are facing challenges procuring what they need to serve their customers.
Republic Bicycles owner Armand Hurford recalled the golden days early in 2020, when the shop was jam-packed with brand-new bikes and components. It hasn’t been anywhere near that full since.
Hurford didn’t see a significant local change in demand during the pandemic, despite numbers showing that bike purchases have skyrocketed in the past two years. A greater demand elsewhere creates competition and delays for those waiting on a new bike or part.
In the pre-pandemic era, Hurford could take stock of what was or wasn’t selling, and within five or so days, could have a stock replenishment or an exciting, different offer.
That number has gone from five to 500.
“It’s only getting worse,” Hurford said. “It’s not so much that things don’t exist. It’s getting the things that the customer would like when they would like them, like in spring.
“We were a little spoiled with how smoothly things were running, when we’d get the vast majority of our bikes just in time for the season and away we go.”
Republic isn’t sitting completely empty, as Hurford encouraged riders to drop by to check out the stock that is on offer. Mainly, though, the business is helping customers pre-order in a world where a long-away, hoped-for date is very much a moving target.
“It takes a whole different element of planning,” he said. “There’s lots of bikes and lots of product coming, but we have no control over when.
“In some cases, I’ve got an annual quantity of an item in store, and other times, I’ve got something that we generally would need a lot, and I don’t have it coming for months.”
Hurford read from a recent email from a manufacturer, which explained that its goal is to ship most items by the middle of the year, but, speaking in early March, some items were poised for further delays. Hurford, for one, has seen an order with an initial October 2021 arrival date pushed to this upcoming May. That date was delayed further until September.
Many factors are contributing to the issue, ranging from increased demand, to difficulty acquiring all the necessary parts, to shortages of cardboard to ship those pieces in.
Just when getting one’s hands on a bike seemed like the biggest challenge, affording it could be next, as the price of fuel is causing costs, namely shipping, to soar.
With the bike manufacturing industry also facing issues like the parts pinch-points of two major manufacturers and that capacity was running red hot even before COVID, it could take some time before the shops are once again handsomely stocked.
Until then, the message is the same: be good to and appreciate what you have.
“If you need a new bicycle in the next couple of years, it’s going to take a bit of planning,” Hurford said. “This is going to get better 30 days at a time, but it’s got a big hill to climb to get back on top.
“You’ll want to plan for your new bike and keep your existing bike in good order because you may need to have that for a little while.”
