Wilco in Gaywood and Norfolk Electric Bikes in Fakenham report boom in bike sales

Bike sales have boomed this year at West Norfolk shops which have been trying to keep up with unprecedented demand.

Gaywood's Wilco store in Lynn Road said its sales had more than tripled what it would normally have expected to sell during the spring and summer months.

Its manager George Woodhouse told the Lynn News: "Bike sales have been astronomical. They have gone through the roof.

"We have been selling mountain bikes and road bikes, whatever people can get their hands on. As soon as Rishi Sunak said don't go on public transport the rush really started."

He said customers were buying the bikes for both leisure purposes and also to use for comuting. Initially there had been some delays with getting bikes from suppliers, but they were able to find alternative sources to keep apace with demand.

"Sales are still going strong now, although they are not the same as they were during April, May and June. I think the good weather in May also played a part," said George.

At Fakenham, Norfolk Electric Bikes, based in Miller's Walk, has also experienced a surge in buyers.

Director Alan Poole said: "The last three or four months have been extremely busy and demand has been high for our electric bikes – and it still is.

"We have more than doubled the sales we would normally expect during the summer months. There have been some delays with supplies and a lot of bike shops haven't been able to get stock.

"However we are still taking deposits and the supply will be able to catch up with demand."

He said his customers, both men and women, were mostly aged from 50 to 80, and the majority of sales were for leisure. However there were also several buyers who were in their 20s and 30s with some purchasing bikes to travel to work.

"We are able to offer a wide range of bikes at the end of the day, although there is a delay on some of the models," he said.