# Premium bicycles win new fans among China’s city folk Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2022-09-13 Category: NEWS Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news Meta Title: Discover the Booming Premium Bicycle Market in China Meta Description: Discover how Chinese cycling hobbyists are driving a $16.5 billion market by opting for high-end bicycles from brands like Brompton, Giant, and Specialized. URL: https://financedigest.com/premium-bicycles-win-new-fans-among-chinas-city-folkhtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2022-09-13t012030z2lynxmpei8c00xrtroptp4health-coronavirus-china-outdoors-1736815233305-compressed.jpg) BEIJING (Reuters) – Zhou Changchang likes to spend his spare time cruising along the streets of China’s capital with his cycling club friends, on his Tiffany Blue bicycle made by the British company Brompton. The 42-year-old teacher is part of a growing army of cycling enthusiasts in China, who are splashing out on premium bicycles made by the likes of Brompton, Giant and Specialized, fuelling a market that consultancy Research & Markets estimates could be worth $16.5 billion by 2026. Social media and e-commerce platforms say there has been a surge of interest in cycling over the past year and sales of bicycles and gear are booming. Typically, Chinese cyclists will pay more than 13,000 yuan ($1,870) for an inner-city, high-end foldable bike made by the likes of Brompton. High-performance road bikes, made for longer journeys, start at around 10,000 yuan ($1,450) and can go many [times higher](https://www.financedigest.com/emea-spend-on-property-related-risk-four-times-higher-than-cyber-risk.html "EMEA spend on property-related risk four times higher than cyber risk"). Last month, media reported that a bicycle made by [luxury brand](https://www.financedigest.com/loreal-buys-luxury-brand-aesop-with-eye-on-china.html "L’Oreal buys luxury brand Aesop with eye on China") Hermes sold for 165,000 yuan ($24,500). The majority of riding hobbyists are willing to splurge,” e-commerce platform JD.com said [last month](https://www.financedigest.com/monkeypox-emergency-could-last-months-with-window-closing-to-stop-spread-experts-say.html "Monkeypox emergency could last months, with window closing to stop spread, experts say"). It said road bike [sales on its platform had more than doubled from June to August compared with the same time last year, while riding apparel sales had jumped](https://www.financedigest.com/indias-tata-motors-jumps-to-a-7-month-high-on-strong-q4-jlr-sales.html "India’s Tata Motors jumps to a 7-month high on strong Q4 JLR sales") 160%. China has had a long love affair with bicycles and was once known as the “kingdom of bicycles”. For decades, bikes made by the likes of the Flying Pigeon company filled the streets. Cycling fell out of fashion when a [growing middle class turned to cars but bike manufacturers saw a revival in 2014 as bike-sharing companies](https://www.financedigest.com/impact-com-appoints-a-raft-of-new-business-development-representatives-as-the-technology-companys-client-roster-grows-by-more-than-50.html "impact.com appoints a raft of new Business Development Representatives as the technology company’s client roster grows by more than 50%") like Mobike and Ofo sprang up to flood cities with their fleets, offering rides as cheap as 1 yuan. Zhou, like many cyclists, said he got into biking to get fit. COVID-19 and its lockdowns also created a urge for the [open road](https://www.financedigest.com/the-road-to-an-open-payment-platform-making-the-most-of-boj-net.html "The Road to an Open Payment Platform: Making the Most of BOJ-NET"). I really longed for the outdoors and fresh air,” said Shanghai office worker Lily Lu who went out and ordered a Brompton bike for 13,600 yuan ($1,965) the [day after she was released from a three-month lockdown](https://www.financedigest.com/shanghai-finds-cases-after-five-days-of-zero-covid-but-end-of-lockdown-on-track.html "Shanghai finds cases after five days of ‘zero COVID’ but end of lockdown on track"). As the craze [gathers pace](https://www.financedigest.com/euro-zone-recovery-gathers-pace-allays-fears-of-recession-pmi.html "Euro zone recovery gathers pace, allays fears of recession-PMI"), manufacturers are struggling to meet demand. Lu said she had to wait two months to get her bicycle. Brompton did not respond to a request for comment. China’s Pardus, which makes racing bikes that can cost more than 30,000 yuan ($4,335), said [sales doubled](https://www.financedigest.com/geelys-ev-brand-zeekr-aims-to-double-sales-in-2023-expand-in-europe.html "Geely’s EV brand Zeekr aims to double sales in 2023, expand in Europe") from last year and its factory was operating around the clock. [“Everything is out of stock,”](https://www.financedigest.com/looks-arent-everything-british-supermarkets-to-stock-misshapen-fruit-amid-drought.html "Looks aren’t everything – British supermarkets to stock misshapen fruit amid drought") said Pardus branding director Li Weihai. ($1=6.96 yuan) (Reporting by Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh; Editing by Robert Birsel) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---