David Ludeke and his wife had bought a Peloton early in the pandemic as a way to stay active. After almost a year of riding the stationary bike, this spring he decided it was time to take his spinning out of the house.
“I figured I’d take the skills from the bike to nowhere, and go outside and get on a mountain bike,” said Ludeke, who is from Rockford, Michigan. “I ran into the issue of there’s no bikes anywhere. I even dabbled with the idea of getting a mountain bike last year but bikes were super backordered then as well.”
Demand for bikes has skyrocketed. Nationwide sales of mountain bikes were up more than 150% in April 2020 compared to that time in 2019, according to market research company NDP Group. Bike shops in West Michigan are experiencing that same influx, leaving customers facing higher prices and long wait times to get a new bike.
Ludeke had to drive to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to find a mountain bike suitable for a beginner rider. He said he chose mountain biking over road biking because of how much safer he feels on the trails and the ability to be out in the woods.
Brian Miller, who is the coach of the West Michigan Coyotes, a youth mountain biking team for kids grades 2 through 12 in Grand Rapids, said the sport is growing just as fast with youth as it is with adults.
“We went from like eight riders in 2017 to 110 in 2020, which is pretty incredible growth and pretty cool too,” Miller said. “We’re not even the biggest team in (the Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association), so it’s growing all over the state, Grand Rapids included.”
While many kids joined due to COVID-19 shutdowns of team sports, Miller said the sense of independence mountain biking gives to members of his team has kept the kids riding.
“There’s a sense of excitement, you know, they get a nice adrenaline rush riding down a hill at high speed,” Miller said.
Miller, who has been riding mountain bikes for more than 20 years, said trails have been busier in the past two to three years than at any time he can remember.
“There’s more trails too, so it’s not like there’s more people in a single place,” Miller said. “We’ve added a ton more trail to West Michigan and they’re still twice as busy as they used to be, which is pretty cool. There’s a lot of people doing it.”
Area bikers say the abundance of trails, and flatter topography of the West Michigan area, makes it easy for new riders to access trails, as well as find a trail that is suitable for their skill level.
Brian Dokter of the West Michigan Mountain Biking Alliance, a support group for the biking community that funds, builds and maintains trails, said the abundance of trails and flatter topography of West Michigan makes it easy for new riders to find a trail that is suitable for their skill level.
“We need to build a trail that welcomes new users, inexperienced users, things are typically flatter, they’re less technical,” said Dokter, of Grand Rapids. “They can hit a very broad range of skills sets and everyone can enjoy it.”
Dokter said the group is also focusing on diversifying trail locations and the types of trails they are building to better match the diversity of those in the mountain biking community.
“One of the great things about this last year is the diversity of people that have gotten into the sport, “Dokter said. “We’re seeing the amount of female riders is just skyrocketing and it’s awesome.”
While the pandemic and a growing trail system may have contributed to the number of riders, Dokter believes mountain biking is a sport that offers elements other sports don’t — and that is enticing for new riders as well.
“It has the competitive side if I want it. It has the adrenaline side. It has the community side. It has the outdoors, like I can escape in nature and deal with whatever I’m dealing with type stuff,” he said.
“So, from my perspective, it has kind of a complete package that a lot of other sports don’t necessarily have.”