People who want to avoid spending more cash on gas may want to check out the city’s online auction of recovered bikes.
A total of 75 recovered bicycles will be auctioned off. Bidding started June 10 and closes June 15 at 4 p.m.
Peter Puszka, superintendent with the city’s municipal policing services, said auctions are done about every four months so bikes don’t have to be stored as long.
“People are wanting to get back out on bikes and use them to get to work and around the community, so I think we’ll see a higher demand for the bikes, coupled with the warm weather and the price of gas,” Puszka said.
But Seth Fulton, lead salesperson at Mud, Sweat and Gears, warned that bikes available from auctions can be in rough shape because they were stolen.
“One guy last year found a pretty sweet deal and we got it all fixed up for him. But other than that, we don’t see people with those bikes,” Fulton said.
“Definitely in the long run it’s cheaper to buy new. You don’t have to worry about fixing it.”
He said there are still some supply chain issues, and the COVID bike craze has subsided, but more people are cycling to work because of the price of gas, and some are interested in electric bicycles, which are in good supply.
“A lot of people are going with electric bikes so they don’t have to drive,” Fulton said.
Related:
As gas prices spike, Montreal’s bike culture seen as model for rest of the country
Katrina Morgan, sales and social media staff member with Bentley Cycle Inc., agreed there’s a lot of interest in electric bikes.
“Probably every day we get at least one person asking about electric bikes,” Morgan said.
She said people aren’t talking about gas prices yet, but city customers looking for an e-bike generally want to use it to commute to work.
Fulton said the Red Deer bike community has definitely expanded and Mud, Sweat and Gears has organized a premiere of the mountain bike film “Esperanto” at Craft Beer Commonwealth on June 23 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at eventbrite.com.
“I think it will be fun to reach out to the community more and get everyone together.”
Related:
Red Deer bike registry program helping reduce thefts
To view bikes and bid in the auction visit cherryhillauctions.hibid.com/auctions. Pre-registration is required.
Successful bidders will be notified where they can pick up their items. The last date for pick up is June 18.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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