A woman rides a bicycle at the Beijing's Universal Studios Resort. Photo: cnsphoto

As Beijing tightened its anti-epidemic measures across multiple districts, including implementing work-from-home requirements and closing parts of the public transport system, sales of bicycles in the capital city surged, while supplies are tight, some retailers told the Global Times. 

A manager surnamed Bai of a bicycle store in South Beijing's Fengtai district told the Global Times on Sunday that sales were up 30 percent from normal days.

"All of the road bicycles in our store have been sold, only mountain bicycles are in stock at present," said Bai. He said that commuters in some districts can't use public transportation, and don't want to rely on limited shared bikes during rush hour, so they buy their own bicycles for daily commuting amid epdiemic controls. 

Sales are also getting a boost as temperatures rise, because many people want to be outdoors at this time. "Spring and summer are the regular sales seasons for bicycles each year," Bai noted.

A representative of another bicycle store told the Global Times on Sunday that the store is located in a quarantine zone, so sales have been affected, but some consumers are buying amid pandemic-related transport control measures. 

A branch of French sporting goods retailer Decathlon in Beijing said on Sunday that large bicycles are sold out, and only mid-sized models are left now.

Meanwhile, supplies are under pressure as demand surges. Bai said that production at bicycle factories has not fully recovered, and the efficiency of logistics has been affected.

Beijing on May 5 initially closed some subway stations in Chaoyang district. According to data from shared bike operator Hellobike, the rate of shared bike usage in the district during the May 5 rush hour rocketed 69.2 percent from the previous day.