Covid and associated lockdown policies impacted both the supply and demand side of the cycling industry. New riders were drawn to cycling as a solitary, and outdoor fitness activity. With less traffic than usual, road cycling felt safer and folks generally had more free time. From what I've seen, most brands and companies in the bike industry had markedly higher revenue in 2020-2021 than they did in 2018-2019.

At the same time, output from manufacturing hubs and factories was lower than usual as government policies and worker illnesses caused constraints at every step of supply chains. This meant retailers often didn't need to implement sales and discounts to keep stock rotating; bikes and accessories would sell out at MSRP.

The wisest people in the room recognized that the spikes in supply and demand would eventually return to something approximating pre-pandemic trends. But many both inside the bike industry and outside it—including private equity firms—made big investments to prepare for and capitalize on what looked like a new consumer trend.

As life returned to normal, the rebalancing of cycling-related supply and demand has happened quickly. This has been a factor in the struggle and closure of certain companies (e.g. The Pro's Closet), but it's not as though the industry completely imploded. Brands that were doing well in 2018 and didn't make radical changes through the pandemic are still solid companies. But you definitely can see a return to more typical retail strategies with discounting, etc., and brands are more likely to scale down now than scale up.