Why Bikes Are On Pre-Order

Why Bikes Are On Pre-Order

Supply Chain In The Time of COVID-19

As the CEO of EVELO, I wanted to take a moment and share a bit about what goes on behind the scenes today in the bike industry to provide background context as to why some bikes may be out of stock and why you can pre-order them for a delivery a few weeks later.

What’s Going On Behind the Scenes?

As the COVID-19 pandemic causes shutdowns and stay-at-home enforcements around the U.S., similar events are occurring in other parts of the world. Every country is affected.

The bike industry has traditionally been a global one. There are dozens of components on every single bike, especially on electric ones, and they are sourced from multiple countries. For our bikes, we use components sourced from Europe, from Asia, and from the rest of the world.

We then work with our partner factories in Taiwan to assemble the bikes, do extensive quality control, and ship them to our warehouse in Seattle where they get distributed to our customers.

Today, this global supply chain has been affected by three key forces: 

  1. Reduced factory capacity – many of the factories in Taiwan are currently working at reduced capacity with less staff than usual to keep their employees safe.
  2. Reduced shipping capacity – as the global demand for goods plummeted, it has affected the ease and timelines of being able to reserve space on a ship and get it delivered to the U.S.
  3. Spike in demand – the bike industry is currently experiencing an unprecedented rise in demand. As more people are looking for an active pastime they can do on their own, the demand for electric bikes has more than doubled virtually overnight.

Meeting The Demand

We’ve been in business for nearly 10 years and are fortunate to have established supply chain partnerships in place.

To meet the increase in demand, we’re accelerating the production and delivery of our products in every way possible in an effort to get the electric bikes shipped to you faster.

In the short-term, as the bikes get sold, you may see some of our models get sold out of in-stock inventory. The good news is that we have multiple production runs already scheduled and in-progress. This means that more of the popular models are on the way and you have the option to reserve a model from the upcoming production run(s). Although there may still be a bit of a wait, it guarantees a specific bike that will be shipped to you as soon as we receive it in our warehouse facilities.

We want to make sure that every person that wants to have an electric bike at this unprecedented time can get one quickly. We know that it can be frustrating to have to wait, but since you’re making an investment into a product that you’ll enjoy for years to come, it’ll be well worth the wait.

In the meantime, you can discuss with our team which bike would be the best fit for you and place a pre-order to reserve a specific bike from the upcoming production run and ensure that it gets to you as soon as possible.

And of course, we’ll keep you posted with regular updates on the progress of your bike, so you’re aware of every step along the way.

If you have any questions, we encourage you to reach out and discuss your needs and preferences and we’ll be happy to help you make the decision that’s right for you.


With optimism,
Boris Mordkovich
CEO | EVELO


Why Bikes Are On Pre-Order | EVELO Electric Bicycles