It’s a strange time for the bike market.  On one hand, the global market of bikes is apparently booming, with sales up all over the place, mostly due to the high price of gas.

On the other hand, prices of raw materials, labor costs, inflation and chinese exchange rates have all surged.  This has put pressure on the bike makers, and prices are increasing an average 10-15% for the 2009 bikes.  It also doesn’t help that Europe could see a major recession of their own very soon.

And from an article in MSNBC:

..and the world’s two most populous nations, China and India, are discarding bicycles in favor of cars. A rising middle class in both countries views cycling as an unhappy reminder of the recent past, when nearly everyone was poor.

Another factor that could hurt bike sales is the recent drop in the price of oil.  If the price of oil keeps dropping, many people, especially in the U.S., will likely forget biking and jump back in their gas-powered vehicles.

Also, the complexity of bikes may be overwhelming to the newbies of cycling.  The average consumer looking at purchasing a new bike will walk into a bike store and see a mess of gears, gadgets, and strange technology.  They’ll need to decide on a mountain, hybrid, road, or recumbent, among others.  They’ll be sold an expensive mountain or hybrid bike, when they should have just bought a simpler, and cheaper single-speed commuter bike.

I personally have a feeling the bike market will continue to boom, even if the price of bikes go up, or if the global economy increasingly struggles, as biking is a pretty cheap form of travel for a lot of people.

One reason for a positive outlook is that it’s becoming easier and safer to commute thanks to the efforts of many cyclists. Major efforts by various cycling groups such as Bikes Belong, or the League of American Bicyclists, to raise awareness of safety and cycling as a form of transportation have been getting quite a bit of publicity in the mass media lately.

Bike sharing, and rentals are also becoming popular in the larger metropolitan areas globally, making cycling much more accessible, and visible to the average Joe.

It also helps that employers have started to realize that there are cost savings involved with having more of their workforce commuting into work.

Google gave 2,000 bikes to employees in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa last spring, and the lucky folks at New Belgium Brewing Co. receive a bike after a year of service. In addition to bike storage and showers, Seattle’s Vulcan gives cyclists money for a cab if they leave after sunset — not too shabby!

It’s all of these little baby steps that will keep the cycling boom rolling along, even as gas prices drop, and bike prices rise.