A surge in biking is spreading across the country.

A surge in biking is spreading across the country.

NEW YORK (AP) — The manager of Sid’s Bikes in Manhattan realized he had a supply problem early this summer as an unprecedented number of people walked through the door and rode out on two wheels.

Even as car sales ramped up in places like China and India, high fuel prices and eroding consumer confidence led more people to reach for Kryptonite bike locks rather than car keys.

And strong sales continue even as winter approaches, bike shops say.

Sid’s manager Gary Bell said the store has barely kept up with demand and if it weren’t for the trickle of 2009 models, he may have been forced to turn people away.

“It was just one of those things where we were like, ‘We have no bikes,’ and we went to our distributors and they said, ‘We have no bikes,’” said Bell.

Bike shops all over the country tell similar stories. High gas prices have brought new business to bike shops, where customers are asking mechanics to tune up old cruisers that have gathered dust for years.

“People are dragging out bikes from their basement and saying, ‘I’m not going to put any more gas in my car,’” said Jim Rose, owner of Rose Bike in Orono, Maine.

Business has jumped about 20 percent in recent months, said Rose, who entices customers with a large “No Gas Needed” sign.

New bikes designed mostly for work commuters have been the hardest to keep in stock.

One favorite, the Cannondale Quick hybrid, would usually be stacked 30 deep at the store, but Sid’s was recently down to 10.

Dahon foldable bikes, which you can easily take on a train or into the work place, were gone by June. Sid’s just got another shipment.

Many of Dahon’s models were gone by early this year and the company reported a 30 percent increase in sales compared with a year ago.

“With some of the highest prices ever for gasoline, people are flocking to public transportation and seeking alternate forms of transportation in greater numbers than ever,” said Joshua Hon, Dahon vice president.

Dahon is coming out with four new models in 2009 to meet demand.

“The whole industry is really slim right now,” said Sid’s Bell. While that’s typical for summer months, “this year in particular, it’s been a challenge.”

There are no solid figures tracking bicycle use, but everyday biking seems to have spread beyond traditional stalwarts such as Portland, Ore., where bicycle traffic has more than doubled since 2001.

In Denver, participation in June’s Bike to Work Day jumped more than 40 percent over last year’s event, organizers said.

And in Houston, the number of bus riders using bike racks has more than doubled since April, though precise statistics on where users are commuting from and to aren’t available, officials said.

“The fact that people — even in Houston — are riding in record numbers is a clear sign to us that this is happening across the country in places you wouldn’t expect,” said Elizabeth Kiker, a spokeswoman for the League of American Bicyclists.

It appears to be more than gas prices that have spurred bike sales. The malaise over the U.S. economy has led to changing behavior. The nation’s unemployment rate jumped above 6 percent last month for the first time in five years and its likely to get worse as the U.S. economy continues to stumble along.

Vicky Blanchette started commuting 22 miles about three or four times a week this past April to save money.

“It seemed pretty doable,” Blanchette said. “It got easier and easier the more I did it.”

The Bangor, Maine, native said she saves about $65 to $70 a month on gas when she leaves her 2008 Subaru Legacy at home and glides down Maine’s Route 2.

Eric Hultgren, a college senior from Lowell, Mass., started riding to work every day when his car broke down six months ago.

“I just grabbed it because I had to get to class,” he said.

But even though the 22-year-old’s 1996 Chevy Cavalier is purring again, it stands largely still in the driveway.

Hultgren said he is driving about 85 percent less. It takes about $40 to $50 to fill his tank, which he’s done only twice since May.

“Now if I’m going to go five miles, I just always take my bike,” he said. “If I bike in the morning, it just makes the whole day better.”

While business at bike shops normally slows in the winter, Jim Rose says more customers are requesting studded snow tires.

For Hultgren, who graduates in May, the change from four wheels to two could even influence his job search.

“I’d like to live in a place where everything’s within biking distance,” he said. “It’s just more fun.”

Besides, he said, sometimes biking gets you there faster.

“I sort of have a sly grin on my face when I bike through traffic and everyone’s stuck in their cars,” he said. “It’s not all about the environment or saving money, it’s about having fun.”