Are Bike Repairs and Upgrades Selling Better Than New Bikes as Car Alternatives?

As gasoline surpasses $4.15 per gallon here in Newtown, I am starting to see more bikes on the road. A lot of the people riding them look like they are not terribly skilled bike handlers, and also don't look like they are riding as much for exercise as they are for transportation.

Here's a report from KARE, the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis, that claims that people looking to shift their short-haul commuting and errands from cars to bikes are repairing and upgrading bikes they already have instead of purchasing new bikes:

I'm going to stop in my local bike shops and ask what their mix of business is now, and if the increases in sales activity this Spring and Summer are different than they expected. [ via Personafile ]