West Des Moines' Rassy's moving to larger location as bike sales soar

Bikes are still flying off of shelves after the pandemic inspired a two-wheeled renaissance last year.

Driving the news: Owner Erik Saltvold — who's also behind Erik's Bikes — is moving beloved West Des Moines bike shop Rassy's to a larger location by 63rd and Grand in May.

• The 8,500 square-foot store will have a second-floor mezzanine for bike maintenance services.
• The showroom will take-up 6,000 square feet and hold a larger inventory.
• He is renaming it to Erik's Bikes and will sell ski and snowboarding equipment like at his other locations.

Driving the move: The City of West Des Moines purchased the current Rassy's location as part of its plans to widen Grand Avenue starting this spring.

Yes, but: You may still have to wait a little while before getting your dream ride.

The big picture: Last year, COVID-19 halted bike production in overseas factories — slowing the flow of inventory when consumer demand was at a fervent high.

This year, freight container shortages are spurring stiff competition globally for crates, including in the cycling industry, Saltvold said.

• That's slowing the supply chain and driving up prices.

Even so, Saltvold doesn't expect bike demand to go down anytime soon, especially since RAGBRAI announced it's officially happening in July.

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