According to British media observation, the global epidemic has brought changes to the bicycle industry. After traffic patterns changed, bicycles gained popularity.

This is especially true for two of the most important figures in the industry: Ryozo Shimano, chief executive of Shimano, the Japanese bicycle parts maker, and Du Xiuzhen, chairman of Taiwan's Giant Conglomerate. Shimano, with a history of 99 years, is the world's largest manufacturer of bicycle parts. Shimano produces high-quality bicycle gearboxes and brakes, accounting for 65% of the global market share. Taiwan's Giant Machinery Industry Co., which owns the Giant brand, is one of the world's leading makers of premium bicycles.

Both companies have bucked the trend since the coVID-19 outbreak sparked panic in the stock market in mid-March, the report said. Shares in both companies hit record highs last week, adding a combined $10bn to their market capitalisation since the last cycling world Tour race on March 14.

The performance was impressive, even though Shimano forecast net profit growth of just 12.5 per cent for the current fiscal year. Shimano and Giant Machinery had combined sales of about $5.6 billion in the last fiscal year. The question, analysts say, is whether the market's huge bets on the bicycle industry have far outstripped their true potential.

'The available evidence seems to support investors' optimism about the future of the bicycle industry,' Mr. Shimano said.

Consumer demand for entry - and mid-range models - priced between $600 and $1,500 - has recently far outstripped inventories in the US and Europe, while factory capacity has shrunk in Asia, the report said. This has prompted wholesalers to complain of shortages in global markets. Shop assistants from Paris to Perth have likened panic buying of bicycles to "the new toilet paper".

Bicycle and parts makers have begun restructuring their global supply chains to prepare for increased demand and future disruptions, the report said. European governments are subsidising bike buyers, and cities around the world are planning to build thousands of miles of new bike lanes.

'Right now, the demand for bicycles is very strong,' Ms. Du said. In the UK, retail giant Halford reported a 57 per cent year-on-year increase in sales of its bicycle business in the 13 weeks to July 3. Sales at Aisanhi, Japan's largest bicycle chain, rose 43 per cent in June from a year earlier. For bike retailers around the world, the picture is much the same.

Du said giant Was partly prepared for the COVID-19 outbreak because of its experience with the SARS epidemic in 2003. But while the SARS epidemic also prompted people to abandon public transport and turn to bicycles, the demand was not the same as it is today. "We knew it was going to happen, but we didn't expect it to increase this much, this dramatically," she says.

Shimano's share price's new high partly reflects a reassessment of the role bikes can play in the "new normal" brought about by the epidemic, said CLSA analyst Morten Paulson. Mr. Paulson and other analysts in Tokyo and Taiwan say that in the most optimistic interpretation of investors, cycling will replace crowded public transportation as an ideal form of social distancing while promoting green urban sprawl.

In an interview via video link, Mr. Shimano said sales of mid-range bikes have been brisk in the past few months, despite early supply chain disruptions and forced factory closures.

"The expectation is that there will be new customers who will switch to bicycles because of the epidemic, and then they will realize how good cycling is," he said. They will know a new world and feel refreshed, healthy and fulfilled. Next they'll want a better bike... Some people might want to buy an e-bike... They will become bike lovers and hope to buy their second bike. At that point, the number of people cycling around the world will increase."