Amidst huge sales gains in urban and commuter bikes, REI has launched a new website to dispel myths of cycling that it says have created a barrier to even greater sales.

The new site (rei.com/bikeyoudrive) includes how-to videos to break down barriers discouraging potential bikers. It also includes calculators that allow cyclists to record their mileage and calculate the calories burned, carbon emissions reduced and money saved by riding a bicycle instead of driving.

“In any other country in the world the bike is used for transportation,” REI Cycling Product Manager Brian Foley told The B.O.S.S. Report last week. “In the U.S. it’s been almost exclusively recreationally based for fun and fitness and that’s what we are trying to change. “There are errands that people have that they can do with urban bikes in an urban setting and not have to get all dressed up in lycra.”
 
Foley said REI’s sales of urban and commuter bikes have been growing at a 40% to 50% clip this year. That’s twice the rate of REI’s overall bike sales, which have have been growing in the 20% to 25% range the last three years. The co-op’s strongest performers in 2008 include Cannondale’s Bad Boy series in the $750 to $1,350 range and REI’s Novarra Buzz series, which retail for $450 to $800. The bikes use flat bars, fatter tires and heavier frames to give riders an upright position and smoother ride. Some Bad Boys also come with front suspension. REI’s 2009 line adds a road bike version of the Buzz with drop down handlebars for $999. The co-op is also studying whether it can profitable service e-bikes.

REI sells twice as many cycling accessories, including strollers and apparel, as bikes and those sales are also up dramatically. Top selling brands include OnGuard, Bike Planet. Panniers, liner shorts and reflective gear or apparel used for urban riding are also selling well.

Still, Foley is convinced that REI is merely skimming the surface of the market. Today, less than 1% of all U.S. trips are still made by bicycle even though 40% of most trips are one mile or less. Rather than discount bikes to stimulate sales, however, REI is tring to expand the market. Toward that goal, Foley has instructed his team to avoid using the term “commuter,” because it conjures up images of riders clad in screaming yellow spandex. The opportunity is “really about bikes being used for alternative means of transportation and people do that for a variety or reasons,” he said.