Vancouver's Bikes on the Drive is driven as much by ideology as profit — the ideology, says general manager Ilan Handelsman, of "self-propelled transportation." Many of the artists, workers, academics and colourful characters of Vancouver's Commercial Drive made the shift to two wheels from four several years ago. Demand at the bike shop hasn't increased as fuel prices have soared, Handelsman says. But it has changed.

Ilan Handelsman, general manager of Bikes on the Drive in Vancouver. Ilan Handelsman, general manager of Bikes on the Drive in Vancouver. (Ilan Handelsman)CBCnews.ca: How have rising fuel prices affected your business?

Ilan Handelsman: We are seeing more people who haven't been on a bike for many years. So they are non-cyclists becoming cyclists again.

The vast majority of my consulting clients are all professionals. We are talking about teachers and doctors and lawyers and contract workers and construction people - and tradespeople, people carrying 100 pounds worth of tools on a trailer.

So, we are actually seeing bikes that are being used in small-business scenarios, people who traditionally have had social pressure to drive to work, to travel to work and show up in a clean suit. These are the type of people who we are now seeing purchasing bikes.

And that's because of the cost of fuel?

Sure, it's partly because of the cost of fuel and partly because of the environment, and they are related.

A community worker suggested to me that some of the people switching to bikes are feeling almost desperate.

As gas prices increase, it is the less financially able who are driving to work that are the most marginalized by it. Because at some point each of them will reach that threshold where they can't afford to drive to work anymore. Work doesn't pay enough. And that is highly problematic. And we do deal with some of those people who just say, "You know what? I just can't afford to drive to work anymore. I need a bicycle."

How do the changes affect what you sell?

We've had a huge shift in panier bags, the clip-on bags that people use to schlep stuff around. So we've had a huge shift from cheap made-in-China bags to well-engineered, completely waterproofed German bags and a Canadian bag company.

'I would say that 90 per cent of our sales are now in what we call commuter bicycles.'—Ilan Handelsman

Whether they are giving up their car or dropping out down to a one-car family or what have you, these are people who are committing to being out there 52 weeks of the year on their bicycles. So they are recognizing, hey, I need to keep my laptop and my clothes dry, and so they are buying completely waterproof bags.

So are they switching to sturdier bikes?

That's the other huge change that has happened in our shop. We used to carry a wide variety of different types of bicycles. I would say that 90 per cent of our sales are now in what we call commuter bicycles. These are bicycles that are specifically engineered for maximizing comfort and efficiency for urban riding.

Have your costs gone up?

Yes. We are feeling it. We were forewarned that there would be significant price adjustments.

How tough would it be if the price of fuel doubles?

You can buy a good bike today for $300. That is going to change. That $300 bike is going to be a $380 bike. And I feel OK about that. So yes, the price of bikes is going to go up. And I think people can afford it.