Portugal Is Riding a Boom in Bicycles

To meet a jump in demand, the country’s bike-making industry is building new factories, hiring workers and dealing with parts shortages.

VOUZELA, Portugal — Inside a factory set among eucalyptus trees in the Portuguese countryside, workers carefully cut thin strips of sticky carbon fiber and press them into molds. It is slow and painstaking labor. But after each mold is cooked in an oven heated to 200 degrees Celsius (about 390 degrees Fahrenheit), out comes an incredibly light frame for a bicycle that may sell for about $7,000, helping accelerate Portugal’s growth as the largest bike manufacturing nation in the European Union. Demand for bikes is soaring, thanks in part to the coronavirus pandemic. More people have decided to pedal to stay fit after long lockdowns, or to avoid crowded trains and buses on the way to work. Politicians, aware of the climate benefits of cycling, are adding more bike lanes to their cities, including in Paris, Berlin, Lisbon and Barcelona, Spain.