With the growth in demand, many traders have been launching new brands of cycles manufactured in the US, France, Italy and other countries. Jamis, Trek, Giant, Motachie, Commencal and Specialized are some of the popular bicycle brands in Nepal. According to traders, prices of mountain bikes range from Rs25,000 to Rs800,000 in the domestic market.

“Mountain biking has become quite popular these days, and more and more school and college students and corporate executives are going biking to various places by buying or renting a machine,” said Tirek Manandhar, manager of Pancha Asta Narayan Cycle. The firm is a pioneer in the bicycle business in Nepal.

Pancha Asta Narayan Cycle offers three bicycle brands, namely Jamis, Trek and Giant. Manandhar said that increased use of bicycles for fitness and adventure had pushed up sales of mountain bikes and that the company was witnessing a growth of 15-20 percent annually. The company sells a wide range of models that cost up to Rs800,000. It also rents bicycles for Rs800 per day.

Similarly, Buddha Lama, proprietor of Kathmandu Bike Station, said, “There are many young riders that are aware of the brands and the latest specifications, and they have been exploring new cycling routes across the country.” He added that they had been organising various promotional campaigns to promote biking tourism seeing the potential of mountain biking.

The company is the authorised distributor of Trek bicycles in Nepal. Prices of its cycles range from Rs50,000 to Rs284,000. “Our buyers are mainly off-road riders who have a special enthusiasm for biking,” said Lama.

The company plans to roll out a number of new models this year. Mountain bikes are different from regular bicycles in their aluminium frame, disk brakes and hydraulic suspension that keep them light and provide easy riding for commuters and trekkers.

Janaki Shrestha, sales executive at Epic Mountain, the authorised distributor of Commencal in Nepal, said that they had been getting many bankers and corporate executives among their customers.

“We have three categories of bicycles, namely Pro, Street and Downhill,” she said. Commencal bicycles cost in the range of Rs82,000 to Rs300,000.

Meanwhile, Gearventure, which deals in premium bikes, has planned to launch the Specialized, an American brand, in the domestic market this month. “Demand for mountain bikes is going up, so we see great potential in this field,” said Neeraj Shrestha, managing director and chief executive officer of the company.