Major US cycling study shows pandemic’s pull on returning cyclists

The generally more favourable cycling conditions prevalent during the pandemic have had a significant impact on pulling people back to cycling, a new study of the USA’s bike ridership has revealed.

Co-authored by by Sports Marketing Surveys, who provided the insights, and further analysed by mobility specialists Human Powered Solutions, the NDBA commissioned study found that almost half of the cyclists on the roads and trails either started or returned to cycling in the past two years.

The CABDA East Expo, held on December 8th and 9th in Secaucus, New Jersey will see the first presentation of the study’s highlights.

“The key insights the consumer research delivers about pandemic bicycle and e-Bike buying habits of American consumers are vitally important for planning, including what are the key bicyclist segments in today’s market, to how these segments buy and how do they interact with bike shops?  We have elicited answers from consumers about their bicycle buying habits and how they have changed during the pandemic. An important set of answers addresses how significant the new cyclist segment is and how big it is – and what its long-term potential is,” said Keith Storey, President of Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS).

“SMS supervised the research of adult bicyclists, and a cluster analysis is being prepared using demographic, behavioral and attitudinal data to create the market segments, or clusters. The current plan is to have the complete Consumer Research Report available for distribution by the week of December 20-24, first to the Study Sponsors who will receive a special report in recognition of their financial support for the study, followed by standard reports available to anyone who needs to purchase a copy,” Added Brad Hughes, managing director of Human Powered Solutions.

A separate piece of research released this year illustrated the growth rate of electric bike sales running at 16-fold the pace of cycling sales growth, indicating that consumers in the USA are increasingly drawn to pedal assistance. Year-to-year sales rose by 240%.

In the EU, investment in cycling infrastructure put down during the pandemic returned increased cycling rates of between 11% and 48% across 100 cities.

If you are interested in finding out more about purchasing the NBDA cycling study contact Heather Mason by email, or call at (+1) 518-847-2419.

For research relating to the UK bike retail market, CI.N’s annual research is available by contacting the editor here.