"Ever since Team GB's velodrome successes at the 2008 Olympics, campaigners and government ministers have confidently predicted that Britain is about to become a nation of cyclists. There is just one problem: for the most part, it has not happened. Apart from a very concentrated spike in bike use during Covid, the level of cycle trips in England has stayed broadly static for years, and things do not appear to be changing."
"In December, Brompton reported the lowest annual sales of its eponymous folding bikes since 2021. Statistics from the Bicycle Association, the trade body for the bike industry in Britain, show that in 2024, fewer conventional bikes were bought than in any other year this century. A Brompton bike in the City of London. The company reported its lowest annual sales since 2021."
"If you look at the sales of pedal cycles since 2010, there isn't a year except the Covid year when sales haven't declined. I'm always puzzled that people in the industry aren't more alarmed about that, says Phillip Darnton, executive chair of the Bicycle Association. It is, however, not a picture of unqualified gloom. London is experiencing a sustained cycling boom, now at nearly 1.5m trips a day, 43% higher than 2019."
Cycle trips in England have remained broadly static since 2008 aside from a COVID spike, and conventional bike sales declined to their lowest this century in 2024. Brompton reported its lowest annual sales since 2021 and the Bicycle Association notes falling pedal-cycle sales in most years since 2010. London has seen a substantial rise to nearly 1.5 million daily trips, 43% above 2019, while a few other areas saw modest increases. Different cyclist types require different support: leisure riders are a small share, everyday transport cyclists need safe long-term infrastructure, and ebikes and dockless hire are rapidly changing the sector.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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