29% of all people in the UK cycle at least once per month with 16% cycling at least once a week, highlighting the popularity of cycling in 2021. Whether cycling to commute or for leisure, it is seen as great for both the environment and your health, burning on average 300 calories every half hour on the saddle. Some more key cycling statistics include:
- Nearly half of all journeys in London were walked or cycled between April and June, up from 29% before the pandemic.
- The age group most likely to report that they’d cycled at least once a week for travel were 16-24 year-olds (11%)
- Cycling for leisure was most popular with 45-54 year-olds (18%)
Furthermore, on a global scale, cycling has a significant social presence, amassing 1.5 billion views on the #cycling with over 3.3 million likes, as well as, 31,494,372 posts on the #cycling on Instagram.
Road Bikes Vs Mountain Bikes: Which is the Most Popular?
Road bikes are designed to be used on roads for long distances and they are designed with this in mind. Usually they are lightweight, efficient bikes with drop handlebars and narrow tires. On the other hand, mountain bikes are designed for rugged terrain and shorter distances, incorporating wider tires and flat handlebars. So which is the most popular? We analysed the monthly search volumes in the UK using KWFinder for “Mountain Bike” and “Road Bike” and here is what we found:
The term “Mountain Bike” is much more popular than the term “Road Bike” being searched 244,000 times and 73,000 times respectively. Road bikes were most popular in Bristol with 2.05 in every 1000 people searching for the term each month. Alternatively, Mountain Bikes were the most popular in Rochdale with 8.2 in every 1000 people searching for the term each month. The area of Sale was the least likely to search for “Road Bike” and Newport in Wales was the least likely to search for “Mountain Bike”.
Female Cycling Statistics: How Many Women Cycle in the UK 2021?
Men are twice as likely to use a bicycle for travel on a regular basis than women as only 12% of women cycle once a week and 73% of women living in cities never ride a bicycle. Differences between genders may be more pronounced in cities with lower overall participation in cycling. Safety and inadequate infrastructure are barriers to more women cycling with only 27% of women think cycling safety in their city is good with less than half of women believing that cycling infrastructure is good in their city.
76% of women who cycle or would like to start, would find cycle routes along the road (but
physically separated from traffic) very useful to begin cycling or cycle more.
Which Area in the UK Cycles the Most?
Location | Number of searches per every thousand people (Monthly) |
Cambridge | 1.58 |
Bath | 1.06 |
Basingstoke | 1.02 |
Reading | 0.87 |
Stockport | 0.85 |
Edinburgh | 0.83 |
Bournemouth | 0.75 |
Exeter | 0.70 |
Oxford | 0.69 |
Newcastle Upon Tyne | 0.69 |
We conducted keyword analysis using KWFinder on the search term “cycling” in the most populous cities and towns in the UK. This chart displays the top ten places where the term was most popular in proportion to population size.
The term “cycling” was searched the most in Cambridge with Bath and Basingstoke making up the remaining top 3 positions. Cycling was the least popular in Sale, only amassing 0.07 searches per every thousand people monthly. When searching for the term “cycling” the intent suggests that people want informational content regarding the sport. Therefore the search results indicate where in the UK may be the most interested in cycling and where sales for bikes and supplementary biking products may increase in sales in the coming months. Furthermore, people who regularly cycle are unlikely to search for the term, explaining why the number of searchers is much lower than the number of cyclers on the UK roads.
Summary: UK Cycling Statistics Roundup 2021
To conclude, cycling in the UK is a popular method to both commute and to keep fit, with a large amount of interest in the sport on social media channels and through search engines.
We hope this article has provided you with a better understanding of the scope of the popularity of cycling in the UK.
