Bicycle sales have plummeted to the lowest level in a century despite billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money being spent on promoting cycling.
A report by the Bicycle Association reveals that last year saw a “further decline” in sales of bikes.
The organisation, the trade body for the cycling industry, even warns this may be a “new normal” owing to a “long-term decline in sales of mechanical adult and children’s bikes”.
During the 2020 lockdown, Boris Johnson, the then prime minister, announced a £2 billion investment to create a “cycling revolution”.
Although funding for new cycling infrastructure – including cycle lanes and e-bike hire schemes – triggered a surge in bike travel, the latest data show that increase has now slumped to below 2019 levels.
The association’s annual market data service report, which covers 70 per cent of the UK bike market, says total volume sales in 2024 were “at a new low-point”.
It said the number of bikes sold last year fell to 1.45 million – the lowest level for 100 years.
Meanwhile, sales of e-bikes also dropped 5 per cent with 146,000 devices sold.
The report, presented in Birmingham this month, also highlights how the Department for Transport’s (DfT) own “cycling traffic index” shows the numbers of trips taken on “the public highway and the roads next to them” had “decreased by 1.9 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels” and dropped by 2.6 per cent compared to 2023.
The DfT also revealed the proportion of trips taken by bike had fallen 32.8 per cent compared to the pandemic peak in cycling in March 2021.
Some councils and regional transport authorities that embraced Mr Johnson’s “cycling and walking revolution” have been accused of waging a war on motorists and in some cases introducing cycling infrastructure to the detriment of public transport.
Noting how “cycling activity in 2024 dipped to below 2019 levels”, the Bicycle Association report concludes that “poor UK weather” including “below average sunshine” could have contributed to the reduction in “on road” cycling.
It predicts that the cycling market – worth an estimated £1.77 billion – will “remain challenging through 2025”, but expects the “long downturn will bottom out over the coming months”.
The authors add: “There is clear evidence of a long-term decline in sales of mechanical adult bikes and children’s bikes.
“Even when recovery takes place, the ‘new normal’ is likely to look different than the pre-Covid period, with lower volumes and a renewed focus on restoring and increasing value.”
It predicts that the “change of Government” to Labour “offers opportunities for longer term growth” with the likelihood of “increased investment in active travel”.
It says: “Cycling fits well into the new Labour Government’s approach to ‘mission-led government’...”
Asked about the report, a DfT spokesman said: “Everyone should be able to travel how they choose, and we know walking and cycling has significant health and environmental benefits, which is why we recently announced a nearly £300 million boost for 300 miles of new cycle tracks and footpaths.
“This will lead to 43,000 fewer sick days every year, easing pressure on the NHS, and will add £9 million to the economy as we deliver our Plan for Change.”
Earlier this year, The boss of Brompton Bicycle warned the cycling industry was in “turmoil” after the bike maker’s profits were nearly wiped out amid discounting by rivals. Will Butler-Adams also predicted that the “sad state of affairs” would continue into 2025, but would not be as bad as 2024.