Bicycle Retailer and Industry News - Studies/Reports

PeopleForBikes unveils 2025 City Ratings of best places for cycling

DeanYobbi — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 17:43:22 +0000

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — PeopleForBikes released its 2025 City Ratings on Tuesday, using data to rank the best places for cycling globally. In the U.S., Mackinac Island, Michigan; Davis, California; and Brooklyn, New York, led the way in small, medium, and large city categories, respectively.

Internationally, London and Delft, South Holland, Netherlands, topped the small and medium city categories, respectively. Paris and The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands, tied in the large city category.

In its eighth ratings, 2,901 cities were evaluated. The score gives communities the opportunity to measure progress, identify shortcomings, and prioritize projects to make cycling safer and more accessible, according to PeopleForBikes.

This year, data is integrated from PeopleForBikes' Great Bike Infrastructure Project, tracking real-time progress of the country's thousands of infrastructure projects. The ratings now feature projects like protected bike lands and neighborhood greenways from proposal to completion.

"City Ratings data proves what we've known all along: building great bike infrastructure leads to better, safer places to ride," said Jenn Dice, PeopleForBikes president and CEO. "With 234 U.S. cities now scoring 50 or above — up from just 33 in 2019 — it's clear that dedicated investments deliver real results. By tracking projects from idea to implementation, we're helping communities focus their efforts and accelerate change. Every city can become a great place to ride — we're here to help them get there."

Each city receives a score of 0-100. A low score (0-20) indicates a weak bike network (the connected system of protected bike lanes, off-street paths, slow shared streets, and safe crossings), meaning a lack of safe bikeways or gaps in the network. A high score (80-100) indicates that most common destinations are accessible by safe, comfortable bike routes.

City Ratings scores are generated using the Bicycle Network Analysis, a data-driven methodology that evaluates how safe and connected bike networks are for all ages and abilities. Scores are based on six key factors represented in the acronym SPRINT:

Safe speeds.
Protected bike lanes.
Reallocated space.
Intersection treatments.
Network connections.
Trusted data.

According to PeopleForBikes, a key metric is the number of communities achieving a City Ratings score of 50 or higher. This signals a city has reached a critical point in its support of people who ride bikes and has the momentum for sustained, long-term improvements to make cycling better over time.

The top three cities making the largest improvements in the past year are Park City, Utah (48 to 61); Richfield, Minnesota (25 to 53); and Phoenixville, Pennsylvania (21 to 50).

Mountain bikers spend $416 per trip to a riding destination, study finds

DeanYobbi — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 20:15:14 +0000

(BRAIN) — A report by a national nonprofit outdoors organization to quantify the economic impact of U.S. mountain biking tourists estimated that an average of $416 is spent per visit toward lodging, restaurants, and retailers.

"Economic Benefits of Mountain Biking" by the Trust for Public Land (TPL) aimed to identify direct and indirect economic benefits of mountain biking in communities. It concluded spending varied by trail location and type, ranging from just over $100 to more than $1,000 per visit.

It also noted that mountain bike trails generate employment opportunities. In the 13 locations cited in the report, trail networks created up to 1,626 jobs and $54.1 million in labor income yearly.

"We know that creating or improving trails — and related riding opportunities like skills areas — can add value to a community for residents and visitors alike," George Chevalier, International Mountain Bicycling Association promotions manager, told BRAIN in an email. IMBA served as an advisor to TPL on the Economic Benefits of Mountain Biking report, contributing example trail projects along with related community impacts, return on investment figures, and connections with stakeholders.

"However, it's quite staggering to see the scale of that impact represented through total business, employment and tourism activities," Chevalier added. "... Nationally, the outdoor recreation economy generates an estimated $124.5 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues, and consists of nearly five million jobs. This is a serious opportunity, and it's growing."

The report did not distinguish between regular mountain bikes and e-MTBs; Chevalier said the objective "was to carry out a rigorous analysis to highlight examples of rural communities taking part in the outdoor recreation economy through creating or enhancing mountain biking opportunities of all kinds."

The study was conducted from 2014 through 2024 and centered on mountain biking rather than cycling in general. The 13 trail systems in the study were located in Alabama, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin. The trust said about half of the trails are in rural areas and the other in more urban areas.

Four other studies were conducted measuring the economic impact of mountain bike events taking place in Alabama, Michigan, Virginia, and Whistler, British Columbia. For example, at the Crankworx Whistler Festival, the 2023 event generated about $38.5 million USD with more than 300,000 in attendance, 61% of whom were visitors, according to the report.

Citing separate studies from other organizations within the TPL report, the number of U.S. mountain bikers increased in the past 20 years, with about 8.7 million as of 2021. The typical mountain biker is white, male (between 32 and 52), affluent, and takes an average of five trips yearly. While mountain biking increased during COVID, it has declined since, in line with reduced participation across all outdoor recreation activities.

Indirect economic benefits of mountain biking, the TPL report notes, include improved quality of life, increased property values for homeowners who live near trails and an expanded customer base for nearby business owners. Also trails can attract new businesses, the report noted. The study notes that Trailforks (a sister site to BRAIN owned by Outside) identifies more than 244,000 U.S. trails, covering a distance of more than 300,000 miles.

Best practices for trail development and long-term sustainability planning are also discussed in the report, which was supported by the Elliotsville Foundation and Norfolk Southern Railways.

"This report celebrates communities' ingenuity and elevates them as examples that can be adapted by others facing similar challenges," Chevalier said. "By coupling the lessons and desired outcomes in this report with the proven tools, education, and programs provided by organizations like TPL and IMBA, communities will be able to accelerate their own path toward their particular desired outcomes."

File Attachment:

Economic Benefits of Mountain Biking report PDF

Bike Index annual report shows bike thefts increased in 2024

DeanYobbi — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 17:19:05 +0000

CHICAGO (BRAIN) — Bike Index released its annual 2025 report showing a 15% increase in reported thefts of the 1.3 million bikes it registered, and more than two million are stolen annually in the U.S. with a value of more than a billion dollars.

According to the report, 18,942 bikes registered with Bike Index were stolen last year. The 2.4 million annual stolen bikes figure with a value of $1.4 billion comes from a survey conducted in 2024 by Bike Index, the Institute of Transportation Studies at University of California Davis, and the Department of Geography at University of California Santa Barbara in partnership with YouGov.

"With over 58.2 million people riding bikes in the United States and Canada, cycling continues to gain popularity and the need to address bike theft has become increasingly crucial," according to the report. "In this report, we explore the many facets of bike theft and its effects on individuals and communities."

Bike Index incorporates national crime statistics — which it says are underreported and incomplete — into its research, making it difficult to gauge the full extent of U.S. bike theft. Most FBI crime statistics, according to Bike Index, point to bike theft decreasing this decade but it notes the numbers are incomplete because nearly 37% fewer law enforcement agencies have been reporting crime stats to the FBI since 2021. In 2023, an estimated 127,646 bikes — representing 3% of all larceny thefts — were stolen in the U.S., according to national crime statistics. This was an increase of 1.1% from the 126,153 reported in 2022.

"The question remains: Has bike theft really decreased? In our own data analysis at Bike Index, we observed a 15% increase in reported stolen bicycles in 2024. With notorious underreporting of stolen bicycles and an incomplete picture from national crime statistics, it seems likely that this increase is universal.

"Anecdotal evidence from our recovery efforts also suggests a more complex picture. We've witnessed an increase in smash-and-grab retailer thefts and e-bike thefts, as well as stumbled upon some intricate crime theft rings in our recovery efforts."

Bike Index published a study in 2022 on one Facebook Marketplace seller in Mexico who had a stolen inventory estimated at more than $1 million.

The 2024 survey also reported:

Bikes are 2½ times more likely to be stolen than a car.
59% of bike thefts occurred in residential areas.

Bike Index also reports about 40% of bike thefts are not reported to police. Of the 11,504 Bike Index registered bikes reported stolen in 2019, 75% of them had an associated police report. "Taking into account that Bike Index users only represent a segment of bicycle owners, the number of unreported bicycle thefts is likely much higher with most estimates lying between 40-75%," according to the 2024 report. "In a more recent research survey done in partnership with UCSB and SPAR Labs, only 37% of bike theft victims reported the theft to police."

The report also references its 2017 survey on the impact of bike theft on victims.

47% said the theft affected their ability to get to and from work.
Grief accompanied having a bike stolen with the emotional cost outweighing replacement value.
49% said it would take longer than a month to replace and 11% said they would not buy a replacement.

Seasonal trends also were measured in the report, with warmer months (May through September) being the most active for theft. In the past five years, more bikes were stolen in August than any other month. Last year, 3,048 bikes were stolen in May, the highest monthly volume recorded.

Bike Index says bikes often are stolen from parking facilities and home garages, locations owners consider secure. Citing 2023 FBI crime data, Bike Index reported that 45% larceny thefts take place at home or in a parking facility. Sidewalks and racks also are prime locations for theft, and Bike Index recommends owners taking their bike with them whenever possible.

Last year, Bike Index added 186,409 bikes to its registry, and it says registration improves recovery rates and reduces theft. In addition to properly securing a bike, Bike Index recommends engagement with local shops and community groups that promote registration and anti-theft initiatives to create a network of vigilance and support for bike owners.

File Attachment:

2025_bike_index_annual_bike_theft_report.pdf

Outride research shows cycling’s benefits are more than physical

Steve Frothingham — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Kids’ brains light up in real time while bike riding.

A version of this article ran in the February issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. Retailers can get the print or digital version of the magazine free — subscribe at this link.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — In addition to giving more kids access to bikes and places to ride, the nonprofit Outride organization also studies cycling’s cognitive and physical benefits.

“At the end of the day, what would be a dream for us would be for the information and evidence to get out there for people and parents to go, ‘This is very real,’” said Mike Sinyard, Specialized Bicycles founder and co-founder of Outride.

A decade after Sinyard helped start the program that would research how cycling could benefit kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, that day might be here, and it might lead to more kids turning pedals instead of only taking pills.

At the Outride Summit in October, research conducted with Stanford University showed cycling activates the brain “to engage the hunting, gathering, and foraging systems,” said Dr. Allan L. Reiss at the summit. “These are the most effective for improving and sustaining brain health. What are these systems? They utilize a combination of spatial orientation, and navigation, body awareness, memory, motor control, balance and coordination, and executive function — planning, sequence, flexibility, inhibition, etc. What type of exercise does this sound like to you? It sounds like cycling, right? This is exactly what cycling does.”

At the summit, Reiss, who’s with the Stanford School of Medicine and whose lab specializes in exercise neuroscience, noted evidence-based findings of why exercise is important, which includes improving cardio health, bone and muscle health, metabolic health, and lowering the risk of most cancers.

Last but not least, Reiss said exercise — especially cycling — improves brain health.

“What’s great about cycling is you can do it in groups,” Reiss said during his presentation, also noting cycling’s benefits can help aging adults in dementia prevention. “Doing it in groups in the natural environment. Being in the natural environment amplifies that positive effect on those brain systems even more. We are doing the study outside and inside just so we can compare the two and understand how the natural environment affects the brain.”

The study moves outside

A video of a girl study participant riding her bike outside the Stanford test lab was shown during the summit. She was wearing a brain imaging device — similar to an MRI — worn under her helmet that was plugged into a transmitter tucked into a backpack.

The girl went for a 20-minute ride outside the Stanford test lab, and brain activity was measured and diagrammed in real time on a laptop by a nearby researcher. The device shows when precise areas of the brain are active.

“We hear a lot about how cycling is good for your body, it’s good for your heart, and this idea that it’s also good for the brain is less publicized,” said Esther Walker, Outride research manager. “It really goes beyond just thinking about exercise and weight and things like that and instead more holistically thinking about how sharp you’re feeling throughout the day and your mental health.”

Walker said kids who were outside riding their bike more often during the COVID-19 pandemic reported fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, and that daily activity can encourage more brain cells to develop leading to better brain function.

“And that also can result in strong connections between the brain cells that will ultimately impact memory and learning,” she said. “These are really important changes that happen in the brain as a result of riding the bike and can seep into your everyday activity — whether that’s focusing at school or completing a complex exam — that is really exciting, and there’s less awareness about that side of it.”

A natural ADHD treatment

Cycling’s benefit for sufferers of ADHD has a personal meaning for Sinyard, who suffers from the disorder.

“All exercise is good, but there’s something about the zen-like motion of pedaling and the sensory balance, plus it’s fun,” he said. “We have an opiate crisis today, and I believe there will be a crisis that is going to come out with overmedicating our children.”

Walker also noted that Reiss’ research is looking at how the brain changes during a bike ride, which is important because previous research only looked at a snapshot before and after a ride.

“But really what’s happening when you’re out on a trail feeling that flow state,” Walker said. “That’s unknown. So they’re going to be one of the first groups looking at what’s actually happening when you’re out on the bike.”

Reiss said the brain imaging device costs $600,000 with a grant coming from the National Institute of Health. The helmet used in the test was manufactured by Specialized under the direction of Stanford to accommodate the sensor, and it wasn’t just a case of removing padding.

“In putting that cap on, there’s all of these different modules that are going to be sensitive to movement and light, so they had to construct the helmet in a way that was secure but also still comfortable to the participant and also safe,” Walker said.

While the highlight was the research team’s findings, the summit also detailed how Outride’s Riding for Focus school cycling programs have impacted academics and improved student mental health. This will be the 11th season since the initial school pilot program with more than 50,000 students participating each year. Walker noted that the percentage of kids in the program who haven’t ridden a bike varies across the country, depending on rural or urban settings and socioeconomic factors.

“We have some schools where it might be 5%. We have schools we’re working with where over 50% of the class had never ridden a bike, and those are actually the schools where we’re making a huge impact. A lot of those students might be shy, but when they see their peers are also in the same spot in having to learn to ride, they build confidence together.”

Since 2014, more than 250 schools have partnered with Outride, which also has granted more than $1.5 million to more than 170 community cycling programs through its Outride Fund.

CPSC finds micromobility injuries rose 127% since 2017

Steve Frothingham — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 22:44:58 +0000

Safety agency counts 53 e-bike fatalities in the US between 2017-2021.

WASHINGTON — Injuries involving micromobility devices including e-scooters, hoverboards and e-bikes were up 127% between 2017 and 2021 according to a new report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The CPSC report also counted 48 deaths involving the products last year, including 23 deaths involving e-bikes. The total number of micromobility device fatalities was up from just five in 2017.

The report found that Black consumers sustained injuries at a higher rate than other groups. While Black consumers were involved in 31% of the micromobility injuries, while the group makes up just 13% of the U.S. population. However, only 76% of injury reports studied contained race/ethnicity information so there is some uncertainty about the statistic.

The injury and fatality figures were not correlated to the number of hours or miles ridden on the devices or the number of devices sold during the period. However, the report did examine injuries and fatalities by age and gender and categorized fatal accidents by associated hazards, such as motor vehicle accidents, user-control issues, and others.

The data were compiled from CPSC’s Consumer Product Safety Risk Management System (CPSRMS) and the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). The 2020-2021 figures are still being compiled and may change.

E-bike stats.

The total number of e-bike fatalities between 2017 and 2021 was 53. There were eight hoverboard fatalities and 68 e-scooter fatalities in the period.

Of the e-bike fatalities counted, 46 of them involved males and seven were females. By age, the 18-29 group suffered 33 fatalities and the 60-and-over group had 17. There were no reported e-bike fatalities involving riders under age 18, although the age of the victim was unknown on three fatalities.

Some other findings:

Collisions with motor vehicles were the leading cause of death associated with e-bikes, accounting for 27 of the 53 reported deaths.
Twelve e-bike fatalities were due to user-control issues, such as crashing into other fixed objects (such as a gate, sign, post, barricade, railing, dumpster, or median), striking road curbs, and getting thrown into oncoming traffic.
Pedestrian accidents were associated with six fatalities; two e-bike riders were killed due to blunt impact caused when they struck pedestrians; and four pedestrians were struck by e-bikes and died from blunt impact/fall.
The CPSC conducted in-depth studies of 11 incidents involving injuries. Of those, four involved a fire hazard. “The reports describe the fires started while the e-bikes were being charged. In one case, the user removed the battery from the e-bike, whthen suddenly caught fire. In another case, staff has insufficient information to determine whether the lithium battery was being charged or being removed from the e-bike.”
Brake issues were reported in four incidents resulting in injuries. Reports describe brakes malfunctioning in three of the cases; the fourth report said the owner of the e-bike needed to “tighten” the brakes repeatedly until, on the day of the incident, the brakes fail.
Other product-related issues,such as structural integrity/design defect issue, were reported in two incidents. “In one incident, the consumer was riding an e-bike when the pedal and crank assembly were separated from the bike frame, causing the person to fall. The other incident reported the pin in the handlebars prevented making a left turn, and the front wheel got stuck.”

The report made no specific recommendations or conclusions. A press statement announcing the report’s publication cautioned that “In light of the spike in injuries, CPSC reminds consumers to use caution and safety with these devices.” It urged consumers to wear bicycle helmets and to expect to be unseen by drivers and pedestrians.

The press statement also used the occasion to note that Oct. 9-15 is Fire Prevention Week and shared tips on living with lithium-ion batteries.

File Attachment:

bicycleretailer_micromobility-products-related-deaths-injuries-and-hazard-patterns-2017-2021.pdf

PeopleForBikes releases its sixth City Ratings for best US cities for biking

DeanYobbi — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 17:43:16 +0000

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Provincetown, Massachusetts, tops PeopleForBikes' 2022 City Ratings for the best U.S. cities for biking. The year-long study was completed in conjunction with Trek Bicycle.

Ranked are 1,058 cities, highlighting communities that "embrace the bicycle as a tool for mobility, economic growth, and recreation," according to PeopleForBikes, which has conducted the research yearly for the past six years.

Cities are scored and ranked using a combination of PeopleForBikes' Bicycle Network Analysis and Community Survey, resulting in an overall score of 1-100. Provincetown received a rating of 81.

Davis, California (72); and Fayette, Missouri (71), round out the top three cities.

According to PeopleForBikes, the results are the culmination of research and data collection — including factors such as cities' speed limits, existing infrastructure and overall safety, as well as community input on what people think about biking in their city.

Notable statistics from this year's research include Seattle's five-point jump in score from 54 to 59, as well as consistent but smaller increases from most large cities, including Brooklyn, New York; San Francisco; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Detroit. The city with the highest Community Survey score (70) was Bentonville, Arkansas.

Rounding out the bottom three were Oak Park, Illinois; Mount Vernon, New York; and Pelham Manor, New York, each with a 2 rating. Of the 1,058 American communities included in the survey, 95% garnered fewer than 50 points, a sign that the majority of U.S. cities have room for improvement in terms of bicycling infrastructure and safety, according to PeopleForBikes.

"The Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA) tool provides the basis for each city's score, demonstrating how easy it is for residents to get to key services like grocery stores, employment, healthcare and more," said Rebecca Davies, City Ratings program director. "Not only does the BNA highlight if riders can get to these places, it shows how safe it is to do so by ranking streets as high or low stress based on factors like the quality of bike infrastructure and street speed limits. When combined with our Community Survey, we are not only able to see what the maps of these cities tell us, but also what the people actually riding in these cities think about biking where they live, work and play."

Also included alongside the ratings are PeopleForBikes' Best Places to Bike for 2022, and 10 U.S. cities that all offer actionable lessons on improving bicycling locally. Focusing on youth engagement, connecting bike networks and building trails for all skill levels are just a few ways any city can become a best place to bike, according to PeopleForBikes.

Trek Bicycle has been a longtime coalition member and partner of PeopleForBikes and the City Ratings program and once again has underwritten the project for 2022 through a donation based on a portion of sales from its Bontrager helmet line.

In addition to the U.S. cities ranked, PeopleForBikes analyzed 47 cities in Canada. European and Australian results will be released later this year.

US bike imports up 52% in Q1

Steve Frothingham — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 18:16:17 +0000

WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — The U.S. imported 4.7 million bikes in the first quarter this year, worth $565 million at port. In dollar value, that's up 52% over the first quarter last year and 143% over the same quarter in 2020, when the pandemic supply chain first slowed.

The first quarter this year followed massive import numbers in the second half of 2021 (see column chart at bottom). The third quarter last year was the largest, valued at $571 million.

The country of origin of bike imported has shifted significantly in the last four years, as the pie charts below show. Four years ago the Trump administration's tariffs on Chinese imports had not yet taken effect. Since then, the U.S. has sourced an increased number of bikes from Vietnam and Cambodia to escape those tariffs. However, Vietnam exports declined steeply in the second half of 2021 because of COVID-19 shut downs there.

Industry imported nearly $2 billion in bikes last year

Steve Frothingham — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 23:32:13 +0000

Also: We provide a bit of a primer on data available in the industry. And look! A ship photo.

WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — Bike imports continued to skyrocket last year, as the industry brought in bikes with a customs value of $1.96 billion, a record that is 40% higher than in 2020.

Because of a higher average price, the increase in the number of bikes imported was a bit less dramatic. The industry imported 19.24 million bikes, the most since 2010 and a 13.3% increase over 2020.

The figures from the Census Bureau’s USA Trade Online database, released Tuesday, show some dramatic shifts in the source nations of U.S. bikes, just in the last two years.

For example, the total value of bikes from China and Taiwan increased 37% and 33%, respectively, from 2020 to 2021. But the third-largest source of bikes, Cambodia, saw a 72% increase, while Indonesia saw a 176% increase. Imports from Vietnam, on the other hand, were valued at 1.3% less than the prior year, likely due to COVID-19-driven factory shutdowns there.

The fine print.

Most bikes sold in the U.S. are imported, making the Customs import figures above useful for identifying large industry trends. We publish monthly detailed bike import data in the Tradewatch feature in each print issue of Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, and we've been doing so for nearly 30 years. Unfortunately, there are several weaknesses to the import data:

No channel. Customs does not distinguish bikes bound for the IBD market from those headed to the mass market, the sporting goods market or the direct-to-consumer online market. Since the mass market is dominated by sales of millions of low-priced kids bikes, some analysts feel that focusing on adult bike imports may be more fruitful for the IBD market. Using that method: Adult bike sales were up 45.6% by dollars last year, and up 37% by units.
Little useful categorization. The Customs bike categories, while perhaps useful 50 years ago, have not kept up with industry trends. They are generally aligned with wheel diameter, bike weight, and, in some cases, tire width or tire-width clearance. This makes it hard to distinguish between a 26-inch mountain bike and a cruiser, or a gravel bike vs. a 700c city bike. (Customs does categorize data for some parts and accessories, such as chains, tires and saddles, that can be useful, however.)
No e-bikes. Our figures cited above do not include the critical, fast-growing category of e-bikes, because in the U.S. e-bikes still share a customs code with electric motorcycles, making it difficult to separate the two without drilling down to analyze individual shipments. The Light Electric Vehicle Association has calculated that the U.S imported 790,000 e-bikes last year, a 70% increase over 2020.

More data information

Today's momentous occasion: the release of annual import figures, is as good a time as any to provide some overview of the data available in the industry.

Besides the import data, there are two other major sources of data for the U.S. market. Both are behind paywalls that prevent BRAIN from publishing more than snippets on occasion. However, industry members can access more of this data by contracting with The NPD Group and/or joining PeopleForBikes.

The NPD Sell-Through Report relies on a sampling of sales of products and services at participating retailers in all channels. The samplings are weighted to estimate national figures. Some industry analysts question some of the estimates, pointing out that some major retail owners are reluctant to have their stores participate. However, the NPD Group is respected across many industries. Corporate NPD subscribers can get Sell-Through data that includes details down to the brand level. PeopleForBikes business members have access to some unbranded Sell-Through data, which the group publishes on its online Business Intelligence Hub, along with other data. NPD generously allows us to include some monthly Sell-Through highlights in our Dashboard feature in each print edition of Bicycle Retailer & Industry News. (Editor's note: If you've read this far you probably qualify for a free subscription to the magazine. Check out subscription options at subscribe.pcspublink.com.)

The PeopleForBikes Sell-in and Inventory Report is compiled by the NPD Group for the trade organization and includes actual (not sampled) data from wholesalers who participate. The figures show products sold in to the retail channel and the dollar value and unit count of bikes in wholesalers’ inventory. The Sell-in report has a long history as it was previously compiled by the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association, which PeopleForBikes absorbed in 2019. Occasionally some companies stop or start reporting to the program, which can lead to weird data that PeopleForBikes does its best to account for while preserving anonymity. PeopleForBikes generously allows us to publish monthly total sell-in and inventory dollar figures in BRAIN’s monthly Dashboard feature, but there are many other details available to members.

For bicycle consumer data, the National Bicycle Dealers Association's recent Bicycle Buying 2021 Consumer Research Study is the most detailed report in years. A dealer version is available to NBDA members for $399.

Click it.
Click it.

More than half of women cyclists started riding or returned to it during the pandemic

Steve Frothingham — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 15:00:00 +0000

IRVINE, Calif. (BRAIN) — Nearly 56% of female cyclists riding today either started cycling during the pandemic or returned to it after a layoff, according to the National Bicycle Dealers Association's Bicycling Buying 2021 Consumer Research
Study.

"As consumers pull back from buying bicycles and e-bikes, the challenge bike shops face is holding on to these new and returning cyclists and keeping them on their bicycles or e-bikes as the pandemic continues and the economy reacts to shifting employment, supply chain problems, and price pressure," said Heather Mason, the NBDA's president.

"While 56.8% of adult bicycle and e-bike riders in 2020 and 2021 were male and 42.6 percent were female, our consumer research study found that 33.4% of women cyclists started cycling for the first time, and 22 percent returned to cycling during the pandemic. This totals 55% or over half of all adult female cyclists that started or returned in the last two years. These are the kinds of detailed, actionable facts the NBDA has made available to every segment of the bicycle business," Mason added.

The complete Supplier Report is available on the NBDA website for $5,000. Retail members of the NBDA can buy a version of the study report for $399, which includes access to a four-part Educational Series presented by the NBDA, and Jay Townley, Resident Futurist at Human Powered Solutions.

The first online seminar in this series, scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. Eastern, is open to all retailers and members of the industry, regardless of NBDA membership.

More information on the study report is available at NBDA.com.

NBDA Bicycle Buying reference guide analyzes pandemic buying habits

DeanYobbi — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 21:35:23 +0000

IRVINE, Calif. (BRAIN) — The NBDA Bicycle Buying 2021 reference guide is available for suppliers, brands, and retail members. The guide is a consumer research study of pandemic bicycle and e-bike buying habits.

The guide contains data, analysis, and information about American consumers who purchased brands and from what retail sources, at what prices, and with what accessories during the last two years, said NBDA President Heather Mason.

"It is now clear that the pandemic is going to be with us for at least another season, and the NBDA Bicycle Buying 2021 Consumer Research Study will be an invaluable planning reference guide. ..." Mason said.

Suppliers and brands can place an online order for this report. With it, suppliers and brands will be able to study the groups of adult buyers — including the 33.4% of women who started cycling and the 22% who returned in the last two years — what style they purchased, from what retailer, for what kind of cycling, what it will take to retain them, and what they plan to spend in the future.

"There are literally hundreds of pieces of data cross-referenced to demographics and psychographics that will assist product managers, marketing departments, and senior management in defining and understanding target American consumers and their cycling wants and needs during the pandemic and the immediate post-pandemic period," said Keith Storey, president of Sports Marketing Surveys USA.

In addition to the NBDA and Sports Marketing Surveys, Human Powered Solutions helped prepare the report.