UK bike sales plummet to early 1970s levels and were lower than any other year this century in 2024, reveals Bicycle Association report

The year 2024 marked another low point for the cycling industry, as bicycle sales — already on a downward trajectory since 2022 — continued to plummet, with numbers falling to the lowest they’ve ever been in 50 years, according to a new report by the Bicycle Association (BA).

The report, published by the national trade association for the UK cycle industry today, revealed that the total number of bicycles sold in the country last year was only 1.45 million units, a 2.4 per cent fall from 2023.

2023 already saw the fewest bicycle sales since 1985, with 1.55 million units sold. In 2022, sales had shrunk by 22 per cent as the industry entered its decline phase following the pandemic bike boom of 2020 and 2021.

However, 2024’s sales figures now present a new low. The last time the sector sold so few cycles in the UK was in the early 1970s, according to Forbes journalist Carlton Reid.

> 2023 saw the worst bicycle sales in the UK since 1985, reveals Bicycle Association report

“2024 saw a further decline in the cycling market, with sales down minus two per cent versus 2023, continuing the long post-COVID downturn which began in the second half of 2021,” the BA noted in a press release.

Sales of both mechanical and electric bicycles decreased in 2024. The former’s volume fell by four per cent, and e-bikes’ market volume also decreased by five per cent to reach an estimated 146,000 units, representing nine per cent of overall bike units. This was despite average selling prices of e-bikes plummeting amid particularly heavy discounting.

Sales of children’s cycles also fell and are now around a third less than pre-Covid levels, with 21 per cent of those between five and 16 years of age riding a bike, according to Sport England.

There was one silver lining in the form of ‘enthusiast sales’, with higher priced road and mountain bikes showing year-on-year volume growth, the BA noted.

Another positive takeaway, according to the organisation, was that the rate of annual decline began to ease in 2024 compared with previous years, with market performance stabilising during the second half after a tough first half.

> Bike industry told to “survive until 2025” as cycling market report says overstock issues “might be resolved” next year

Nevertheless, the BA said that it expects the market to remain challenging in 2025. It added: “With the backdrop of a difficult macroeconomic climate, it predicts the long downturn will gradually bottom out over the coming months with forecasted volume growth in bike and PAC of two per cent and three per cent in services in 2025. E-bikes volumes, however, are expected to fall a further one per cent.”

Simon Irons, Bicycle Association Data & Insights Director, said: “This report is a challenging read. The post-Covid overstocking, and associated heavy discounting levels in the market, persist and our industry still has a real challenge to restore margins and increase value. The continued decline in kids' cycling participation and kids’ bike sales is particularly concerning, given these are our cyclists of the future.”  

The bike industry has been facing a turbulent period since the post-pandemic boom faded, initially struggling with cash flow and inventory issues and then being plagued by plummeting sales.

New information from the BA’s 2024 Market Data report means that every year in the last three years has marked a new low in terms of sales in the 21st century.

2025, however, could potentially bring some sunshine to the constant doom and gloom nestled over the industry — a sentiment shared by the BA in its report as well.

In June last year, CONEBI, an umbrella organisation which represents national bike industry associations across Europe, told the bike industry “survive until 2025” as the overstock issues that have plagued the cycling industry over the past few years could be resolved by 2025.