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Is cycling at weekends declining in popularity?

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  • December 9, 2018 at 10:21 pm #29191
    Stef Marazzi

    Just wondered if anyone else had if numbers in their cycle clubs or groups seem a bit stagnant lately?

    I’ve been chatting to a few other people who run cycle clubs and we’ve all noticed that we don’t seem to have many new people joining this year, unlike in previous years.

    Not sure whether its due to things like anti-cycling press, the increase in popularity of Zwift, high barriers to entry (e.g. cost of a bike, plus clothing being about £300 for the bike, plus about £150 for helmet, clothes, shoes), the rise of alternatives like cross-fit, or gyms, which might only cost £20 a month, or things like Park Run, which are free.

    My Cycle Group is completely free, and very well organised, but this year is the first year we’ve had only 1 or 2 new people join. 

    What do others think? Have you noticed numbers not particularly increasing as fast as previous years?

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  • December 14, 2018 at 5:45 pm #932813
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    TooOldToScrum

    I ride with Liverpool Mercury

    I ride with Liverpool Mercury in the group known as the Umpalumpas. Super friendly, always wait for the slowest, often me up the hill. Very welcoming and always a coffe stop built into the ride.

    There are other clubs that want to blast along it’s like life not everything suits everybody and sometimes you have to try a few options to get what suits you.

    December 14, 2018 at 5:05 pm #932811
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    don simon fbpe
    Miller wrote:
    A bit of a selfish vibe in these replies, frankly. Club rides let you meet similar-minded people, cycle further and faster, and are just generally fun to do. People would do well to drop their preconceptions and give club riding a try.

    For this reason, I’m out.

    December 14, 2018 at 3:56 pm #932809
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    peted76

    There’s a lot of different

    There’s a lot of different clubs, each has their own vibe, style and purpose, some more social and some more training/fitness-focused.. however, I think everyone can agree, every club has at least one wanker in it. It’s just the way of the world, you put 100 people in a room and at least one will start pissing people off. Tolerance, however, is a virtue. Don’t write off club riding off on one or two experiences/rides/people. 

    December 14, 2018 at 1:08 pm #932807
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    Simon E
    Miller wrote:
    A bit of a selfish vibe in these replies, frankly. Club rides let you meet similar-minded people, cycle further and faster, and are just generally fun to do. People would do well to drop their preconceptions and give club riding a try.

    I’m not sure that’s a fair assessment.

    Some have work/family commitments that make it tricky for them to join group rides, others prefer solitude or existing friends and there are examples where a club/group appears to have been unwelcoming.

    Each to his/her own and all that. Though I would agree with your final phrase that in many cases it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.

    December 13, 2018 at 4:34 pm #932805
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    mikemorini

    Locally, on a Sunday, any

    Locally, on a Sunday, any decent cafe seems to be packed out with cyclist, both club rides and small groups.

    A local garden centre has even install covered bike parking to encourage more people to use it.

    I’ve not counted numbers, but my perception is numbers have increased, even when the weathers not so great.

    December 13, 2018 at 12:07 pm #932803
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    Miller

    A bit of a selfish vibe in

    A bit of a selfish vibe in these replies, frankly. Club rides let you meet similar-minded people, cycle further and faster, and are just generally fun to do. People would do well to drop their preconceptions and give club riding a try.

    December 13, 2018 at 9:26 am #932801
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    sergius

    I suspect for many the idea

    I suspect for many the idea of joining a club w/ fixed schedules and the like is just not practical.

    I started road riding about 5 years ago now, I’ve been riding further/faster YoY for that time.  This year I’ll end up just under 10k km of pure leisure riding.

     

    I can’t imagine most people are prepared to alter when/how far/how fast they ride to accomodate others.  I’m certainly not 🙂

    December 12, 2018 at 4:20 pm #932799
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    PRSboy

    I agree with the idea of a

    I agree with the idea of a look at a proper map prior to plotting if at all possible.  There was a time when my Strava-plotted route tried to take me up a muddy track into woodland, wasn’t brave enough on my road bike!  Needless to say, it was miles into my route, there was no mobile reception to check for an alternative route and it was a bit of a pain.

    I’ve found the Garmin Connect plotter works ok, and I like the button that sends it straight to your Edge.

    December 12, 2018 at 12:44 pm #932797
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    IanEdward

    Quote:

    Even in this digital age (I plot routes on Strava and download the GPX to OsmAnd (free offline maps for Android phones)), there’s nothing beats poring over a 1:50,000 OS map, studying contours and points of interest. That often informs my digital plots.

    And as well as being still the easiest way to absorb geographical information, they’re things of beauty.

    You’re preaching to the converted! Love my collection of OS Maps, and you’re right, I should use them more for my road route planning, they’re all in a cupboard with my hiking gear…

     

    Can I ask what you use to plan and download?

    Strava to plot, download GPX, import and create course on Garmin. The Garmin course plotter is terrible, seems prone to re-plotting your route when you’re not looking! I’ve not had too many disasters doing this, occasionally have to stop and consult phone just to check where I am…

    December 11, 2018 at 11:28 pm #932795
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    Simon E
    BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
    Total miles, number of cyclists % modal share for all journeys has not changed for donkeys years, the odd jump here and there from one year to the next and then falling back. So if as you state that sporting cyclists has increased by a lot then an awful lot of non sporting cyclists (utility, commuters, tourists etc) have given up completely over the same period. There has been no spikes in total miles or % participation post olympic or TdF success.

    I have seen some stats about modal share etc and I’m not saying they are wrong but my observations regarding weekend leisure cycling (since that’s what this is discussion about) don’t really tally with that. Perhaps the growth in cycling mileage is cancelled out by the continued growth of motorised traffic because many people are driving more miles each year. And also the fact that the number of delivery vans and trucks has also grown hugely, partly driven by online shopping. And virtually all leisure cyclists I know drive a car, a good number of them drive to where they do their leisure cycling.

    In 2004 Wiggle’s turnover was a fraction of what it is now and the cycling-related market as a whole in the UK is far larger today. The owner of my LBS could tell you about the number of people buying and replacing/adding to their stable of expensive bikes, buying expensive smart trainers and also doing more and bigger rides.

    Sportives were nowhere near as popular as in the last few years. Lycra was for couriers and weirdos, cycling was nowhere near being ‘the new golf’. Since then there has been significant growth, including bikepacking, adventure racing and other areas and the bike market itself has expanded. Even in apparel the established brands have vastly broader product ranges and there are an increasing number of ‘posh’ brands, and that’s before we get onto accessories and lifestyle products.

    How many people were Everesting in the early 2000s? Do you think that the continued explosion of both number of users and miles/kms logged on Strava are simply existing riders recording the rides they’ve always done? Have cycling club members always been flying to Mallorca and Tenerife for cycling holidays but kept quiet about it and would say that they had a week off work to do some DIY? And I suppose Rapha’s Festive 500 merely piggy-backed on all those mad people who were out freezing their bollocks off over Christmas every year (in much of the northern hemisphere at least) but no-one knew about it because social media didn’t exist.

    Hmmm.

    December 11, 2018 at 9:26 pm #932793
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    Fish_n_Chips

    I knew a guy at a club in

    I knew a guy at a club in Bristol with a 60/70’s road bike.  He was super fast compared to the posh bike owners. Couldn’t care about the bike age.  Nice steel frame too.

    Bike snobs looking down on you? Did they say something or did you think they looked down on you? Personally couldn’t care what bike you ride as long as you’ve got good character/heart.

    Even the Queen sits on the loo.  Except she has Jeeves to help.  yes

    December 11, 2018 at 4:36 pm #932791
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    Dnnnnnn

    IanEdward wrote:

    IanEdward wrote:
    In years gone by might someone have had to join a local club to get the best knowledge of local roads?

    Even in this digital age (I plot routes on Strava and download the GPX to OsmAnd (free offline maps for Android phones)), there’s nothing beats poring over a 1:50,000 OS map, studying contours and points of interest. That often informs my digital plots.

    And as well as being still the easiest way to absorb geographical information, they’re things of beauty.

    December 11, 2018 at 4:19 pm #932789
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    Legs_Eleven_Worcester
    IanEdward wrote:
    No interest in clubs, inflexibility, too much time at coffee stops, hate being in big groups on busy roads when just 1 or 2 of us can be relatively easily passed, etc. etc.

    But I also wonder if the improvement in GPS tech has slowed down club growth? I’ve moved to a new area and already have covered most of the (many) local back roads, in a variety of different length rides, all planned on my PC and downloaded to my Garmin. In years gone by might someone have had to join a local club to get the best knowledge of local roads?

    I still use my local club mailing list as a sort of ‘pool’ of local riders to invite out on my weekend rides, in case there are others who can’t make the normal time and place. Rarely get any responses but when I do it’s nice to ride with someone like minded.

    Can I ask what you use to plan and download?  I’ve tried Strava and RideWithGPS and have downloaded directly to the Garmin, and have tried planning in BaseCamp.  Whatever I do, the navigation on the Garmin is pants.

    December 11, 2018 at 3:57 pm #932787
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    IanEdward

    No interest in clubs,

    No interest in clubs, inflexibility, too much time at coffee stops, hate being in big groups on busy roads when just 1 or 2 of us can be relatively easily passed, etc. etc.

    But I also wonder if the improvement in GPS tech has slowed down club growth? I’ve moved to a new area and already have covered most of the (many) local back roads, in a variety of different length rides, all planned on my PC and downloaded to my Garmin. In years gone by might someone have had to join a local club to get the best knowledge of local roads?

    I still use my local club mailing list as a sort of ‘pool’ of local riders to invite out on my weekend rides, in case there are others who can’t make the normal time and place. Rarely get any responses but when I do it’s nice to ride with someone like minded.

    December 11, 2018 at 3:56 pm #932785
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    Anonymous
    Simon E wrote:
    BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
    There is no correlation between sporting success in cycling and increases in cycling numbers and that is where the issue lies.

    The non-correlation you cite usually is in relation to utility cycling not lycra-clad riders at weekend. There most definitely has been significant growth in sales of road bikes and associated gear since the London Olympics. Our membership has slipped every year since it peaked at 400 in 2013 and has dipped below 300 this year. If it isn’t post-2012 enthusiasm wearing off then what is it?

    Some clubs are old-fashioned and sniffy, cliquey or too hip & cool for you or me – but they are definitely not all the same. Ours is hopefully none of those things, we’re a Go-Ride club, the circuit racing & cyclo-cross attract families and juniors make up a third of the total membership.

    The main problem we have with group rides has been getting someone to put their hand up to devise a route and/or lead the ride. Far too many people simply want to be towed around the local roads.

    Total miles, number of cyclists % modal share for all journeys has not changed for donkeys years, the odd jump here and there from one year to the next and then falling back. So if as you state that sporting cyclists has increased by a lot then an awful lot of non sporting cyclists (utility, commuters, tourists etc) have given up completely over the same period. There has been no spikes in total miles or % participation post olympic or TdF success.

    Bike sales, well I’m sure you can grasp that the people cycling already have upgraded and are now in the 2-3 bike ownership group, that applies to sports cyclists as well as commuters, tourists and the tried it once or twice and it’s in the shed for the next 10 years brigade..

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