{"id":19525,"date":"2025-12-21T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/2025\/12\/21\/cycling-is-changing-at-a-rapid-pace-but-is-the-uk-keeping-pace-cycling\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T10:00:00","slug":"cycling-is-changing-at-a-rapid-pace-but-is-the-uk-keeping-pace-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/en_us\/2025\/12\/21\/cycling-is-changing-at-a-rapid-pace-but-is-the-uk-keeping-pace-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"Cycling is changing at a rapid pace. But is the UK keeping pace? | cycling"},"content":{"rendered":"
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E<\/span>Following Team GB’s velodrome success at the 2008 Olympics, campaigners and government ministers have confidently predicted Britain would become a nation of cyclists. There’s just one problem. In most cases, that didn’t happen.<\/p>\n

Aside from the very concentrated surge in bicycle use during COVID-19, levels of cycle travel in the UK have remained largely stagnant for years, and that doesn’t seem to be changing.<\/p>\n

Last December, Brompton reported the lowest annual sales of its folding bikes since 2021. Fewer existing bicycles will be purchased in 2024 than in any other year this century, according to statistics from the Cycling Association, the UK bicycle industry trade body.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Brompton bicycle in the City of London. The company reported its lowest annual revenue since 2021.<\/span> Photo: Richard Baker\/Alamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIf you look at pedal cycle sales since 2010, there hasn\u2019t been a year in which sales haven\u2019t declined, apart from COVID-19. I always wonder why people in the industry aren\u2019t more aware of this,\u201d says Phillip Darnton, president of the Cycling Association.<\/p>\n

But it is not a picture of unconditional gloom. London is experiencing an ongoing cycling boom, with almost 1.5 million journeys now taking place per day, 43% higher than in 2019. A few other places have seen an increase in bicycle use, although not as significantly.<\/p>\n

Buried in this combination of statistics are some obvious lessons. To find this, it helps to first think about the different types of cyclists on the road.<\/p>\n

Leisure riders – the legendary middle-aged pedalos who meander through the Surrey Hills or Peak District on DayGlo Lycra, rain or shine – are just a small part of what makes cycling a nation.<\/p>\n

Others include people who ride bicycles every day for transportation, and experts agree that these people will only cycle when they feel safe. This requires long-term investments in infrastructure. Finally, cycling is changing at a rapid pace with the advent of electric bikes and non-stop rental networks like Lime. But some say the government has not yet caught up.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Go mountain biking in the Peak District National Park.<\/span> Photo: jonpic\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adam Tranter, who runs a PR agency that works with cycling brands and was previously walking and cycling commissioner for the West Midlands, points out that luxury bike sales are gradually shifting from traditional road bikes to so-called gravel bikes designed for off-road use and sophisticated indoor trainers that pit people against each other virtually.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this is code for people who say, \u2018I don\u2019t like being near cars because I don\u2019t feel safe,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cWhichever way you look at it, you can\u2019t reach the potential of cycling without making it much safer and more comfortable. It all comes down to this basic fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Westminster government seesawed between the relative enthusiasm for cycling and the transport culture wars of the Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer era and the machinations of Rishi Sunak, London enjoyed more than two decades of support under Ken Livingstone, Johnson and mayor Sadiq Khan.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor things to really change, we need strong, consistent political leadership over a sustained period of time,\u201d says one senior figure in cycle policy. \u201cIf we make consistent investments, we can also attract and retain the talent and skills needed to run cycling operations in places as old and dense as London \u2013 these people are not easy to find.\u201d<\/p>\n