PeopleForBikes is leading the charge to better understand and grow the base of people who ride bikes in America. In support of this work, our new blog series explores what the latest research tells us about who’s riding, how often, and why it matters for the future of bicycling and the bike industry.

Why Bicycling Participation Matters and What’s Next

Engaging Casual Participants to Grow Bicycling

One of the most exciting findings to come out of the most recent PeopleForBikes Bicycling Participation Study is that the proportion of kids riding bikes increased for the first time since we’ve tracked bicycling in the U.S. While the study doesn’t exactly address why more kids are riding, there are likely several contributing factors.

Anecdotally, we are hearing a lot about kids riding bench style e-bikes. Unfortunately, we don’t have any data that can directly address this hypothesis because we can’t connect sales data to end users. Nevertheless, cities across the country are reporting this trend, and it poses an interesting question for the industry — how do we want to engage kids who start bicycling because of these bench-style e-bikes? One idea is that these kids could be especially open to using a bike as their primary mode of transportation. Imagine how our cities and towns could change if more kids kept riding bikes through their teen years and into adulthood — less traffic, safer streets, healthier people, and stronger communities.

Another factor that may be increasing youth participation are programs aimed directly at getting kids riding as part of their educational experience. The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) engages middle school and high school students to participate on mountain bike teams. Though these are competitive leagues, unlike other competitive sports, all kids are welcome on NICA teams and get to actively participate. According to their 2024 annual report, NICA reaches more than 25,000 kids each year and research shows that participating in NICA has impacts well beyond the kids themselves, as their friends and family members often start riding or engage more deeply in bicycling as a result of their relationship with NICA kids.

Outride is another example of a program that is actively engaging kids. Outride partners with middle schools nationwide, offering grants and a curriculum that incorporates riding into the school day. According to the 2024 Outride Impact report, there are programs in nearly 400 schools in the U.S. and Canada that serve more than 50,000 kids annually.

Little Bellas engages girls in mountain biking starting in elementary school and extending through young adulthood through mentorship opportunities. Based on Little Bellas’ most recent numbers, they have reached more than 8,500 girls across the country.

Another great example is All Kids Bike, a national nonprofit that brings bike education to kindergarten PE classes through a ready-to-teach program. Each school receives teacher training, an eight-lesson curriculum, 24 balance-to-pedal bikes, helmets, storage racks, and ongoing support. Active in over 1,700 schools across all 50 states, the program teaches 170,000 kids to ride each year and aims to reach over 1 million students throughout the 10-year lifespan of the programs already in place.

These are just a few examples of national-level programs that are working to get and keep kids on bikes. As a founding member of the Youth Cycling Coalition, PeopleForBikes supports numerous youth-focused organizations working in communities across the country to get more kids on bikes. 

One thing is clear, engaging kids across ages and into adulthood creates not only lifetime riders but, as research from NICA shows, an entire network of riders. Investing in kids is a golden ticket to growing the participant base. 

In the next post of this series, we’ll explore how building great places to ride, especially close to home, fuels rider retention, local bike economies, and bottom-line growth for the industry.

Supporting Youth Participation to Grow Bicycling

In our previous blog, we discussed the growth in bicycling participation across the U.S. and the fact that this increase in ridership is primarily driven by those who ride infrequently (a couple of times a month or less). In this installment of our participation blog series, we will talk more about who these casual riders are and how we can further engage them to support industry growth.

Demographically, casual riders are younger, more likely to be female, and less likely to be white than those who ride more often. In other words, casual riders look a lot more like the rest of the U.S. population (more diverse) than the core ridership does. This is great news for an industry that has historically struggled to diversify our participant base. 

Casual riders also differ from their more active counterparts psychologically. Casual riders are less likely than enthusiasts to be familiar and satisfied with places to ride that are close to home and less likely to say that they feel safer riding now than they did five years ago. Perceptions that are clearly related. 

Yet, casual and core riders report very similar attitudes in other aspects of riding. Nearly all riders, core and casual alike, want to ride more often and more than half of both groups worry about their safety around motor vehicles. 

So what does all of this mean for the bike industry? There is a huge opportunity to engage this growing base of casual riders — they are more diverse and want to ride more often. The best part? It is so much easier to get someone who already rides a little bit to ride more than it is to get someone who never rides to ride at all. So how do we engage these casual riders?

The most important thing we can do is build more great places to ride close to home. Having fun, safe, and accessible riding opportunities will encourage all riders to get out on their bikes more often, not just casual riders. This means not only comfortable bike networks that connect people to the places they want to go but also bike parks, pump tracks, and natural surface trails for recreational riding. Nearly all communities have unused public space and it doesn’t have to take a big investment to build quality bike amenities. Imagine how transformative it would be if everyone in the U.S were within a 10-minute ride of a fun bike park or trail. 

But it isn’t enough just to build great places to ride, we also have to support casual riders in having positive ride experiences. Just after the pandemic, PeopleForBikes conducted a study to better understand those who started riding for the first time (or for the first time in a long time) during COVID. Nearly everyone in the study mentioned having someone who encouraged them to get on the bike and helped them find places to ride — not just once, but throughout the pandemic. Local shops, clubs, and teams are uniquely positioned to incentivize enthusiast riders to “adopt” new riders and show them the ropes.

If every enthusiast rider in the U.S. helped a single new or casual participant to ride just once a week over the next 12 months, we would see 45 million new enthusiast riders by this time next year. 

Finally, we can better engage casual riders by meeting and embracing them where they are. Not everyone wants to ride four days a week or compete in races but that doesn’t mean they won’t love riding or that they won’t spend their money on bike gear. Welcoming all types of riders will create a strong, diverse, and healthy community of people who love to ride. 

In the next post of this series, we’ll focus on another exciting finding from the PeopleForBikes Participation Study — more youth are riding. We’ll unpack what we see in the data and the implications for getting, and keeping, more kids on bikes. 

At PeopleForBikes, we understand that participation drives the bicycle market across every rider type, price point, and geographic location. When people ride more, they buy more. And bicycling benefits more than just the bike business. When people ride more, they are also happier, healthier, and their communities become more connected and prosperous.

PeopleForBikes is leading the charge to better understand and grow the base of people who ride bikes in America. In support of this work, our new blog series explores what the latest research tells us about who’s riding, how often, and why it matters for the future of bicycling and the bike industry. We’ll share insights from our 2024 U.S. Bicycling Participation Study, annual reports from the Physical Activity Council, and stories from local communities nationwide to gain a deeper understanding of how we can help transform casual riders into lifelong enthusiasts.

First, let’s talk about riding trends in the U.S., starting with the good news.

Since 2016, participation in bicycling in the U.S. has grown by 14%, outpacing population growth by more than threefold. That means more people are discovering the joy of riding a bike than ever before.

Participation reflects the number of Americans ages 6 and older who report riding a bicycle at least one day in the past 12 months.

That growth is being driven by casual riders — people who ride twice a month or less. In 2016, these casual riders accounted for 53% of the participant base. In 2024, that grew to 60%. Though the pie is getting bigger, the enthusiasts who ride often and invest in mid- to high-end bikes, apparel, and gear aren’t necessarily growing with it.

This shift toward casual participation is happening across the outdoor economy. According to the Outdoor Industry Association’s 2025 Consumer Behavior Report:

 92% of outdoor participants are casual or active, not “core.”

Specialty retailers are seeing more traffic from casual participants than elite athletes.

Emotional drivers like fun, life balance, and confidence now matter as much as performance.

The Opportunity: Every enthusiast starts somewhere. Our job is to make sure they keep riding.

While this shift toward casual riding might seem like a warning sign, we see it as an opportunity. More than two-thirds of casual riders want to ride more often, suggesting that they are as close as one great experience away from becoming core enthusiasts.

In the next edition of this series, we’ll dive deeper into casual riders — who they are and how we can engage them to not only support the bike industry but also create a happier and healthier world.

Becoming a great place for biking doesn’t happen overnight. Through our annual City Ratings program, PeopleForBikes helps cities and towns of all sizes measure progress towards improving bicycling. New for this year, City Ratings also includes an interactive map and database featuring thousands of bike projects across the U.S., making the critical connection between quality infrastructure and safe and connected places to ride. 

But creating a culture that truly embraces bicycling takes more than just infrastructure — and that’s where local bike shops come in. 

To help unpack the important role local bike shops can play in connecting communities, we spoke with Brian Molloy, owner of The Hub Bicycles in Athens, Georgia, as well as Juliet Scott-Croxford, president, North America, and James Baldwin, senior sales manager, North America, at Brompton Bicycle. 

“Bike shops are where the culture is built,” says Baldwin. “I know online is where we’re seeing a lot of conversations play out, but as humans, we need that physical place. As our ‘third places’ shift, bike shops play an important role in being that place where people feel comfortable and can be themselves and connect with likeminded people.”

“As I look back on 25 years of having a bike shop, we have been in the same location for 15 years and the previous 10 were right across the street. No pun intended, we really are the hub for cycling in town,” says Molloy. “The most critical role we play in the community is bringing people together, and what happens from there is magic! Conversations happen, plans get made, friends are made, other businesses are started, collaborations happen, social media stories are posted — all because we are here. Bike shops are a meeting place more than anything and that is what makes them special in a community.”

“Ultimately, bike shops understand the culture of a community better than anyone,” says Scott-Croxford. “They are not only experts in product — they have a really good sense of how to support a community in ways that stretch beyond cycling.”

“Making a difference is simple. Put people on bikes, share where to ride, create group rides, create friendships that encourage each other to ride, and get involved in your local advocacy groups to volunteer to share the love of cycling. Talk to your local elected officials and let them know how you feel,” says Molloy.

“Look for national and local groups to work with on fundraisers and community building,” says Baldwin. “If more people are shouting one thing, the more difference they can make.”

“First, love your customers and actually show them you do! Be great, be nice, care, and they will trust you to sell them what they need to be happy and successful on their bike,” says Molloy. “Help them achieve their cycling goals and share in their accomplishments with them. Again, just be nice and treat people with kindness and respect. For larger industry members — get back to local events that grow the love of cycling and make people smile. We love selling bikes, but it is a really hard business, so the more you smile and have fun, the easier it is.”

“We’re trying to reach 85% of Americans who know how to ride a bike but wouldn’t call themselves cyclists. Put yourself in the consumer’s mindset and think about how we can make [walking into a bike shop] not an intimidating experience,” says Scott-Croxford. “When we directly invest in a community, they invest back in us.”

How Local Bike Shops Help Create Great Places to Ride

It’s time to pedal into May Bike Month, a nationwide celebration of the joys and benefits of bicycling promoted by the League of American Bicyclists. As part of May Bike Month, thousands of businesses across the U.S. will encourage their employees to get out on two wheels. Is your organization ready to ride along?

To help inspire your staff to participate, PeopleForBikes gathered five practical and impactful ways to boost engagement and make biking fun for everyone.

If you’re reading this blog, your company’s Bike Month champion may be you! Many organizations have specific committees focused on employee wellness or office morale. Include these groups early in the planning process so they can help lead and support bike-related activities and events all month long. 

Anticipate common deterrents to bike riding and get creative with ways to mitigate those barriers. A few examples include:

“I live too far away.” Offer a park-and-ride option closer to the office.

“It isn’t safe to ride near the office.” Encourage staff to ride in their own neighborhoods or on safe cycling routes nearby and count that towards participation.

“I don’t have a bike.” Partner with a local bike shop to offer subsidized rentals or work with employees to implement a bike share program. 

People love being part of something bigger than themselves, and Bike Month offers the perfect opportunity to cultivate that sense of community. One fun way to bring people together is by creating custom Bike to Work Week t-shirts for participants. Not only can employees collect them each year, they also become great conversation starters.

Another fantastic way to build a strong sense of camaraderie is by having your executive team host a tailgate commuter breakfast for employees who bike to work. Involving senior leadership in these activities is key because it shows that bike commuting is valued and supported from the top down. This reinforces the idea that bicycling is not just a personal choice, but a celebrated and sustainable mode of transportation within your organization. Read more about why senior leadership buy-in is paramount. 

Use simple games like Bike Month BINGO to keep spirits high and the competition friendly. You can even add challenges like “Best Decorated Bike” or “Best Costume” to spice things up! 

Download PeopleForBikes' Bike Month BINGO Card

Surprise your team with small yet meaningful rewards when they hit special milestones. Whether it’s riding for the first time, attending every weekly event, or biking through rainy days, unexpected rewards will keep the momentum going! Check out this list of free and inexpensive ways to motivate your team. 


May Bike Month is the perfect opportunity to kickstart a lasting bike culture at your workplace. We hope these creative ideas spark inspiration and help keep your team motivated, excited, and ready to ride all month long — and beyond!

Five Ways to Boost Employee Engagement During May Bike Month

PeopleForBikes released our 2024 U.S. Bicycling Participation Study, offering new insights into bicycling trends across the country. This biennial report reveals that 112 million Americans — 35% of those ages 3 and older — rode a bike at least once in 2024. This marks the highest participation rate since the study began in 2014, underscoring an increasing interest in bicycling propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In even better news, youth participation (ages 3 to 17) in bicycling increased from 49% to 56% since the last study, reversing a steady decline in youth ridership since 2018. As the bike industry continues to navigate sales turbulence and economic headwinds, this data provides key information to guide industry investments, advocacy efforts, and infrastructure development. 

“The significant increase in youth participation signals a potential new generation of lifelong riders, but with 53% of riders worried about being hit by a car, we must take action to ensure people today and tomorrow feel safe and comfortable riding a bike,” said Jenn Dice, president and CEO of PeopleForBikes. “This underscores the urgent need for continued investment in safe places to ride and highlights the critical importance of connecting bicycle networks both on and off-road to ensure safer, more accessible riding experiences for all.”


50% of riders said they are familiar with the bike lanes, paths, and trails in their area.

Ridership increased by 9% for youth ages 3 to 9 and 15% for youth ages 10 to 17. 

Traveling to/from social or recreation activities became the number one reason for transportation riding, bumping errands/shopping.

In addition to these insights, the report provides detailed breakdowns of how frequently Americans are riding, regional participation trends, and indoor-versus-outdoor riding, among other findings. It also examines consumer motivations and behaviors behind why they ride, how they feel when they ride, and even examines how likely non-riders are to get on a bicycle in the future.

As with past reports, the 2024 data was generated through survey results from 16,000 adults nationwide. The study used the same methodology as previous participation studies, allowing us to tap into 10 years of historical data to track how bicycling participation and perceptions have evolved over time.

The full report can be accessed for free by PeopleForBikes Coalition members in the PeopleForBikes Member Center. The study is available for purchase by non-members in the PeopleForBikes Resource Marketplace. 

More Americans Rode a Bike Than Ever Before in 2024

Topics

First Time Bikers