As cycling continues to grow in popularity across the UK, so too does the demand for quality components that enhance performance and reliability. From commuters to racing enthusiasts, more riders are investing in the bicycle parts they need to keep their bikes in top condition.
To find out what 389,622 serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly in the UK’s opinions were, we utilised AI-driven audience profiling to synthesise insights from online discussions for a full year, ending 29th September 2025, to a high statistical confidence level. This is what we learned about cyclists’ purchasing decisions, which brands and platforms they trust, and how factors such as price, convenience, and maintenance influence their buying habits.
Index
- 48% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly do casual research on cycling forums before buying
- 73% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly are neutral about wheels and tyres being the bicycle part they buy the most
- 37% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly are neutral about customer service mattering the most when selecting a supplier
- 23% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly occasionally purchase Canyon branded goods
- 37% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly strongly prefer buying SRAM products the most often
- Seasonal maintenance needs trigger 56% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly to buy new parts
- 54% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly say high shipping costs are the biggest frustration
- 63% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly are neutral about whether they prefer delivery by express courier service
- 100% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly avoid using their mobile phones when shopping
- 100% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly remain neutral about whether they hear about new products via cycling communities
- 87% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly say that commuting convenience most motivates them to cycle
- Price promotions are the most influential driver behind trying a new brand for 59% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly
- 14% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly are definitely based in Bristol
- Price and Practical Needs Steering the Bicycle Parts Market
- Methodology
How Do You Usually Research Bicycle Parts Before Buying?
48% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly do casual research on cycling forums before buying
Two platforms dominate for researching bicycle parts:
Despite 79% of the UK population using social media, our audience prefers to use cycling forums to research bicycle parts before buying them. 48% use these forums for casual research, while 16% use them for dedicated research. This preference is likely because these forums focus on a specific niche and are usually less free from marketing and advertising algorithms than platforms like Facebook.
Those who use social media for dedicated research before buying bicycle parts number 16%, but 20% are sceptical about using this platform for research. Again, this is likely due to the targeted advertising that can create buyer bias.
What Type Of Bicycle Parts Do You Buy Most Often?
73% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly are neutral about wheels and tyres being the bicycle part they buy the most
Sentiments regarding the type of bicycle parts purchased most often are neutral:
Although 73% of our audience is neutral about which bicycle parts they buy most often, the market for these items in the UK is huge. In 2024, the market value of motorcycle and bicycle tyres was $208 million, and this is expected to grow to $264 million by 2035.
Maintenance tools also received neutral opinions, with 27% of serious cyclists who regularly purchase bicycle parts online mentioning them as their most frequent purchases.
What Matters Most When Selecting A Bicycle Parts Supplier?
37% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly are neutral about customer service mattering the most when selecting a supplier
Neutral opinions about what’s most important when choosing a supplier are felt across the board:
According to Statista, about a third of UK customers prefer excellent service, even if it means paying more. However, our audience feels more neutral about whether this matters most when choosing a supplier, with 37% stating that they have neutral opinions about the impact of customer service on their decision.
Another 36% are neutral about whether fast delivery matters most, and the remaining 27% share the same sentiments about brand reputation. This suggests that while these three factors are important, they don’t have a major influence over which supplier they select.
Which Bicycle Brand Do You Buy Parts For Most Often?
23% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly occasionally purchase Canyon branded goods
Some brands are purchased more than others:
Canyon tops the list as the bicycle brand our audience buys parts for most often, with 23% doing so occasionally and 16% rarely, compared to the 5% who don’t purchase for this brand at all. While Canyon is a major bicycle brand, it suffered a net loss of £32m in 2024, although it largely blamed issues on certain electric mountain bicycle models that led to the suspension of sales.
Cannondale came in second as the brand that serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly buy parts for. 16% occasionally purchased Cannondale-branded parts, while 12% rarely purchased parts.
Trek followed, with 15% occasionally buying parts and 4% doing so rarely. Specialized was next, with 5% rarely and 2% occasionally. The least-purchased brand was Giant, with only 2% of our audience saying they purchased parts rarely for their bicycles.
Overall, it’s clear which brands cyclists buy parts for the most often, but this also highlights that purchasing habits are varied.
Which Bicycle Part Brands Do You Buy Most Often?
37% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly strongly prefer buying SRAM products the most often
Preferences for bicycle part brands differ:
While it’s clear that Canyon is the bicycle brand our audience buys parts for most often, it doesn’t feature in the bicycle parts brand they buy the most from. Instead, SRAM dominated, with 37% of serious cyclists in the UK having a strong preference for it, 8% being neutral about it, and 1% who avoid it. Next up was Shimano, where sentiments were less positive. 33% were neutral about preferring to buy this brand the most often, and 6% avoided it.
Specialized, the only one of the top four biggest bicycle brands in 2023 to receive a mention, had an 8% preference amongst our audience, with 2% neutral. In contrast, Campagnolo had a 6% split evenly between strong preference, neutral, and avoidance. This indicates that in the UK, the preferred part brands and bicycle brands among cyclists differ, and that there’s ample room for cross-branded selling.
What Usually Triggers Your Decision To Buy New Bicycle Parts?
Seasonal maintenance needs trigger 56% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly to buy new parts
Seasons in the UK play a major role in buying new bicycle parts:
With its wet climate, it’s understandable that 56% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly in the UK do so for seasonal maintenance. These purchases are driven by the need for maintenance rather than it simply being preventative, although 22% do say that they doubt this is why they decide to replace parts.
Interestingly, despite wear and tear being a major contributor to replacing bicycle parts, only 22% of our audience says that they are prompted by this to maintain their bicycles, putting the focus firmly on seasonal upkeep as the reason behind why serious cyclists buy bicycle parts.
What Is Your Biggest Frustration When Buying Bicycle Parts Online?
54% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly say high shipping costs are the biggest frustration
Shipping costs are only marginally more frustrating than slow delivery:
With Brexit, rising tariffs, and the ongoing crisis in the Red Sea being just some of the factors that are continually pushing shipping costs up, it’s easy to see why this is the biggest frustration for 54% of UK cyclists who regularly purchase bicycle parts online.
However, the remaining 46% of our audience say that slow delivery is their biggest frustration, but they feel more neutral about it than those who cite high shipping costs.
Either way, the biggest frustrations clearly stem from after-sales processes, rather than the products themselves.
What Delivery Option Do You Prefer When Buying Bicycle Parts Online?
63% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly are neutral about whether they prefer delivery by express courier service
Opinions are divided about which delivery option is the best:
While all 389,622 of our audience have neutral opinions about the type of delivery option they prefer when purchasing bicycle parts online, there are some options that are talked about more than others.
63% mention express courier services, proving that these are, at least, the most talked about. In contrast, only 19% mention standard shipping, 11% free delivery options, and 7% local collections. The mention of free delivery being so low on the list and express courier service being so high indicates that our audience would rather pay to receive their parts in good time than wait an extended period of time for them.
Which Device Do You Mainly Use For Purchases?
100% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly avoid using their mobile phones when shopping
Mobile phones are clearly not the e-commerce platform of choice:
100% of our audience says they avoid using their mobile phones when purchasing bicycle parts online in the UK. This goes against trends, with mobile accounting for 80% of online visits and 70% of orders in the country. However, this doesn’t mean that serious cyclists who shop online don't use their mobile phones; it may just reveal that they prefer to complete their purchases on a desktop computer.
How Do You Usually Hear About New Bicycle Products?
100% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly remain neutral about whether they hear about new products via cycling communities
Cycling communities are not necessarily a source of information:
Although we saw earlier how 48% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly do casual research on cycling forums beforehand, it seems cycling communities are not considered the same source of information when it comes to hearing about new bicycle products.
Our entire audience felt neutral about whether these communities were where they heard about new products, which suggests that, perhaps, in this case, marketing or social media plays a pivotal role.
What Motivates You Most To Cycle?
87% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly say that commuting convenience most motivates them to cycle
Motivation to cycle has one main focus:
According to the UK government’s most recent statistics, 32% of cycling trips in the UK are for commuting or business. This aligns with our audience, as 87% say that their main motivation to cycle is for commuting convenience, while only 12% say they find that cycling is convenient even when not commuting.
Just 1% said that competition and training were their main motivation, while no one mentioned environmental choice, leisure and relaxation, or fitness and health.
Evidently, commuting convenience is the primary and almost sole reason most of our audience is getting on the saddle - the other motivating factors are simply a bonus.
Which Factor Most Affects Your Decision To Try A New Bicycle Parts Brand?
Price promotions are the most influential driver behind trying a new brand for 59% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly
Three factors predominantly influence decisions:
KPMG Consumer Pulse survey shows that 36% of UK consumers are buying more promotional items. For our audience, even more than that (59%) are influenced by price promotions when trying a new bicycle brand, citing this as the major factor that affects their decision.
Comparatively, 25% say that recommendations are influential, and 16% that product innovation influences their decision-making. This puts pricing firmly on top as a motivator, revealing where consumers’ main focus is.
Which City Are You Based In?
14% of serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly are definitely based in Bristol
Our audience is largely located in two UK cities:
With 14% of our audience definitely based in Bristol, 36% possibly based there, and 32% not based there, this city gets the most mentions by far. It’s also been named as one of the best cities in the UK for cyclists and for children who want to cycle, walk, or get around on their own.
Although London has far more cyclists, only 3% of those who regularly buy bicycle parts online are based here, 12% possibly based, and 3% not based in the city. Manchester and Leeds get no mentions, leaving Bristol far ahead of the pack.
Price and Practical Needs Steering the Bicycle Parts Market
Overall, the findings show that serious UK cyclists who regularly buy bicycle parts online are driven more by practicality than loyalty. Seasonal maintenance, price promotions, and convenience shape most of their purchasing decisions, while brand preference and customer service play smaller roles. Forums remain the go-to for research, but marketing still drives awareness of new products.
Despite the rise of mobile shopping, cyclists prefer desktops for purchases, with high shipping costs and delivery delays being their biggest frustrations. Ultimately, functionality, value, and efficiency define how this audience shops for bicycle parts online.
Methodology
Sourced from an independent sample of 389,622 United Kingdom serious cyclists who purchase bicycle parts online regularly opinions across X, Reddit, TikTok, LinkedIn, Threads, and BlueSky. Responses are collected within a 90% confidence interval and 5% margin of error. Results are derived from opinions expressed online, not actual questions answered by people in the sample.
About the representative sample:
- 43% of serious cyclists in the UK who purchase bicycle parts online regularly are between the ages of 45 and 64.
- 51% identify as female and 49% as male.