Route GuidesRoutes City GuidesCities Map Log in

One in three haven’t ridden a bike for ten years

24 Apr 2014 safety
Find a better bike route. Try our map & route-planner »

Become a supporter

Cycling might be booming in the UK – but we’ve a long way to go before we can aspire to European levels.

That’s the message from a new survey commissioned by bike company Jyrobike, who build ‘auto-balance bicycles’ for anxious cyclists. They found that 35% of adults haven’t cycled in the last decade, and that 28% haven’t ridden a bike at all since childhood.

Safety and fear of traffic were the reasons most frequently cited for not cycling. The survey revealed a sharp gender divide: 34% of women hadn’t ridden a bike since they were kids, vs 21% of men.

Robert Bodill from Jyrobike said:

“We wanted to get an understanding of Brits’ cycling habits away from the glitz and glamour of road races and the track and talk to ordinary people of all ages, regions and abilities. Most people don’t think of themselves as a cyclist, but the truth is, if you have ridden a bike in the last five years you are. We were really surprised with the findings.
“Riding a bicycle is one of the most exhilarating things we do as kids and it’s a real shame that one in four of us haven’t got back on a bike since we were children. A lack of balance is one of the main obstacles to more Brits cycling, and that’s something we’re working to address at Jyrobike with the launch of our new Auto Balance Bicycle that uses patented gyroscopic technology to teach kids how to ride in a single afternoon and helps adults ride for longer.”

The Jyrobike works via a a battery-powered, rechargeable, motor-driven ‘Control Hub’ that drives a spinning flywheel. When turned on it acts like a gyroscope or gyro and provides a stabilising force, working just as gyros do to keep helicopters stable in the air, boats stable at sea and spaceships stable in orbit. The result is an Auto Balance Bicycle that keeps riders upright and stable, even when a rider starts to tip or wobble. Jyrobike will launch globally via a Kickstarter campaign in June 2014.

See the full infographic on the survey findings.

Previous story: New path has seven ‘dismount’ signs in 150m
Next story: It’s official: bike lanes don’t cause congestion

Comments

Mon 28 Apr 2014, 18:50

Checks out, I bough my first adult bike when I was 26, and I haven't cycled since I was about... 15!