Mountain Biking (Stats)

Mountain biking has evolved from a niche pastime that was completely unknown among the general public to a considerably more commonly recognized outdoor activity since its inception in the 1970s.

But how many people ride mountain bikes, what inspires them to do so, and how risky is the activity in reality? Check out UK participant statistics.

How popular is mountain biking?

Also, less evident fact regarding why riders engage in MTB is that 66.4 percent of riders love the bike maintenance side of the sport, with males being twice as likely as girls to be in this camp (71.5 percent versus 34.6 percent).

Surprisingly, one of the most popular reasons stated by riders polled was the adrenaline rush provided by the activity, with 80.5 percent of riders seeing this as one of their primary motivations for engaging in mountain biking.

But it goes far deeper than merely chasing thrills, as those of us who have been strongly engaged in mountain riding for many years will confirm.

Riders Identities Statistics

Mountain biking is a component of 85.9% of riders’ identities, according to the poll. Studying and mastering new abilities is also a significant element for many riders, with 53.6 percent of mountain bikers claiming to spend time learning and practicing technical skills on a daily basis.

The most prevalent characteristic among all riders, however, came as no surprise to those of us who have been mountain biking for a long time: 98.6% of riders reported that being outside helped them de-stress.

It’s worth noting that some common themes linked to boosting one’s mental condition and self-esteem emerged from these investigations.

Mountain riding, according to 89.4% of respondents, helps them feel good about themselves. The fact that 93.5 percent of participants claimed their anxieties go away while they bike was perhaps the most significant number.

Statistics on mountain riding and mental health

In fact, a statistically significant proportion of riders said they use mountain biking to treat sadness or anxiety, in addition to being a way to forget about their troubles.

A total of 33.8 percent of riders indicated they suffer from a moderate mental ailment like depression, stress, or anxiety, and that mountain biking helps them cope 7.3 percent of mountain bikers claimed they had severe/persistent mental health concerns and relied on riding as a coping mechanism.

Across the board, 82.1 percent of riders say mountain biking helps them deal with bad thoughts or emotions.

Is mountain biking increasing in popularity? (Statistics)

The reality is that the proportion of bike riders is rapidly expanding, but we lack statistics on the number of participants.

That is why we have set out on a quest to compile a global map of mountain biking participation.

The quality of current data on mountain biking participation varies per nation, but the biggest problem seems to be the wide range of definitions of mountain biking, which range from just owning a mountain bike to regularly riding off-road terrain.

 Aside from that, most nations’ official statistics do not track mountain riding as a distinct sport, but rather as a component of cycling, making it impossible to determine the number of mountain riders among them. Pros and cons of mountain biking.

How many mountain bikers do you think there are in the United States? (Statistics)

When we look at the statistics from the United States, we can see that the number of individuals who participate in mountain biking at least once a year has been growing, despite the fact that overall outdoor activity has been dropping in recent years.

It’s worth mentioning that half of the US population over the age of 6 does not engage in any kind of outdoor leisure, according to the most current poll.

This is assumed to be attributable to a combination of an aging population and younger people’s lower involvement rates in most outdoor activities.

Mountain bikers, male or female statistics?

It’s probably unsurprising that women are still under-represented in mountain biking, with males outnumbering females 2 to 1 according to the most recent Outdoor Participation Survey, despite the fact that the sport has gone a long way since its start less than 50 years ago.

This statistic applies to both first-time attendees and those who continue to participate. In fact, according to another recent study, 83.9 percent of mountain bikers polled were men.

Male mountain bikers evaluated their own riding abilities higher than female mountain bikers.

Why is mountain biking so popular?

Off-road riding’s importance statistics

Off-road cycling is “extremely important” (58 percent) or “pretty important” (32 percent) for the great majority of respondents’ physical health, with an even larger percentage (66 percent) indicating it is “very essential” for their mental health and well-being.

Off-road cycling is the major form of exercise for 61% of respondents, whereas 12% of those polled had a handicap or chronic health condition.

This emphasizes the significance of the off-road riding culture and enthusiasm in maintaining and engaging people. On the other hand, 70% of people ride their bikes on the road.

Rambling and low-level hiking (56 percent), hill-walking or climbing (46 percent), and dog-walking (46 percent) were all popular pastimes (31 percent ).

The study also yielded interesting data on how much off-road bikers spend on things like food, lodging, and, of course, their motorcycles. In the following weeks, we’ll take a closer look at them.

Issues that have arisen statistics

The present public rights of way network, according to 74% of respondents, is not appropriate for contemporary bike use. 85 percent indicated it was tough to put together a legal path “frequently” or “occasionally.”

Despite the extensive usage of pathways and the belief that this often leads to conflict, 49% of respondents indicated they had had no dispute in the previous two years.

 Despite this, 36% had encountered verbal disagreement, and 30% had experienced minor trail sabotage (e.g. logs left on trails). 4 percent had encountered more significant sabotage, while 2 percent had suffered violent assault.

Is it better to be at home or away?

Off-road riding is often thought to include loading bikes into the back of a vehicle. However, when asked how they started their rides on the rights of way network, 67 percent stated they cycled from their front door.

Trail centers, on the other hand, are a different story, with 42% reporting that most of their trail-center rides entailed a vehicle journey of more than an hour.

Trail centers were the most popular “away” destinations, especially in Scotland and Wales, while National Parks were also popular in England. The relative popularity of National Parks, long-distance linear routes, bike parks, rural rights of way, and open space varied significantly across the four UK nations and other countries.

The majority of respondents stated their “away excursions” were normally for one day (50 percent), however, 16 percent said they would stay for a night, 20% said they would stay for two nights, and 13% said they would stay for longer.

Given that just two of our fifteen “national trails” are now completely cycle-accessible, this clearly implies that there is untapped potential for this kind of riding to emerge.  Pros and cons of cycling.