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ProBikeKit Training Survey – The Results

How do Cyclists in the UK Train?

As cyclists, we regularly compare ourselves to other riders. How many hours do they train a week? Why is he stronger than me? How many bikes do they have? What do they wear on the bike? There are also a number of aspects of cycling that we either choose to adopt or reject. Cafe rides, coaches, big base miles or a nutrition plan, for example.

So we thought, let’s do a training survey. That way you can find out how you compare to all the other roadies in the UK and see if there are any trends in specific regions.

Traning Survey Infographic:

Racking Up The Hours

Don’t worry if you only manage 6 or 7 hours a week on the bike, the national average is 5-9 hours. The Welsh are the biggest mile munchers out there; 38% of them cycle more than 20 hours a week! It’s not surprising to see that our training survey shows 100% of riders in Wales enjoy a cafe stop. When you’re racking up as many hours a week as a pro you’re going to need a break every now and then.

Our infographic shows that over half of you commute to work at some point during the week via bike.

a garmin 820 edge on a road bike

How Many Bikes Do You Own?

Owning two bikes may sound like a lot but the national average is actually three. To anyone who isn’t a cyclist, that might seem a bit crazy. After all, you can only ride one at a time, and few people own more than one car. Interestingly, more cyclists in the UK own five bikes than one bike!

lots of road bikes in a garage

Cycling Abroad

The Balearic Islands are the most popular training destination for UK cyclists, specifically, Mallorca. Our training survey showed that 27% of riders that go training abroad choose to go to the Balearic Islands. Hopefully, our infographic will give you a bit of destination inspiration if you’re planning on packing up your bike and heading to the sun this year.

a road in mallorca, the most popular training dstination according to our survey

Group Rides

There’s a big community aspect to cycling, the majority of clubs and team promote inclusivity and regularly train in groups. According to our training survey, Yorkshire is the friendliest region. 87% of riders in Yorkshire train in a group more than 2 times a week. At the other end of the scale, almost half of the cyclists in the North East always train alone.

three cyclists stood wearing PBK clothing

Marginal Gains and Zwift Miles

If you’re a racer then marginal gains may be extremely important to you. A couple of ways to get an edge on the competition include training with a coach and stocking up on sports nutrition products such as whey protein. We’ve noticed that cyclists in the Eastern region prefer the guidance of a coach more than any other riders in the UK. Those in the South East spend the most, £20-£29.99 on gels, bars and powders per month.

Indoor training with a smart trainer has become particularly popular in recent years thanks to virtual training apps. We were surprised to see that only 22% of British cyclists regularly use Zwift.

Browse a great range of training and performance products at ProBikeKit!



Johnny Bowles

Johnny Bowles

Writer and expert