Annual kilometres, holiday plans, purchase intentions, opinions on trends in the road bike scene: the TOUR reader survey, which Delius Klasing Verlag has been conducting with its magazines for more than 25 years, is a veritable treasure trove of information. This year, more than 11,300 cyclists once again took part in the extensive online survey and provided detailed information about their hobby.
Road cycling is a sport for life
The first finding: road cycling is a sport for life; once you discover the dynamics of the narrow tyres, you will remain fascinated by them for decades. 77 per cent of those surveyed stated that they had been riding a road bike for more than ten years, while 35 per cent had been practising the sport for more than 30 years. It is no wonder that this target group is made up of sporty people: 53 per cent are taller than 1.80 metres; 49 per cent weigh between 65 and 80 kilograms, 36 per cent between 80 and 95 kilograms.
TOUR readers are also frequent cyclists - 58 per cent cycle more than 4,000 kilometres a year, and an impressive 22 per cent even cycle more than 8,000 kilometres - but not only that: occasional cyclists, who get on their bikes once or twice a week on average and cycle up to 4,000 kilometres a year, are also a large part of the community (43 per cent).
Educated and affluent
Road cyclists are also an above-average educated target group and, according to the TOUR reader survey, also have a higher purchasing power than the national average. For example, 53 per cent of the survey participants have a general higher education entrance qualification (average for the German population: 30 per cent) and a further 21 per cent have a technical college entrance qualification or subject-specific higher education entrance qualification (national average: 9 per cent). 52 per cent have a net household income of between 3,000 and 6,000 euros, 28 per cent even have an income of over 6,000 euros (national average: 12 per cent).
Touring athletes, explorers, competitors
Around a third of those surveyed are members of a cycling club; 69 per cent describe themselves as touring cyclists according to the TOUR reader survey. For them, road cycling is the ideal sport to stay fit and relax; they occasionally take part in RTFs or marathons, but the focus is on getting there and enjoying the experience. The second largest group of cyclists are the explorers, for whom the experience of nature and relaxation take centre stage. Many of them are also increasingly travelling on cross bikes or gravel bikes to discover new routes away from traffic and get closer to nature. The third large group within the road bike community are the competitors, for whom cycling is first and foremost a racing sport in which they compete against like-minded people in events.
Little interest in e-road bikes
Among this generally very fit and sporty clientele, interest in e-road bikes is very limited. 63 per cent are not interested at all and 92 per cent have no intention of buying a road bike with an electric motor in the near future. However, TOUR readers still want to be up to date on the subject: 36 per cent of those surveyed want to be informed about e-road bikes in the magazine from time to time.
It is not surprising that long-time athletes develop a close relationship with their sports equipment and are very familiar with the subject matter. 59 per cent of those surveyed stated that they carry out all or almost all maintenance and care work on their bike themselves, while 39 per cent entrust this to their trusted specialist dealer. 96 per cent state that they can change a tube or tyre and service the chain, 83 per cent can change the brake pads and 72 per cent can adjust the gears.
Carbon is the frame material of choice
The road bike currently owned by the survey participants is on average 5 years old and would be bought new in 90 per cent of cases. In terms of componentry, Shimano leads the ranking by a wide margin (73 per cent), followed by SRAM (16 per cent) and Campagnolo (10 per cent). 70 percent of the bikes roll on tyres wider than 25 millimetres, 62 percent are equipped with disc brakes. 80 percent of the bikes are based on a carbon frame, 17 percent are still on aluminium frames. Titanium and steel frame materials are the preserve of a minority (two per cent each).
The fact that a good racing bike is not a cheap pleasure can also be seen from the figures in the TOUR reader survey. 63 per cent of the survey participants have spent more than 3000 euros on their current bike, 32 per cent even more than 5000 euros.
Digital route planners are now widely used in the road cycling community. 88 per cent of respondents use this form of route planning, with Komoot (50 per cent) topping the list of apps used, ahead of Garmin (31 per cent) and Strava (22 per cent).
Incidentally, the participants in the TOUR reader survey are very open to innovations and trends. The top 4 most popular trend topics are current:
- Gravel
- Bike fitting/ergonomics
- Tubeless tyres
- Indoor training
The travel preferences of TOUR readers
The top three countries for cycling holidays
- Italy (24 per cent)
- Spain (23 per cent)
- Germany (18 per cent)
The most popular road bike regions in Italy
- South Tyrol
- Lake Garda
- Dolomites
The most popular road bike regions in Spain
- Balearic Islands
- Canary Islands
- Andalusia
The most popular road bike regions in Germany
- Allgäu
- Black Forest
- Baltic Sea
