How can the bike industry help to encourage cycle commuting?

This piece first appeared in the February edition of BikeBiz magazine – not subscribed? Get a free subscription. 

by Rebecca Bland

Rebecca Bland talks to Bikmo and Paria about ways the industry can encourage people to commute by bike.

Working in the cycling industry and for many of us, enjoying cycling as a hobby (in whatever form that may take), we recognise that cycling on the roads in the UK can be a bit of a mixed bag. So it’s no wonder that cycle commuting is a hot topic year after year – and the same questions are asked, like how can more people be encouraged to ditch the car and cycle? 

For the bike industry, it might feel like we’re up against a tidal wave of misinformation and a lack of policy and infrastructure change from the government. But that’s not to say that we can’t make an impact in encouraging more people to get on a bike on some level. 

Retailers and local bike shops have perhaps more consumer face time than large brands, and can often provide insight into why things are or aren’t working – like why exactly people aren’t picking up their bikes to ride to work. BikeBiz spoke to cycle insurers, Bikmo, and Yorkshire-based cycling clothing company, Paria to ascertain what they think about challenges the industry faces in getting more people to ride to work. 

For David George, CEO of Bikmo, the most important message he wants to get across to the industry is about bike security and the reduction of theft to encourage more people to ride to work:

“If we had a message to the industry as a whole, it would be to try and support the narrative that buying a good lock is important. Ideally, a Secure Sold Gold standard and above, which you can get for less than £50. This can really help to deter thieves. 

“Secondly, we recommend educating customers about securing their bikes properly. Ideally, securing the bike’s frame to what we term an immovable object – something like a specifically built bike stand. It’s a relatively simple thing, but it’s the biggest reason for us when we have to deny claims.”

Interestingly, the commuter market – and more specifically, those riding e-bikes, seem increasingly likely to insure their bikes. George reported that 45% of bikes insured last year were e-bikes. 

The question for many when deciding whether to insure a bike or even use a bike for commuting often comes down to: can I afford to replace this if it gets stolen? 

“A non-electric commuter bike is probably between £700 to £900,” added George.

“And is quite a significant amount of money for most people. So actually, spending £50 on a lock to make it less likely your bike is going to be stolen, is probably worth it. It doesn’t guarantee that it’s not going be taken, but if it’s still stolen, then use insurance as the backup.”

Retailers that offer products relating to commuting can educate customers on the importance of good locks as well as how to lock their bikes. But they can also suggest something like trackers.

“Bike registration is a really important part, especially with tracked bikes. It hasn’t quite permeated to the UK yet, because it’s still quite early days. But in Europe, for example, about 80% of stolen tracked bikes get returned to their owner, which is a massive difference from a single digit of bikes recovered here. 

“And that number is so low partially because you don’t know where the bikes are. So we are researching doing something in 2025 around tracked bikes to help support people who use one, to give them a significant discount on insurance because we recover more of them,” explains George.

But what about clothing companies? Is the ‘commuter’ market such a niche area that it would be unprofitable to label something as such? Sam Morgan, Director of Yorkshire-based Paria has taken a more blended approach to clothing design with his brand.

“We started as a pure technical cycling brand, and it has been consumer-led in terms of the demand, whereby people have asked for more stuff, and can you do this, and can you do that? 

“So, I started looking from an athleisure perspective, how we bring commuting and technical clothing together. We looked at things like what has an ergonomic use, but it can be a bit more stylised rather than kind of utility.”

Things that fall under this sort of category might be a technical fleece, hoodies, technical jackets and the like. And Morgan makes a good point, in that the kit you ride on your long weekend escapade doesn’t have to be different to what you wear to ride to work. We’re not suggesting full Lycra, but there can be more to cycling attire than traditionally thought.

“We’ve tried to look at it from a cycling ‘Vans’ kind of approach, whereby it has the technical credentials, and the roots in cycling, but you don’t necessarily have to be a mad keen rider to wear it. You can have more affinity with the culture, and it brings a culture beyond the kind of, high vis, trouser clips, typical commuter wear,” said Morgan.

That’s not to say that Paria doesn’t mention commuting in its product descriptions, nor that the brand’s pieces haven’t been designed with the commuter in mind. But Morgan seems keen on creating more of an open mind about cycling wear in general. And that may be useful in attracting more people to choose bikes as their mode of transport to commute.