Gravel and e-bike rides on the up as Gen Z do things differently, according to Strava trends

Gravel riding and e-bike usage have both risen significantly over the past year, according to 2023 data from Strava, although there are question marks over the new generation's commitments to cycling.

As part of its Year in Sport round-ups, which included the 2023 Strava Awards, the fitness platform has released its ‘Trend Report’, based on data from user activities and a survey of almost 7,000 people.

One of the trends was a growing preference for off-road pursuits across various sports, and gravel riding was driving that, with a 55% increase in the share of athletes logging a gravel ride, compared to the previous year.

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Another growth area of the cycling industry was reflected in the data, as the share of users who logged an activity as an e-bike ride rose 23%.

The report also found that the top bike brand in use, by those who add their bike as a category on their activities, was Trek, followed by Specialized and Giant – little surprise given they are global titans of the industry. The most used cycling accessory was the Garmin Edge 530 head unit.

Strava proclaimed that the “cycling boom keeps rolling along”, as the share of riders who rode a metric century (100km) rose by 5%. However, the full picture wasn’t quite so positive for cycling.

In terms of overall popularity, it's still behind running, with rides (including e-bike rides) coming in second place in terms of activities uploaded in 2023. Walking and then trail running came next, with gravel and mountain bike rides together in fifth and virtual rides in seventh.

Gen Z cycling less

Then again, the future may not look so bright, as the data indicates a decline in cycling through the generations. The report split users into four generations – Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z – and looked at the split between cycling and running.

Whereas 63% of Boomers uploaded rides in 2023 compared to 29% of them uploading runs, this shifts through Gen X and Millennials to the point where Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) are nearly twice as likely to upload runs (69%) over rides (36%).

This is the first time Strava has delved into generational data like this, so it's not clear yet whether this is simply cyclical, and more people turn to riding as they get older, or whether Gen Z will continue this way as new generations emerge.

Gen Z also have different riding habits, with the data suggesting they go faster, but not as far, which perhaps ties into the prevailing narrative of shortening attention spans.

The median speed of rides by Gen Z users was 20.9km/h, with Boomers slowest at 20.2km/h, and while the median distance of 22.6km was still a shade ahead of Millennials, it was still some way short of the Boomers on 33.2km. Those trends were mirrored in running.

As Strava pointed out that “loneliness has been declared a public health epidemic by the U.S. Surgeon General”, Gen Z were credited with being among the most sociable on Strava – both within the app and out in the real world, too.

They were described as “the leading contributor to the 11% increase in new Strava clubs in 2023” but also were “29% more likely than Millennials to work out with another person at least some of the time”.