From the purchase of a replacement bike seat to the purchase of a brand new bicycle, the biking industry in the United States has seen considerable success in recent years, generating more than six billion dollars in direct sales in 2015 alone. Used bicycles and their accessories, from a used bike seat to used helmets, have generated considerable profits as well, as much as 1.2 billion dollars sold in the same year.
Biking is an incredibly popular hobby, sport, and family activity all across the United States and even far beyond it, with more than thirty five million Americans over the age of six regularly riding a bike and purchasing bike accessories like a comfortable bike seat and the like. The industry’s success is, no doubt, due to the love of biking in the United States. In fact, there are around one billion bikes in the United States at any given point in time, meaning that there are more bikes on the road than there are cars and other types of motor vehicles. This popularity is in part due to the more than 45% increase in people using their bikes to commute to work, ditching previously more popular methods of making the commute, such as driving the car or taking public transportation. As the United States grows more and more environmentally conscious as well as health conscious, biking to work and to other destinations will continue to grow more popular. In fact, the regular activity and exercise that can often be attributed to biking for many people can actually reduce the risk of heart disease by as much as fifty percent simply by biking at least twenty miles in one week on a regular basis. Some people use biking to participate in more extreme activities, as can be shown in mountain bike sales, which make up around a quarter of all bike and bike seat sales in the United States alone.
When buying a bike, there are a number of things to consider, from buying a comfortable bike seat to purchasing a safe helmet. A carbon fiber bike seat is another popular choice among regular bikers, as is a leather bike seat. Much of it is left up to personal taste, but some materials are better for different activities that are often pursued on bikes. For instance, marathon bikers will probably not opt for leather bike seats and will choose a carbon fiber bike seat, while bikers who enjoy biking as a leisure activity only may splurge for a leather bike seat.
All across the United States, biking has remained an incredibly popular activity among people of all ages. Some people bike for leisure while others bike for sport, but biking has a place for everyone, even the most casual of biking enthusiasts. Many people use biking as a way to spend quality time with family and friends and learning to ride a bike may instill a lifelong healthy hobby in many children. Biking can even significantly reduce the risk of developing serious heart disease, making it an enjoyable and healthy lifestyle choice.