Shimano is not only considered a world-leading producer of bicycle parts and components. The company is also involved with cycling on a social and scientific level. One result of this commitment is a survey that expresses the attitudes of people in Europe to the subject of ebikes. Shimano calls this study “State of the Nation”. The fourth edition has just been published.
1. What motivates people to ride an ebike?
2. In what shape is the cycling infrastructure?
3. What are the target groups for ebikes?
4. Is there a workshop visit coming up?
5. Why do cyclists turn to the workshop?
6. Background to the study
The current survey impressively reflects how up-to-date this assessment is. The year before, the report was still heavily influenced by the Corona pandemic. This time, for example, the record-breaking dry summer and the enormous increase in energy and living costs across Europe are reflected.
1. What motivates people to ride an ebike?
This is most clearly shown by how the more than 15,500 respondents answered the question of why people bought or rented an ebike in the past twelve months. The most important reason cited was the current high cost of living. Riding an ebike can save money, for example on petrol, car repairs or public transport tickets. In nine of the twelve European countries that participated in the survey, this argument met with the most approval.
The second strongest motivation for riding an ebike is purchase incentives. If the price is partly subsidised, this apparently plays a major role for the respondents. In third place among the reasons was the statement that people can thus reduce the negative impact of their everyday life on the environment. According to the study, environmental concerns play a role especially in countries that had to deal with great heat and drought this summer. In Italy, 51 percent, and Spain, 46 percent, people are increasingly turning to ebikes because of the climate. In the overall result, however, the figure was only 33 percent.
Insights into the statements of individual age groups and nations on the motivation to ride an ebike
When asked about the reasons for riding an ebike, the results for Germany deviate more clearly from the European canon. For example, the increased cost of living is also attributed the most importance. However, at 31 percent, the level of agreement is clearly lower than the 47 percent for the entire survey. On the environmental aspect, the opinion converges again with 27 percent compared to 33 percent. In third place, Germans advocate the knowledge that riding an ebike improves their personal health and fitness. Only in fourth place comes the argument of subsidies when buying.
Commuting to work by ebike to protect oneself from a Corona infection currently only plays a subordinate role with 17 percent for Germany and 18 percent on a European scale.
2. In what shape is the cycling infrastructure?
Improved cycling infrastructure also appears as an answer option for the motivation to ride an ebike. However, the respondents attribute at best a mediocre persuasive power to this. And this is no coincidence, at least with regard to Germany. According to the report, only one third of the people here, 32 percent to be precise, have the impression that the regional infrastructure for cyclists has improved in the past twelve months. Almost half of the people, 49 percent, do not agree with the statement.
In the overall study, the results are somewhat more positive, with 39 percent agreeing and 45 percent disagreeing. Especially in some of the continent’s metropolises, there has been some movement in this direction since the beginning of the Corona pandemic. Apparently, this has not yet been reflected in people’s perceptions. Or simply too little has happened yet.
What is part of a good cycling infrastructure and how the respective criterion is evaluated sometimes varies quite a lot from country to country.
3. What are the target groups for ebikes?
One of the most exciting questions in the “State of the Nation” report is certainly the question of who ebikes are generally suitable for. In the answers, the tendencies between Germany and the overall study again diverge noticeably. In Europe, the ranking is as follows:
1. Environmentally conscious people – 52 percent
2. Commuters – 48 percent
3. Elderly people – 38 percent
4. Budget-conscious people – 30 per cent
5. Parents – 22 percent
The views on the target groups for ebikes also sometimes differ significantly in an international comparison.
In Germany, both the order in the first three places and the weighting is different:
1. Elderly people – 48 per cent
2. Environmentally conscious people – 43 percent
3. Commuters – 39 percent
4. Budget-conscious people – 22 percent
5. Parents – 20 percent
However, this assessment is largely shared by people who do not own a bicycle at all. In the overall study, this share was 41 percent, among the Germans surveyed 42 percent. In addition, the report does not reveal how many of those who own a bicycle have an ebike.
Therefore, it is quite revealing to look specifically at the result for the Netherlands on this point. There, the proportion of those who do not own a bicycle is the lowest at 13 percent. Nevertheless, at least the order is almost completely the same as for Germany.
1. Elderly people – 65 percent
2. Environmentally conscious people – 42 percent
3. Commuters – 37 percent
4. Parents – 24 percent
5. Budget-conscious people – 22 percent
The United Kingdom has by far the lowest number of bicycle owners. There, 63 percent of people say they do not own a bicycle. And remarkably, the classification of who would be suitable for an ebike is completely different from the previous three examples:
1. Environmentally conscious people – 53 percent
1. Commuters – 53 percent
2. Budget-conscious people – 32 percent
3. Elderly people – 24 percent
4. Parents – 16 per cent
4. Is there a workshop visit coming up?
In the final two of the five questions, Shimano focuses on people who own a bicycle, with or without electric assistance. It is about the care and maintenance of the same. In the case of ebikes, this is a very important factor, as the forces of the motor put additional strain on various parts and components and increase wear.
With this in mind, Shimano wanted to know who will visit a bike shop for maintenance in the next six months. About a quarter of the respondents intend to do so, both in Germany with 24 percent and in the overall study with 25 percent. On the other hand, a slightly larger proportion of respondents think this is unlikely, 28 percent in Germany and 30 percent in Europe.
5. Why do cyclists turn to the workshop?
By visiting the workshop, half of the respondents want to ensure that their bicycle can be used for as long as possible. Around 40 percent consider it a contribution to riding safely. Almost as many people want to have the experts check whether everything on the bicycle is still working correctly after a defect or similar occurred previously. For almost a third, a visit to the workshop within the next six months is part of their regular bike routine.
Results of the overall study on the reasons for a workshop visit
About one tenth of the respondents only go to a workshop when the bicycle is actually broken. Shimano calls this “worrying” in its report. It is quite possible, however, that this group also includes a number of people who are perfectly capable of carrying out the normal amount of maintenance work on their bicycle themselves.
6. Background to the study
This is the fourth time that Shimano has published its “State of the Nation” report. The data collection was again in the hands of the British market and opinion research institute YouGov Plc. The institute surveyed a total of 15,500 adults online. The participants came from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Pictures: Shimano
