In the United States, more than 52 million people age 6 and above participated in wheel sports, defined as bicycling and skateboarding, in 2016. The vast majority, 45.8 million, were bicyclists; 6.4 million were skateboarders. Among bicyclists, 3.8% participated in BMX, 18.8% participated in mountain biking or rode primarily on non-paved surfaces, and the rest, 77.4%, rode their bikes primarily on roads and other paved surfaces.

Today’s market size shows the total amount spent by wheel sports participants on trip-related expenses, gear, accessories, and vehicles in 2016. Trip-related expenses made up more than 85% of the total. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, spending on wheel sports supports more than 847,000 jobs and $28.5 billion in salaries and wages. Wheel sports spending also generates more than $13.2 billion in Federal, state and local taxes annually.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2016
Market size: $96.7 billion
Source: The Outdoor Recreation Economy, Outdoor Industry Association, April 2017, page 18 available online here; Outdoor Participation Report 2017, Outdoor Foundation, August 7, 2017, page 37 available online here.
Image source: StockSnap, “Mountain-travel-trip-adventure-2605151”, Pixabay, August 2017, available online here.