The 2025 South African Mountain Bike Survey, presented by Garmin attracted a total of 2 504 respondents. Of the that number, a total of 2 137 answered every one of the 70 questions (not every question relates to everyone). Here’s the first of four reveals about what South African mountain bikers prefer when it comes to racing, training, sports supplements, motor car brand, bike rack brand, media consumption and more…
We split the survey results reveal into four parts – Rider Stats, Bike Stats, Performance Stats and Gear Stats. Where relevant, we include a comparison to the same question from the previous six years. We ran the survey for a period of six weeks, promoting it on our website, in our weekly mailer and via our social media channels. Garmin, our presenting partner, also shared the survey via its channels.
Where do you live?
This is our most interesting response to date on this statistic. Thanks to Cycling South Africa sharing our survey link, we received more responses from the smaller provinces than ever before, giving what appears to be a fairer reflection on the market spread nationally. Gauteng remains by far the most populated province when it comes to mountain bikers, with Western Cape dropping somewhat over the previous year, mostly likely due to the better spread of survey takers.
How long have you been mountain biking for?
Based on these stats, it seems many mountain bikers stick with mountain biking after discovering it. This is both good to know and not really surprising.
What level of mountain biker would you say you are?
Okes are getting a bit more serious again it seems…
Which is most applicable to you in terms of your occupation?
An encouraging increase in school learners – they generally don’t have the patience to take a 10-minute survey. Interesting to see the big drop in those with a full-time job over the previous year. Retirement, pension and own business all increased a little.
What is your age category?
Generally, based on this survey, mountain biking in South Africa seems to be trending even more towards middle-aged and elderly age categories. It is heartening to see increases among teens, but there’s a drop in the 20-49 year segment.
What is your sex?
A bit of an increase after the drop the previous year. The average female percentage over the past six years, however, is 20.71% which is likely the most balanced way to examine this split.
How often would you say you participate in a MTB race – on average – in a year?
The only thing we can really confirm from this is that more riders were entering races in 2025 than the previous year.
What type of mountain bike races/events do you participate in mostly (you can choose more than one)?
Half-marathons, marathons and short stage races are still the most popular types of mountain bike events in South Africa. Gravel races continue to show a gradual increase over the previous two years.
Are you a member of an established/official cycling club?
The first time since 2022 that more than half of the respondents belonged to a cycling club.
Do you normally take an annual Cycling South Africa (CSA) membership?
A small increase over the previous year in CSA membership and the highest since pre-Covid levels. For those that are highly committed to racing, it makes sense to buy an annual licence at R300 (R200 for 16-and-unders). A full racing licence – for those intent on racing at provincial, national and international level – costs R600 per year.
Do you have a Strava account?
Strava’s subscription version continues to grow gradually in popularity in South Africa. A Strava subscription still costs R600 per year (upfront payment), or R89.99 per month. There’s now also a Family Plan option (up to four family members) that costs R1499.99 per year. The subscription version is very useful with loads of features.
Do you use sports supplements for riding/racing energy/recovery?
After five years of steady increases, a bit of a drop here in the YES column.
If you use sports supplements, which brand do you prefer?
Biogen, 32Gi and USN remain respectively the most popular sports supplement brands among South African mountain bikers. There are some new brands mentioned this year and we included all brands on this list that had 10 or more mentions.
What motor vehicle brand do you drive? If more than one, choose the primary brand and add the other into the Other comment box.
Chinese motor brands may be causing a shift in South Africa, but mountain bikers still favour mostly Japanese and German car brands. Based on this survey, almost a fifth of South African mountain bikers own a Toyota!
How do you normally transport your bike by motor vehicle?
Based on the stats from the previous year, it looks like the ‘back seat or boot’ crowd have upgraded to ‘rear-mount towbar rack’.
If you use a bike rack, what brand do you own?
Thule remains by far the most dominant brand. Buzzrack, meanwhile, has gradually shown an increase each year moving into double digits in 2025. We added a few more brands that got at least two mentions and will keep an eye on them going forward too.
Do you have at least one social media account?
If you have a social media account/s, which platforms do you spend most of your time on? You may choose more than one.
Do you listen to/watch cycling/MTB podcasts?
After the success of our launch season in 2025, we are delivering more ‘Getting to Grips’ podcast episodes in 2026 and are pleased to see the changes here.
Do you follow professional mountain bike racing (World Cups/World Series)?
A slight increase over the previous year when we introduced this question.
If you follow professional mountain bike racing/competition (World Cups/World Series), which do you follow – (you can select more than one)?
With 2025 being the first season without Greg Minnaar racing, it’s not surprising to see the dip in the Downhill statistic. In ‘Other’ Cape Epic livestream was mentioned a few times, so we’ll add that into our 2026 answer options.
Look out for Parts 2, 3 and 4 reveals of our 2024 SA Mountain Biking Survey, presented by Garmin over the next few weeks.
Introduction photo: Old Mutual Go2Berg 2025
