What are you loving/wondering/needing/buying? Readers’ Survey Results 2017
Our Readers’ Survey has one aim: to find out what you – our readers – are interested in. What are you riding these days and which equipment are you using? What are you lusting after? 73 nations were represented, with 3,815 respondents answering around 70 questions. We couldn’t have predicted all of the outcomes. Here are seven results that grabbed our attention.
Your feedback verged on overwhelming
The Readers’ Survey ran for 49 days over June and July 2017. Riders from 73 nations answered around 70 questions, each taking 16 -17 minutes on average. The total time spent equated to 46 entire days and the results filled almost 1,000,000 Excel boxes. Praise and valuable feedback included. Thank you for your efforts!
Gran Fondo’s Joe Bloggs goes by the name Mark
So, who’s the average reader? According to the Readers’ Survey it’s a male rider called Mark. He’s just celebrated his 41st birthday and is well educated (79% are graduates, 6% hold a doctorate degree). With a net household income of € 84,236, he’s got a lot of purchasing power. You’ll find him riding a Canyon (14%), Specialized (9%), Cannondale (7%) or Trek (5%); bikes that are likely to have set him back € 3,498 on average. On his next bike he predicts a spend of € 4,208, which is 21% more than he’d wanted to spend on a bike in 2016. There’s a high likelihood (82%) that Mark lives in a town or city. Other than cycling, he enjoys travel, good coffee, wine, watches, and exclusive cars.
Custom bikes are in unprecedented demand
Off-the-shelf just won’t do: Only 47 % of our readers plan on buying a standard production bike! 43 % prefer a custom spec on a series frame, wanting to individually tune the bike to suit their personal preferences and needs. 10% will go even further and adopt custom geometry. This desire for individuality is reflected in the diversity of brands ridden by our riders. While the top 10 listed below corresponds to the big players in the industry, there’s a significant 30% chunk that’s divided among an array of smaller brands. Race bikes (39%) and endurance bikes (34%) are the most common types. Shifting is still dominated by Shimano, with 59% planning on a Shimano groupset for their next bike. Almost half of those want electronic shifting. 31% of buyers will go for a SRAM drivetrain, with almost half of those specifying the electronic eTap. 10 % keep to Italian tradition and opt for Campagnolo groupsets, but only 2% of them want the electronic EPS version.
Disc brakes look set to conquer the market
Almost 30 % of GRAN FONDO readers have disc brakes on their current bike – a significant increase since last year’s 19% recording. The upward tangent is even more evident in their purchasing outlook: no fewer than 76% of readers who are planning on buying a new bike in the next 12 months intend to opt for disc brakes. Those aero bikes with disc brakes now on the market aren’t so surprising any more.
A shift in perceptions about the best brands
We want to know how brands are perceived by our readers, so each year we ask them who they consider makes the best products. Much like last year, Canyon and Specialized came out on top for the perceived quality of their bikes. BMC complete the top three for the first time, nudging past Cervélo and Pinarello to claim third spot. Over on our website we’ve listed the winners in each product category.
Less is no longer more – tires are getting wider
Wider tires tend to be the better choice for most rides rather than uncomfortably narrow ones. As long-term advocates we’re stoked to see the confirmation of this trend. Last year only 12% of respondents chose to ride with tires wider than 28 mm, while the coming season heralds a major increase, with 26% having clocked the benefits. However, there’s still a stronghold clinging onto 25 mm or narrower tires.
We test the brands that interest you
After each group test we face the question of why we haven’t tested such-and-such a brand and how a group test without such-and-such a bike doesn’t make sense. This doesn’t surprise us: the scope of road bikes is bigger and more exciting than ever before and it’s not easy to collate our test fleets. We rely on the outcome of your responses to this Readers’ Survey for guidance, so while we predominantly build our group tests around which brands have piqued your interest, we’re also keen to mix up the status quo with some exciting outsiders.
Words: Aaron Steinke Illustrations: Julian Lemme
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