I thought about posting a few cool things I’d missed over the past couple months, but then I saw some Google Trends recaps on other topics and thought it’d be fun to share a few 2022 search trends for various cycling related topics.
Quick note on how to read these graphs: The numbers on all of the charts are shown as a percentage of total searches per day for the year. So, the highest number on every chart is 100%, which simply means that’s the highest total daily search volume for each search term for all of 2022.
I did not tally up total search volume, so these graphs are merely showing the relative volume of each topic compared to the others on that same chart.
At the bottom are some interesting tidbits that came over the wire this week, and a really awesome Christmas stop-motion LEGO video from our friends at Oxburger Studio. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
Road vs Gravel vs Mountain Biking
As far as disciplines go, Mountain Biking destroys Road and Gravel. It stands to reason as there are a LOT more moving parts on a modern mountain bike, from suspension to dropper posts, and things break more often. Plus, there are so many variations, from XC to trail to enduro to DH and more.
What’s interesting is that MTB is also more seasonal. All of cycling is seasonal, likely because most people live in the Northern Hemisphere, and when winter comes, a lot of folks switch to snow sports. And maybe trails are harder to ride in winter conditions than roads.
Road vs Gravel vs MTB Races
Even if more people are into mountain biking, nothing can touch the Tour de France in terms of search interest. I tried a lot of different races and events and it didn’t matter…nothing even created a measurable blip compared to the spike in search that Le Tour gets in summer.
Top Road Races
Even the other Grand Tours and the massively popular Paris Roubaix can’t touch the Tour de France. This is likely because Le Tour is the one race that transcends cycling, with a lot of non-cyclists also tuning in or at least checking results.
It probably doesn’t hurt that it’s also the longest stage race, but La Vuelta has a nearly matching duration of interest, but barely hits 15% of the total search volume.
Top Gravel Race searches
Like Le Tour, Unbound is king of the Gravel Races. I tried several others, like Crushar in the Tushar and Barry Roubaix, and the results were similar. Each event gets a blip now and then (likely coinciding with the dates that registration opens and when the event happens), but Unbound (formerly Dirty Kanza) has the legacy and infamy to stand well above the rest.
Top Mountain Bike race searches
Mountain Biking has more series than premiere standalone races, and has a proper World Cup circuit, so those events got top billing. I left out “EWS” as a search term because it gets a lot of non-cycling results, too, so “Enduro World Series” takes its places.
The original Crankworx Whistler takes top billing and remains one of the biggest annual MTB events, but there’s much more parity between it and its siblings and competition.
It’s worth noting that “UCI XC” delivered no appreciable rankings, but “XC World Cup” was entirely relevant results, so I used that phrasing. Different search terms, like “XCO World Cup” delivered slightly different results, so I went with the ones that had the strongest showing.
The Takeaway?
Just go ride your bike? Honestly, this was just to satisfy my own curiosity. Head to trends.google.com to play with your own comparisons, and if you find anything interesting, let me know – I’d love to see it!
On Stage
Small Bites
- The CIA wants to help you launch your bike product idea
- Italy will host the 2024 Tour de France Grand Depart
- Athletic Brewing Co. & Whoop are measuring alcohol’s effects on you
- CPSC asks e-bike brands to follow UL battery safety standards
- Pacific Cycle recalls kids’ bikes sold at Target & online, offers repair kit
- The Outride Foundation’s 2022 Summit says riding bikes is good for you
- Get up to 35% OFF Wahoo trainers, bike & computers in year-end sale
- Get 20% OFF Tacx NEO 2T Smart Trainers
- Get up to 60% OFF Po Campo’s cycling bags and packs
- Buy any Kogel ceramic BB and get a free ceramic pulley set!
Thank you all for subscribing and checking us out. Here’s wishing you a mega 2023 and safe riding through the holidays. See you next Friday, er, next YEAR!
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