Plenty of riders try before they buy, but a surprising number of mountain bikers hire an MTB after buying their own
One in five mountain bike owners have also hired one, according to a survey from Paul’s Cycles in Norfolk, which reckons leasing MTBs could be one of more accessible ways to get extra riders onto the trails.
The survey, conducted between September 2022 and September 2023, asked 1,000 mountain bike owners in the UK about their bike rental habits. It found that 21% of owners had also hired a mountain bike, and surprisingly 13% of these were after they already purchased a mountain bike.
Paul’s Cycles shop interior in Norfolk
Perhaps that’s not so surprising though, given that it’s boom time if you’re a rider: There are more riders than we’ve ever seen in the UK with an estimates 4.1 million of us, more trails, and budget bikes like the Calibre Bossnut 2025 making a comeback.
Is bike hire something retailers should be afraid of?
We’ve recently wondered whether it’s all over for local bike shops, as fewer people use bricks and motor stores, but converting hires into sales could be a way out for the LBS.
And it might seem like retailers should be scared of people hiring bikes rather than buying them, but Tom Thornley, Managing Director of Paul’s Cycles suggests that it should be seen as “a gateway, not competition”.
If the longer term aim is to get more people on bikes and more people enjoying what mountain biking has to offer, then providing a low-risk and low-cost entry to the sport is surely a good thing.
Hiring a bike rather than flying with your own makes total sense for a bike holiday if you’re looking to cut the faff
Thornley also suggested that although retailers may worry about losing sales by introducing hire schemes, instead they should think about how they might be able to convert new interest in bikes into sales.
“Mountain biking is more experience-driven and location-specific than urban commuting, often tied to trail centres, weekend trips, or holidays,” Thornley said. “Hiring a mountain bike for these occasions is a practical, cost-effective choice, especially when travelling or trying high-spec bikes before upgrading.”
We also know riders who’ve been making good use of YT’s demo fleet, where you can hire a bike for just £15 for the entire day, with the funds going not to local trail building projects. OK it’s not strictly bike hire, but YT says it’s just happy for people to get time on its bikes.
To hire or buy?
It makes sense to hire a bike if you’re heading somewhere abroad or on holiday with the family and don’t want to pack your bike along with you. And it’s also a great way of getting to know different bike brands, how each bike rides differently and see which one might be best suited to you and your riding.
But for many, ownership is the ultimate longterm goal. The Electric Bike Alliance reported that 1 in 4 UK adults are considering buying an electric bike – sure, that’s not just focusing on mountain bikes, but a wider picture of bikes.
Owning a mountain bike is far more convenient if you’re not taking it abroad, you can customise it to your liking, and there’s no worrying that someone else will book out the bike you want because it’s sitting there in your garage (or hallway, if you’re me).
Tom Thornley of Paul’s Cycles
How can LBS get behind the trend?
So how can bike hire benefit bike shops? Hiring a bike is something that’s growing in popularity across the UK – and it’s not just mountain bikes seeing this interest grow.
Shops that offer a hire scheme, whether it’s just for testing over a few days, or a longer term scheme, aren’t necessarily competing with sales of bikes. Instead, it means more people are becoming engaged with bikes and thus increasing the pool of potential customers.
And even if your local bike shop doesn’t offer a hire scheme, the interest developed by people who begin their riding on a hire bike can be used to a retailer’s advantage.
Local bike shops are often a fountain of knowledge on obscure components and hidden gems in the bike world, and owners always seem to know someone who knows Peaty or the like.
But to a beginner, their wealth of knowledge is invaluable – and exactly who should be relied upon by riders at the start of their journey.
“Hiring a bike doesn’t end the journey, it often starts it,” added Thornley. “Retailers who understand this shift can turn curious renters into committed riders by helping them bridge that gap.”