Top 7 things to know about Faraday riders: 2018 Survey Results
As we were planning for 2018 we kept coming back to questions about our Faraday Bikes community. How far are our customers riding? What are they primarily doing on those rides? Are they driving a car less than they used to? Were they as excited for Black Panther as we were? You know, normal stuff. Nearly 200 Faraday riders were generous enough to take our 15-minute survey. Here are the top 7 things we learned.
1. No gender gaps here – a lot of women are riding a Faraday.
If you watch bikes on the street as much as we do, you’ll notice that the vast majority of electric bikes are being ridden by men. Indeed, a recent industry survey found that guys made up 70% of all eBike riders. It’s exciting to see a nearly 50/50 gender split among Faraday riders. We think the release of our Cortland model had a lot to do with filling a gap in the market for an attractive step-through design, but there are plenty of guys who appreciate the ease-of-use that the Cortland provides too.
2. One of the cool kids – Faraday owners skew younger than the average eBike rider.
Industry data also tells us that nearly 50% of eBike owners are over the age of 55. For us, it was interesting to see 71% of our electric bike riders are under 55. While we have more work to do to get millennials back in the saddle, it’s clear that men and women of all ages are riding a Faraday. Pretty cool!
3. Faradays aren’t just for the urban rat race.
Sometimes people think our electric bikes are mostly for getting to the office without having to worry about traffic, parking, or that weird smell on the metro. While it’s true that 44% are primarily using their Faraday for getting to work, an equal amount of riders are mostly using their eBike for errands or recreation. Shoutout to the 13% of riders who said: “All of the above – it’s my primary form of transportation.”
4. We’re swapping boring drives for electric rides.
Based on car use data, we know that roughly 75% of all car trips are under 20 miles round-trip and about half are under 10 miles round-trip. One of the reasons we started Faraday was the potential for eBikes to eat into these “short-haul” car trips. On a separate question, we saw that at least 40% of our riders are driving less than they did before having a Faraday – brilliant!
5. Faraday riders are biking at least 2x more than they did before.
People understandably wonder how much they’re might use their new electric bike. Will it be worth the investment? From an earlier question in the survey, we found that 75% of our riders already had bikes other than a Faraday at home. Despite that, after someone gets a Faraday, their riding frequency spikes: 85% are riding at least 3-5 times a week, up from 45% before owning a Faraday.
6. Faraday riders feel safer on the road than they did before.
One of the biggest barriers to cycling is the concern over safety. Patchy bike infrastructure combined it’s encouraging to hear that 70% of you feel safer on a Faraday electric bicycle.
7. Riding a Faraday makes you both happier and healthier.
From the uninitiated, you might hear that electric bikes are for people that don’t want to put in the effort. It’s clear that Faraday riders didn’t get that memo: 54% say they’re more fit than they were before and 13% have lost weight. A whopping 72% say they’re happier than before. Is there a mic-drop emoji? Thanks again to our customers who participated in the survey! We’re excited to see we’re heading in the right direction on a number of levels but equally motivated by those gaps yet to be closed. And there are still plenty of riders to be rediscovered.
Are you one of them? Know someone who could be plugged in? Visit your local Faraday electric bike dealer for a test ride. No strings attached, only smiles!
Hi Nancy, have a look at our Faraday Finder page, here’s a link to the dealers nearest your 93004 zip: https://www.faradaybikes.com/finder-search/?zip_code=93004