People in Switzerland are among the most athletic in Europe. This is one of the findings of the Sport Switzerland study, which primarily surveys domestic sports participation but also provides an international comparison. Fifty-two percent engage in at least three hours of sports per week, while only 17 percent are inactive. Among EU countries, only Finland and Sweden exceed these figures.

A particularly interesting aspect of the study, which is conducted every six years, is the popularity ranking of sports. People aged 15 and older were asked which sports they participate in regularly. Once again, the Swiss pentathlon—consisting of hiking, cycling (excluding mountain biking), swimming, skiing, and jogging, in that order—tops the list. This is followed by three disciplines that haven’t been at the top for very long: strength training, yoga/Pilates, and fitness training. Mountain biking comes in ninth place—ahead of soccer, volleyball, and basketball; ahead of cross-country skiing and mountaineering; and well ahead of tennis, ice hockey, track and field, and other disciplines that are popular worldwide.

From 10.9 to 7.8 percent in four years

The good news is that it’s in the top 10. The bad news is that mountain biking has lost a significant amount of popularity in recent years. In an interim survey conducted in 2022, 10.9 percent of respondents said they cycled regularly; by 2026, that figure had dropped to just 7.8 percent. That’s a decline of nearly 25 percent. Although Switzerland’s population has grown over the past four years (by about 8 percent), that does not come close to offsetting the decline. The 25 percent drop represents more than 200,000 people who have given up mountain biking.

This figure also casts the slump in mountain bike sales in Switzerland in a different light. Until now, there was still hope that the many people who bought a bike during the COVID-19 years—even if they haven’t purchased another one since—are still out on the trails. The fact that there are now only about 600,000 mountain bikers in Switzerland—compared to nearly 820,000* four years ago—clearly disproves this.

*The number of female mountain bikers is calculated based on the population proportions determined by the Sport Schweiz study and the population figures provided by the Federal Statistical Office for each age group. For example: People in Switzerland aged 15 and older: 7,800,260 × 0.078 = 608,420.

Back to normal, or will the trend continue downward?

It’s also possible, however, that the popularity of mountain biking in 2022 was simply an upward outlier. In 2014, 6.9 percent reported riding mountain bikes as a regular hobby. Based on the population aged 15 and older at that time, that amounted to just over 480,000 people. In 2020, when the federal government conducted its last comprehensive survey, the figure was 7.9 percent, meaning the mountain biking community is back to where it was at the start of the pandemic. Thanks to population growth, the total number of mountain bikers has still increased by 24,000 active riders over these six years.

The question that only the next survey will answer is: Will the curve continue to decline, or are the roughly 8 percent of mountain bikers the new baseline that the mountain biking industry in Switzerland can work with? The next sales figures from Velosuisse will be available in spring 2027. They will provide an initial indication.