As 2025 comes to a close, we’re taking a step back to reflect on the year on Bike Hub.
It’s been a year of record-breaking sales and steady growth. While headline traffic numbers dipped slightly, the metrics that matter most: engagement, leads, and confirmed sales – tell the story of a marketplace that continues to deliver for buyers and sellers alike.
Our Quarterly reports tracked strong momentum across categories.
Here’s what stood out on Bike Hub in 2025.
* Proactively reported sales. Actual total including unreported sales is significantly higher.
Classifieds Activity
A record-breaking R273.5 million in sales was proactively confirmed by users; that’s nearly R23 million a month, up 10% on 2024. As always, this is a conservative figure; actual sales including unreported transactions are significantly higher.
Over 65,000 adverts were viewed 27 million times, generating 169,000 unique leads for an average of 2.59 leads per advert. That’s an 8.3% increase in total leads compared to 2024, with sellers continuing to receive strong enquiry volumes.
The average advert value edged up 1.4% to R12,978 (from R12,805 in 2024), suggesting pricing remains stable despite broader economic pressures.
| # | Category | Ads | YoY | Avg Price | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dual Suspension MTB | 7,039 | +18.1% | R38,295 | +1.2% |
| 2 | Road Bikes | 6,026 | +11.1% | R29,856 | +4.4% |
| 3 | Hardtail MTB | 5,040 | +6.4% | R9,095 | -8.4% |
| 4 | Shoes | 2,263 | +11.4% | R1,680 | +12.3% |
| 5 | Bike Racks | 1,779 | -1.4% | R4,212 | +15.3% |
| 6 | Watches & Wearables | 1,669 | +34.1% | R6,077 | +14.3% |
| 7 | Helmets | 1,559 | +18.6% | R1,498 | +2.7% |
| 8 | Saddles | 1,519 | +16.7% | R1,115 | +2.9% |
| 9 | Indoor Trainers | 1,514 | +15.1% | R6,767 | -5.8% |
| 10 | Kids Bikes | 1,494 | +36.4% | R2,717 | +5.2% |
| 11 | Gravel Bikes | 1,489 | +52.9% | R42,979 | +8.1% |
| 12 | Pedals | 1,419 | +27.7% | R960 | -3.5% |
| 13 | Road Bike Wheels | 1,383 | +10.1% | R9,697 | +1.8% |
| 14 | Handlebars | 1,294 | +19.6% | R1,776 | +17.4% |
| 15 | Cranksets | 1,262 | +10.7% | R2,196 | -4.8% |
| 16 | Rear Derailleurs | 1,139 | +41.7% | R2,165 | -23.2% |
| 17 | Stems | 1,110 | +37.7% | R673 | +3.8% |
| 18 | Mountain Bike Forks | 1,105 | +13.6% | R5,288 | -2.9% |
| 19 | DS Mountain E-Bikes | 1,078 | +38.0% | R73,411 | -0.2% |
| 20 | Cassettes | 1,027 | +22.6% | R1,690 | +20.5% |
Key observations
Gravel is the breakout story. Listings surged 52.9% while average prices climbed 8.1% to R42,979 – higher than traditional dual suspension MTBs.
Components are hot. Rear derailleurs (+41.7%), stems (+37.7%), pedals (+27.7%), and cassettes (+22.6%) all saw strong volume growth.
Tech keeps climbing. Watches & wearables grew 34.1% in volume with prices up 14.3%.
Kids bikes booming. A 36.4% jump in listings suggests more families are getting into cycling, though average prices remain accessible at R2,717.
E-MTB demand surges. Dual Suspension E-MTBs grew 38% in volume while holding the highest average price at R73,411. The category is maturing but still commands premium prices.
Some categories softening. Hardtail MTBs saw an 8.4% price decline, and indoor trainers fell 5.8%.
Classifieds Searches by Brand
Our search data captures what buyers are actively looking for, and serve as a reliable indicator of brand demand and perceived second-hand value. With 2.14 million branded searches in 2025 (up 12.9% YoY), the data reveals some significant shifts in the rankings and clear signals about where the market is heading.
| # | Brand | 2025 | 2024 | YoY % | Share | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Specialized | 241,132 | 215,133 | +12.1% | 11.29% | — |
| 2 | Trek | 135,913 | 121,565 | +11.8% | 6.36% | — |
| 3 | Scott | 107,085 | 96,993 | +10.4% | 5.01% | — |
| 4 | Garmin | 92,308 | 71,808 | +28.5% | 4.32% | — |
| 5 | Giant | 68,951 | 66,498 | +3.7% | 3.23% | ↑1 |
| 6 | Cannondale | 60,988 | 68,266 | -10.7% | 2.86% | ↓1 |
| 7 | SRAM | 53,233 | 45,434 | +17.2% | 2.49% | ↑1 |
| 8 | Shimano | 51,978 | 46,707 | +11.3% | 2.43% | ↓1 |
| 9 | Titan Racing | 34,062 | 29,184 | +16.7% | 1.59% | — |
| 10 | Thule | 26,047 | 24,896 | +4.6% | 1.22% | ↑2 |
| 11 | Merida | 25,704 | 27,214 | -5.5% | 1.20% | ↓1 |
| 12 | Wahoo | 24,934 | 20,081 | +24.2% | 1.17% | ↑2 |
| 13 | Santa Cruz | 23,705 | 27,073 | -12.4% | 1.11% | ↓2 |
| 14 | Bianchi | 22,203 | 22,781 | -2.5% | 1.04% | ↓1 |
| 15 | Silverback | 16,869 | 16,224 | +4.0% | 0.79% | — |
| 16 | Canyon | 16,182 | 15,016 | +7.8% | 0.76% | ↑1 |
| 17 | Campagnolo | 15,691 | 16,206 | -3.2% | 0.73% | ↓1 |
| 18 | Fox | 13,822 | 9,304 | +48.6% | 0.65% | ↑1 |
| 19 | Pyga | 13,417 | 14,362 | -6.6% | 0.63% | ↓1 |
| 20 | Orbea | 11,254 | 7,717 | +45.8% | 0.53% | ↑3 |
| 21 | Colnago | 9,542 | 9,178 | +4.0% | 0.45% | ↓1 |
| 22 | Oakley | 8,049 | 7,697 | +4.6% | 0.38% | ↑2 |
| 23 | Look | 7,995 | 7,726 | +3.5% | 0.37% | ↓1 |
| 24 | Pinarello | 7,479 | 8,781 | -14.8% | 0.35% | ↓3 |
| 25 | BMC | 7,333 | 5,719 | +28.2% | 0.34% | ↑2 |
Key observations
Garmin dominates tech growth: Tech was the fastest-growing category (+27.6%), and Garmin alone accounted for 81% of that growth, adding 20,500 searches to reach 92K. Wahoo (+24.2%) contributed the rest. Cyclists are investing heavily in GPS devices, smart trainers, and wearables.
Component upgraders are active: The category grew 13.1% (+17,568 searches). SRAM was the biggest contributor (+7,799 searches, 44% of growth), followed by Shimano (+5,271) and Fox (+4,518). SRAM has now overtaken Shimano in total search volume.
Cannondale’s decline stands out: The only major bike brand losing searches (-7,278), dropping from #5 to #6. Santa Cruz (-3,368) and Pinarello (-1,302) also declined, though from smaller bases.
Orbea rising: The Spanish brand saw the strongest percentage growth among bike brands (+45.8%), likely driven by strong local retail presence through CycleLab and visibility at events like Cape Epic. Still a smaller player at #20, but one to watch.
The top 3 remain dominant: Specialized (11.3% share), Trek (6.4%), and Scott (5.0%) account for nearly 23% of all branded searches. All three grew in absolute terms but lost small amounts of market share as the long tail expands.
South African brands: Total SA brand searches grew 8.5% to 77,679. Titan Racing leads strongly at #9 (+16.7%, +4,878 searches), significantly outperforming Silverback (#15, +4.0%) and Pyga (#19, -6.6%).
Looking Ahead to 2026
2025 demonstrated that the Bike Hub marketplace is thriving. Record sales values, strong engagement, and consistent lead volumes point to a mature, healthy marketplace that continues to serve South Africa’s cycling community.
We’ll continue our quarterly reports tracking category trends, and we’re excited to see what 2026 brings.
Please drop any questions you have in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer them. Here’s to many more smiles on two wheels in 2026!
All stats for the period 10 December 2024 – 9 December 2025. Comparisons agains the prior period.
Did you mention that BH has become almost exclusively a gravel/road and marathon/XC MTB zone. Gravity riding is dead on BH, at least in the forums and race reports.