For its Cycle Cities Report, the personal finance experts at money.co.uk have analysed the affordability, weather conditions and climate, road safety and cycling laws across 40 global cities in order to determine the most bike-friendly cities of the world.
For those looking to explore the sights and sounds of a new city on two wheels, the brand new Cycle Cities Report from the personal finance experts at money.co.uk aims to determine the cities around the world for an affordable, safe and comfortable ‘bikecation’ adventure.
After researching a cross-section of cycling-related elements across 40 global cities – bicycle and e-bike rental costs, cycling laws, number of mapped bike paths per resident, pollution levels and average annual temperatures/rainfall levels – a ranking score was assigned to each location out of a possible 280.
The 10 cities emerging as the most friendly for bikes emerged as follows:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Tallinn, Estonia
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Helsinki, Finland
Tel Aviv, Israel
Oslo, Norway
Adelaide, Australia
Perth, Australia
Canberra, Australia
Valencia, Spain
Alongside the average cost of hiring a bicycle and e-bike for 24 hours within each city, researchers also factored in other elements that would all contribute towards tourists enjoying a safe and enjoyable city cycling experience.
Cities with the most KM of mapped bike paths per resident are Timisoara (0.89km), Geneva (0.86km) and Tallinn (0.86km).
Of the locations analysed, Chiang Mai in Thailand and Haifa in Israel emerged as the two cities with the highest pollution levels, with both cities standing to benefit enormously from an increase of tourists and residents switching to bike travel where possible. At the other end of the scale, the Finnish capital of Helsinki – one of the most affordable cities to rent a bike in – was revealed as the city with the lowest pollution levels.
Taking the average temperatures for each city throughout the year, the top 10 cities to visit per season were also determined based on the locations that would provide the most comfortable temperature to ride in.
The Slovenian capital of Llublijana emerged as having the most comfortable average temperatures during the Autumn and Spring months, while Limassol in Cyprus creates the ideal Winter conditions for cycling tourists. Finally, bikers looking to avoid overheating are advised to head to Vilnius in Lithuania during the Summer months, where temperatures average a comfortable 17.7°C.
Of the destinations researched for the report, the 10 cities that emerged as the least accommodating for cyclists based on all the criteria analysed were:
