Top 5 Cities With The Most Bike Ride Routes

By analysing over 32,000 biking tour routes across the UK, we’ve found that Bristol, Liverpool and Newcastle upon Tyne have the highest number of easy and intermediate level bike rides. But what positions on the podium have they achieved? You’ll find out right here!
Komoot, an outdoor navigation and route planning app, has over 35 million users worldwide who use the app to create and follow cycle routes based on location, ability and bike-riding type. We looked at 32,400 ‘bike-touring’ routes in over 100 UK cities that are classed as either ‘Easy’ or ‘Intermediate’ level - the perfect routes for bikes of all types, including electric bikes. So, helmets on… here are the top 5 cities in the UK with the most bike ride routes.

Edinburgh, a popular choice for city breakers and day trippers, has plenty of on-road cycling infrastructure in place, and a network of traffic-free cycle paths that visitors can take advantage of whilst exploring the Scottish capital on two wheels.
Bike riders looking for a leisurely ride on off-road paths away from busy roads can pedal through the Innocent Railway tunnel path (which runs close to the city’s iconic Arthur’s Seat), cycle the path alongside the Union Canal or explore the leafy greenery of the Roseburn Path.

Cambridge has 640 leisurely bike routes on Kamoot for riders to pick from. Cycle paths that take in the famous College buildings and the hub of the city centre are all clearly marked and perfect for sightseeing on two wheels.
A delightful bike ride to while away an afternoon in and explore the outer edges of Cambridge is to cycle the gentle route from Cambridge city centre to the charming village of Waterbeach; after a pub lunch near the Midsummer Common follow the River Cam north to take in the scenic suburbs and lush grounds of city’s country parks.

With nearly 650 routes for cyclists to choose from, Newcastle upon Tyne claims the bronze and is the third most popular city in the UK for bike rides. Newcastle upon Tyne is serious about cycling. It’s one of eight ‘Cycle Ambition Cities’ in England and has invested millions of pounds in its cycling infrastructure.
Those who want to explore this city on two wheels can take in a loop of the River Tyne, a great way to admire the architecture of the river’s many bridges, or pedal around the dedicated off-road cycle paths throughout the Newcastle Great Park area.

With over 700 fun and easy bike ride routes to choose from, Liverpool takes silver in the UK’s most popular bike riding city rankings. Liverpool’s waterfront is one of the most popular places in the city for a leisurely bike ride, taking in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Albert Dock, the Cammel Laird shipyard and the super cycle-friendly promenade next to the River Mersey.
Other routes, such as West Kirby to Thurstaston are much shorter, perfect for those with younger riders or less time, and will give bike riders a chance to explore Liverpool’s pretty country parks.

With over 780 easy and intermediate leisure cycles uploaded to Komoot, Bristol has come out as the UK’s most popular bike riding city, and makes a sweeping win of the gold medal. In 2008, Bristol was named Britain’s first ‘cycling city’, and in 2010 a Cycling Plus survey applauded the south-western city for its high number of cyclists per head of population.
The Bristol and Bath Railway Path is one of the best known and most popular bike rides in Bristol – the path is traffic free and lined with trees and shrubs to give riders the feel of a countryside cycle, and also takes in locations such as the Bitton Railway Station and the Staple Hill Tunnel.

The research also looked further afield to see which global cities offer the most relaxed bike ride routes. Bristol was ranked as the world’s ninth best city for leisure cycling routes, and Liverpool came thirteenth in the global rankings. Europe dominated the rankings with Brussels, Amsterdam and Frankfurt all boasting over 900 easy-to-intermediate bike touring routes according to Komoot data.

If you’re ready to embrace the electric bike revolution and ride some of these routes, there are hundreds of electric bikes to choose from on Auto Trader here. Happy biking!