Research · · By Peter Abidi
Bike brands are getting ready for AI shoppers. Their riders still gather somewhere else.
We asked eight AI assistants the questions shoppers ask about 168 bike brands operating in the UK, from bike shops and bike makers to clothing, components, accessories and nutrition. We checked each site for the standards AI agents use to buy, and each home page for rides and community the brand hosts itself. Here is what we found, the full table and exactly how we did it.
Cycling is ahead, and the smaller brands are leading
70 of the 147 bike brand sites we could read are open for AI agents to buy from. Last week we found 16% across 200 of America's biggest retailers and brands. The biggest names in cycling, though, mostly are not.
Clothing brands open for AI agents to buy
Cycling clothing leads every other kind of bike brand. Castelli, Endura, Le Col, Proviz, Sportful, Santini and Café du Cycliste all publish the open standards AI agents use to browse a catalogue and check out: a Universal Commerce Protocol manifest or a storefront MCP endpoint.
Accessories follow at 13 of 20, including Knog, Exposure Lights, Muc-Off, Hiplok and Restrap.
UK brands ahead of the international ones
34 of the 63 British sites we could read are open for agents to buy, against 36 of 84 international sites (43%).
Bike makers trail
Specialized, Brompton, Ribble, Giant and Canyon are not open to agents. Pashley, Orange Bikes, Whyte, Temple Cycles, Cervélo and Colnago are.
Bike shops open for agents
Sigma Sports, Condor Cycles, Cyclestore, Fully Charged and 99 Bikes are ready. Halfords, Tredz and Merlin Cycles are not, and Evans Cycles' site would not load for our crawler.
Readiness by kind of brand
Ranked on the share of sites we could read that are open for AI agents to buy.
| Kind | Brands | Agent ready | Avg AI answers | Never recommended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clothing | 30 | 18 of 25 | 63 | 13 |
| Accessories | 24 | 13 of 20 | 81 | 0 |
| Components and tech | 15 | 7 of 14 | 79 | 0 |
| Nutrition | 8 | 4 of 8 | 59 | 6 |
| Electric bike | 8 | 4 of 8 | 51 | 4 |
| Bike maker | 62 | 19 of 55 | 57 | 25 |
| Retailer | 19 | 5 of 15 | 73 | 7 |
| Electric and cargo bike | 2 | 0 of 2 | 85 | 0 |
Agent ready counts sites where we found a UCP manifest or a storefront MCP endpoint, out of the sites our crawler could read. Never recommended counts brands no assistant named when asked for the best of their kind in the UK.
Ask AI about the brand, get the dictionary
Every assistant was asked the plain question a shopper types after hearing a name: "What is [brand]?" For a lot of bike brands, they answered about something else entirely.
Assistants that think SRAM is computer memory
Ask "What is SRAM?" and every assistant describes static random access memory, not the American groupset maker. Every one of them also described Kryptonite as the mineral from Superman and Genesis as the first book of the Bible.
ChatGPT, asked "What is SRAM?""SRAM, or Static Random Access Memory, is a type of semiconductor memory…"
Assistants that think Hunt means chasing animals
Hunt, the Sussex wheel brand, loses its name to the verb. Asked what Hunt sells, Claude, Grok and DeepSeek described Hunt's tomato products instead. Planet X is a hypothetical planet beyond Neptune, Tailwind a web design framework, Lusso the Italian word for luxury and Santa Cruz a Californian city.
Claude, asked "What does Hunt sell?""It sells canned and packaged tomato products."
Brands no assistant could name when asked directly
For one brand in five, not one of the eight assistants said who they were when asked by name. Five of eight answered about the dog breed for Ridgeback, three of eight described 3T as an MRI scanner, and seven of eight answered about a YouTube channel when asked about Fully Charged, the London electric bike shop.
Assistants that recommend SRAM, Kryptonite and Hunt anyway
Ask for the best bike components, locks or wheels in the UK and every assistant names them unprompted. AI knows these brands when the question is about cycling. It loses them when a shopper types the name on its own, which is exactly what someone does after hearing about a brand from a friend.
Who AI recommends, and who it forgets
Each assistant was asked for the best brands of each kind to buy in the UK, without being given any names.
Brands no assistant recommended
A third of the brands were not named by any of the eight assistants when asked for the best brands of their kind in the UK, including Colnago, Scott, Orbea, Ridley and Café du Cycliste. Among bike shops, Tweeks Cycles, JE James Cycles and Pedal On were not named once.
Brands every assistant recommends
Named unprompted by all eight. The British ones include Tredz, Brompton, Proviz, Sealskinz, Hunt, Brooks England, Muc-Off, Exposure Lights, Apidura and Hiplok.
Cycling runs on community. Most brands don't host it.
We read each brand's home page for links to rides, events or a members' community it runs itself, and to groups on Strava.
Brands that host rides or a community of their own
Cycling runs on group rides, yet almost no brand hosts its riders on its own site. Le Col, Pas Normal Studios, Café du Cycliste, Sigma Sports and Santa Cruz are among the 12 that do, and only five of them run a members' community.
Brands that point riders to Strava
Castelli, Ribble, Stolen Goat, Tredz and 31 others link from their home page to a group on Strava. Strava is good at bringing riders in. Keeping them, with the rides, the members and what they buy, needs a home the brand owns alongside it.
"Bike brands are better set up for AI shoppers than most of retail, and it's the smaller ones leading the way. The gap now is recognition. If an assistant thinks SRAM is a memory chip and Kryptonite is something from Superman, your customer gets sent somewhere else. Community is the next gap. Strava is brilliant at bringing riders together, but very few brands give those riders a home of their own to come back to."
Peter Abidi, founder of Human ForwardYour brand isn't on the list? Run the same check on your own store, free, and see how you rank against these 168.
The full table
Ranked on AI answers, so sites that blocked our crawler still rank. AI answers is a score out of 100 across all eight assistants. Named unprompted is how many listed the brand when asked for the best of its kind in the UK. Knew by name is how many said who the brand is when asked "What is [brand]?". Agent ready means we found a UCP manifest or storefront MCP endpoint on 6 November 2026; hover over Not checked for what it means. Own rides or community and Strava come from links on the brand's home page.
| # | Brand | Kind | From | AI answers | Named unprompted | Knew by name | Agent ready | Own rides or community | Strava |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakley | cycling sunglasses | International | 99 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 2 | Garmin | bike computers | International | 98 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 3 | Campagnolo | groupsets and wheels | International | 97 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 4 | Schwalbe | bike tyres | International | 97 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 5 | Shimano | bike components | International | 97 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 6 | Apidura | bikepacking bags | UK | 96 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 7 | Knog | bike lights | International | 96 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 8 | Brooks England | bike saddles | UK | 95 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 9 | Science in Sport | sports nutrition | UK | 95 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 10 | Specialized | bikes | International | 95 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 11 | Topeak | bike tools and pumps | International | 95 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 12 | Tredz | online bike shops | UK | 95 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 13 | Castelli | cycling clothing | International | 94 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 14 | Fizik | cycling shoes and saddles | International | 94 | 8 of 8 | 7 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 15 | Merlin Cycles | online bike shops | UK | 94 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 16 | Rapha | cycling clothing | UK | 94 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | Yes | Yes |
| 17 | Sealskinz | waterproof socks and gloves | UK | 94 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | No | No |
| 18 | Exposure Lights | bike lights | UK | 93 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 19 | Sigma Sports | premium bike shops | UK | 93 | 6 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 20 | Wattbike | smart indoor bikes | UK | 93 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 21 | Hope Technology | bike components | UK | 92 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 22 | Kask | cycling helmets | International | 92 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 23 | LOOK Cycle | road bikes and pedals | International | 92 | 8 of 8 | 7 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 24 | Muc-Off | bike cleaning and lubricants | UK | 92 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 25 | ABUS | bike locks and helmets | International | 91 | 8 of 8 | 7 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 26 | Brompton | folding bikes | UK | 91 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 27 | Endura | cycling clothing | UK | 91 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 28 | Urban Arrow | electric cargo bikes | International | 91 | 6 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 29 | Halfords | bike shops | UK | 90 | 6 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 30 | Hiplok | bike locks | UK | 89 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 31 | Le Col | cycling clothing | UK | 88 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 32 | Lezyne | bike lights and pumps | International | 88 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 33 | Proviz | reflective cycling clothing | UK | 88 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 34 | Litelok | bike locks | UK | 87 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 35 | Pashley | city bikes | UK | 87 | 6 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | Yes | No |
| 36 | Spa Cycles | touring bike shops | UK | 87 | 6 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 37 | Restrap | bikepacking bags | UK | 86 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 38 | Ribble | road bikes | UK | 86 | 7 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 39 | Thule | bike racks | International | 86 | 8 of 8 | 5 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 40 | Ortlieb | bike bags and panniers | International | 85 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 41 | Vittoria | bike tyres | International | 84 | 8 of 8 | 6 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 42 | Decathlon | bike shops | International | 83 | 5 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 43 | Trek | bikes | International | 82 | 6 of 8 | 5 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | No | No |
| 44 | Cotic | mountain bikes | UK | 81 | 4 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 45 | Evans Cycles | bike shops | UK | 81 | 6 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 46 | Giro | cycling helmets and shoes | International | 81 | 8 of 8 | 4 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 47 | Leisure Lakes Bikes | bike shops | UK | 81 | 4 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 48 | Pinarello | road bikes | International | 81 | 3 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 49 | Condor Cycles | premium bike shops | UK | 80 | 6 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 50 | Giant | bikes | International | 80 | 5 of 8 | 6 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 51 | Orange Bikes | mountain bikes | UK | 80 | 5 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 52 | Wahoo | bike computers and smart trainers | International | 80 | 8 of 8 | 7 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 53 | Zwift | indoor cycling | International | 80 | 4 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 54 | Pas Normal Studios | cycling clothing | International | 79 | 3 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | Yes | Yes |
| 55 | Tern | folding and cargo bikes | International | 79 | 8 of 8 | 3 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 56 | Cannondale | bikes | International | 78 | 2 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 57 | Carradice | bike bags | UK | 77 | 4 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 58 | Mondraker | mountain bikes | International | 77 | 2 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 59 | Argon 18 | road and triathlon bikes | International | 76 | 1 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 60 | Cervélo | road bikes | International | 74 | 1 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 61 | Lazer | cycling helmets | International | 74 | 7 of 8 | 5 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 62 | Moulton | small wheeled bikes | UK | 74 | 5 of 8 | 7 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | No | No |
| 63 | YT Industries | mountain bikes | International | 74 | 2 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 64 | Boardman | road and hybrid bikes | UK | 73 | 5 of 8 | 6 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 65 | Gocycle | electric bikes | UK | 73 | 2 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 66 | Mason Cycles | gravel bikes | UK | 73 | 3 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 67 | Assos | cycling clothing | International | 72 | 5 of 8 | 4 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 68 | SRAM | bike components | International | 72 | 8 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 69 | Bianchi | road bikes | International | 71 | 1 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 70 | Canyon | bikes | International | 71 | 4 of 8 | 4 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 71 | Maurten | sports nutrition | International | 71 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 72 | Riese & Müller | electric bikes | International | 71 | 1 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 73 | Sidi | cycling shoes | International | 71 | 5 of 8 | 5 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 74 | Bike-Discount | online bike shops | International | 70 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 75 | Brother Cycles | steel gravel and adventure bikes | UK | 70 | 2 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | Yes | No |
| 76 | Cyclestore | online bike shops | UK | 70 | 2 of 8 | 7 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 77 | JE James Cycles | bike shops | UK | 70 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 78 | Sportful | cycling clothing | International | 70 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 79 | Colnago | road bikes | International | 69 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 80 | Stolen Goat | cycling clothing | UK | 69 | 1 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 81 | VanMoof | electric bikes | International | 69 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 82 | Velocio | cycling clothing | International | 69 | 1 of 8 | 7 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 83 | Alltricks | online bike shops | International | 68 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 84 | Bike24 | online bike shops | International | 68 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 85 | Orbea | bikes | International | 68 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 86 | See.Sense | bike lights | UK | 68 | 1 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 87 | Bioracer | cycling clothing | International | 67 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 88 | Starling Cycles | mountain bikes | UK | 67 | 1 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 89 | Yeti Cycles | mountain bikes | International | 67 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 90 | 7mesh | cycling clothing | International | 66 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 91 | Commencal | mountain bikes | International | 66 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 92 | Kryptonite | bike locks | International | 66 | 8 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 93 | Nukeproof | mountain bikes | International | 66 | 1 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 94 | POC | cycling helmets | International | 66 | 7 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 95 | Temple Cycles | steel city and touring bikes | UK | 66 | 3 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | Yes | No |
| 96 | Wilier | road bikes | International | 66 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 97 | MAAP | cycling clothing | International | 65 | 4 of 8 | 3 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 98 | Propain | mountain bikes | International | 65 | 0 of 8 | 7 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | No | No |
| 99 | Q36.5 | cycling clothing | International | 65 | 0 of 8 | 7 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 100 | Tweeks Cycles | online bike shops | UK | 65 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 101 | Lauf | gravel bikes | International | 64 | 0 of 8 | 7 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 102 | Precision Fuel & Hydration | sports nutrition | UK | 64 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 103 | The Pedla | cycling clothing | International | 64 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | Yes | No |
| 104 | Balfe's Bikes | bike shops | UK | 63 | 1 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 105 | Liv | women's bikes | International | 63 | 8 of 8 | 2 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 106 | OPEN Cycle | gravel bikes | International | 63 | 0 of 8 | 6 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 107 | Santini | cycling clothing | International | 63 | 0 of 8 | 7 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 108 | Universal Colours | cycling clothing | UK | 63 | 1 of 8 | 6 of 8 | Yes | Yes | No |
| 109 | Café du Cycliste | cycling clothing | International | 62 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | Yes | No |
| 110 | Estarli | electric bikes | UK | 62 | 2 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 111 | Veloforte | sports nutrition | UK | 62 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 112 | Whyte | mountain bikes | UK | 62 | 7 of 8 | 5 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 113 | Bird Cycleworks | mountain bikes | UK | 61 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 114 | Ridgeback | hybrid and touring bikes | UK | 61 | 7 of 8 | 3 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 115 | Alé | cycling clothing | International | 60 | 0 of 8 | 6 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 116 | Ampler | electric bikes | International | 58 | 0 of 8 | 6 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 117 | OTE Sports | sports nutrition | UK | 58 | 0 of 8 | 6 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 118 | Rose Bikes | bikes | International | 58 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 119 | 100% | cycling sunglasses and goggles | International | 57 | 7 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 120 | Attaquer | cycling clothing | International | 55 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 121 | Merida | bikes | International | 55 | 0 of 8 | 4 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 122 | High5 | sports nutrition | UK | 54 | 1 of 8 | 4 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 123 | Spatz | cycling overshoes and thermals | UK | 54 | 3 of 8 | 3 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 124 | Bell | cycling helmets | International | 53 | 8 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 125 | Isadore | cycling clothing | International | 52 | 0 of 8 | 4 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 126 | Marin | mountain bikes | International | 52 | 3 of 8 | 1 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 127 | Shutt Velo Rapide | cycling clothing | UK | 52 | 0 of 8 | 8 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 128 | Vitus | mountain bikes | International | 52 | 1 of 8 | 5 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 129 | 3T | gravel and road bikes | International | 51 | 0 of 8 | 4 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 130 | Altura | cycling clothing and bags | UK | 51 | 2 of 8 | 2 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 131 | Ornot | cycling clothing | International | 51 | 0 of 8 | 7 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 132 | MET | cycling helmets | International | 50 | 6 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 133 | Pedal On | bike shops | UK | 50 | 0 of 8 | 5 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 134 | Cube | bikes | International | 47 | 1 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 135 | Elite | smart trainers and bottles | International | 47 | 7 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 136 | Fully Charged | electric bike shops | UK | 46 | 3 of 8 | 1 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 137 | Ridley | road bikes | International | 46 | 0 of 8 | 5 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 138 | Santa Cruz | mountain bikes | International | 45 | 5 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | Yes | No |
| 139 | Cowboy | electric bikes | International | 44 | 0 of 8 | 3 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 140 | Kona | mountain bikes | International | 44 | 0 of 8 | 1 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 141 | Orro | road bikes | UK | 44 | 3 of 8 | 3 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 142 | Hunt | bike wheels | UK | 43 | 8 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 143 | Dolan | track bikes | UK | 42 | 7 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 144 | BMC | road bikes | International | 41 | 1 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 145 | 99 Bikes | bike shops | International | 40 | 0 of 8 | 5 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 146 | Planet X | road bikes | UK | 40 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 147 | Ibis | mountain bikes | International | 38 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 148 | Tailwind | sports nutrition | International | 35 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 149 | Galibier | cycling clothing | UK | 34 | 1 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 150 | Torq | sports nutrition | UK | 34 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 151 | Pivot | mountain bikes | International | 32 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 152 | Polygon | bikes | International | 32 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 153 | Saracen | mountain bikes | UK | 31 | 1 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 154 | Scott | bikes | International | 28 | 0 of 8 | 3 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 155 | Transition | mountain bikes | International | 25 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | No | No |
| 156 | Felt | road and triathlon bikes | International | 24 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 157 | GT | mountain bikes | International | 22 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 158 | Fabric | bike saddles | International | 20 | 3 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 159 | Genesis | gravel bikes | UK | 20 | 6 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 160 | Albion | cycling clothing | UK | 17 | 5 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. | Not checked: This site's bot protection turned away our crawler, HumanForwardBot, or the site did not load, so we could not check it. It does not mean the brand has none. |
| 161 | Lusso | cycling clothing | UK | 17 | 2 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 162 | Volt | electric bikes | UK | 17 | 2 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 163 | Gazelle | electric bikes | International | 16 | 0 of 8 | 2 of 8 | No | No | No |
| 164 | Black Sheep | cycling clothing | International | 11 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 165 | Focus | bikes | International | 7 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
| 166 | Pearson | road and gravel bikes | UK | 3 | 1 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 167 | Factor | road bikes | International | 0 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | Yes | No | No |
| 168 | Kinesis | gravel and road bikes | UK | 0 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 8 | No | No | Yes |
Questions people ask
Can AI shopping agents buy from UK bike brands?
Often, yes. Of the 147 bike brand sites we could read on 6 November 2026, 70 (48%) published a Universal Commerce Protocol manifest or a storefront MCP endpoint, the open standards AI agents use to buy. That compares with 16% in our test of 200 US retailers and brands. Clothing brands lead at 18 of 25; bike makers trail at 19 of 55.
Why does AI think SRAM is computer memory?
Asked "What is SRAM?" on its own, all eight assistants we tested answered about static random access memory, the far more common meaning online. The same assistants all named SRAM unprompted when asked for the best bike component brands. Brands named after common words or acronyms lose the name question unless the shopper adds context.
Which bike brands do AI assistants recommend?
32 of the 168 brands were named unprompted by all eight assistants, including Tredz, Brompton, Proviz, Sealskinz, Hunt, Brooks England, Muc-Off, Exposure Lights, Apidura and Hiplok. 55 were not named by any of them. The full table below shows every brand.
Do bike brands run their own communities?
Very few on their own sites. Of 152 home pages we could read, 12 link to rides, events or a members' community the brand runs itself, and 35 link to a group on Strava.
How can a bike brand check how AI sees it?
Run Human Forward's Findability check, free, at humanforward.io. It asks the same eight AI assistants about your brand and checks your site for the standards AI agents use. If your site blocks crawlers, allow HumanForwardBot first.
Get the data
Download the full table as a spreadsheet: human-forward-uk-bike-brands-ai-2026.csv. Free to use with credit to Human Forward and a link to this page.
Method
On 6 November 2026, each of 168 bike brands operating in the UK (69 British, 99 international) was tested in the UK market with five questions a shopper would ask: what the brand is, where to buy it, the best brands of its kind, whether it is legitimate, and what it sells. Each question went to ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google's Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta's Muse and Mistral's Le Chat through their public APIs, with web search where the assistant offers it. A separate AI model graded every answer for whether the brand was named, whether its official website was given, accuracy and sentiment.
The brands cover bike shops, bike makers, electric bikes, clothing, components and tech, accessories and nutrition, chosen as the brands a UK rider is most likely to buy from, whether British or not. Each brand was asked about alongside the best brands of its own kind, set by hand. Each site was read by our crawler, HumanForwardBot, which identifies itself and follows robots.txt, and checked for a Universal Commerce Protocol manifest and a storefront MCP endpoint. The community check read each home page for links to the brand's own rides, events or members' community, and to groups on Strava.
What this does and does not show
- 16 sites turned our crawler away and 5 did not load, so agent readiness is "of the 147 we could read" and the community check "of the 152 home pages we could read".
- A blocked crawler shows a site runs bot protection. It does not prove any named AI assistant is blocked.
- The community check reads the home page only. A brand may run rides or a community it does not link from there.
- A missing UCP manifest does not mean a brand has no AI strategy. It means we did not find one of the open standards agents use.
- Every statement about a brand describes what we found on 6 November 2026. Sites and assistants change.
Want riders to stay with you? Community gives a brand its own home for riders, rides and events, with its own app, and connects to Strava. Storefront gives any store a front door for AI agents.
Blocked our check? Allow HumanForwardBot and we will run your site again, free. Here's how: humanforward.io/bot.
Free to reproduce with a link. Please credit Human Forward and link to this page. See also our other research. Press: hello@humanforward.io.