BICYCLE sales outpaced car and truck sales in 2006, as more Australians turned to pedal-power to cut petrol bills.

The Cycling Promotion Fund (CPF), Australia's peak bicycle promotion group, said 1,273,781 new bikes were sold last year, well ahead of the 962,521 new cars and trucks retailed.

CPF spokesman Ian Christie said Australians were using bikes not just for recreation but increasingly as their preferred form of day-to-day transport.