Originally Posted by
bragi
The group that's been missing lately are the young, 20's-early 30's more fashion-conscious people who, a few years ago, adopted bicycling as part of an urban lifestyle. As far as I can tell, the vast majority of these people have moved on from bicycles to tiny cars or transit. (Maybe they've noticed that it's easier to look good if you haven't been riding up and down steep hills in the rain.) I haven't seen a fixie or a Dutch bike, or even a well-dressed cyclist, in months if not years. Is it just me, or has bicycling gone back to being something that only uncool people do? (Not that I mind...)
I believe that the "missing" fashion-conscious group that adapted bicycles as part of an urban lifestyle was miniscule at best at any time and only could be found in a few trendy urban neighborhoods of the largest metropolitan US cities. I believe they existed more as a state of mind projected in trendy media articles than real life in the U.S. Any decrease in their real numbers would result in their invisibility as you have noticed.
Another possibility is that this bicycle riding fashion-conscious group ended up getting older, married, raising families and finding out their previous urban lifestyle is no longer as practical, useful, desirable or even as hip as previously thought.