I hope I'm not opening a can of worms with this post, but I've just been thinking about these things recently and I want to get some other people's opinions and outlooks. I am fairly new to this forum (just over a month or so), but one thing I'm becoming more aware of is the what one might call the subculture of the cycling community. Whether it's the clothIng "tight shorts and jerseys," the lingo ("cagers", "fixies",) etc., or just the general outlook on life, it seems like cyclists have a definite subculture that distinguishes them from the rest of society.
In some cases it almost seems to be an "us vs. them" mentality of "us vs. the cagers," where cars are the enemy and bicycles are the ultimate liberation from them.

I myself feel like I'm not too deep into the cycling subculture, and while I like riding bikes and working on them, none of my friends are into bikes and that's fine and dandy with me. I only own one pair of cycling shorts, which I've only worn once. I don't wear a Livestrong arm band or watch bicycle races on TV. Even though I don't like driving a car much anymore, and prefer to ride my bicycle, I have nothing against personally owned automobiles per se. Cycling is simply one part of my life, and there are other aspects that I feel are much more important, such as my relationship with God, loving and helping others, etc. My closest friends are usually the people who share my core values and my outlook on life, even if they aren't into my hobby.

I guess I view myself as a human being who happens to use a bicycle as his primary mode of transportation at the time. And that is really how I would like other people on the road and in the community to look at me, not as one of "those cyclists," but just as a regular guy who happens to ride a bike.

What views do you all have of the cyclist subculture? Do you feel that we are a group that is truly different from those around us (e.g. motorists, and the like)? Are there certain elements of the cycling subculture that you don't necessarily buy into? In what ways is that subculture helpful/unhelpful? Again, I am not looking for the objective, end-all answer to this question, but just for your own personal opinions on the topic. I know that many people may not agree with my outlook, which is fine. I just wanted to hear what you all think.

Thanks!

You'll hear references in the local media to the "cycling community". I sort of get what they mean and feel that I'm connected to it. That doesn't mean I can walk into one of the hipster bars in the area and just blend in. I would be as out of place there as any other guy in his mid 40's.

There's not really a single cycling subculture.

i don't really feel like i'm part of a "cycling community", but that's because i really don't feel a part of any "community". i've never been a joiner. i'm just one man who's completely, totally, hopelessly obsessed with bicycles.

when i have free time i'm riding one of my bicycles.

and when i'm not riding one of my bicycles, i working on one of them.

and when i'm not riding or working on my bicycles, i'm thinking about riding or working on my bicycles.

i don't believe in god, i only believe in bicycles.



does all of the above make me "different" from general american society? i suppose so, but fitting in has never been my strong suit. i look at what other people do and then try to do the opposite because that's just the way my spirit rolls. and bicycles also totally rule the universe. i'm just not capable of understanding why anyone would ever want to travel around in car when bicycling is billions of times more fun. i just don't get it. i suppose i never will get it. c'est la vie.

Here are my thoughts . . . riding a bicycle is a great way of getting to work and getting some fresh air and exercise. Cycling is a hobby/activity that I spend a significant amount time on between riding, maintenance and repair, and buying more stuff. I wear what works best for me, and don't really care what others think of how I'm attired.

I don't know any other bike commuters personally. So I wouldn't consider myself part of a "subculture." I commute by bike and car every day, and have nothing against cars as a whole. One aspect that almost every bike rider has in common is that we face very dangerous car and truck drivers on a daily basis.

Exactly. There are many different subcultures in the cycling community. The roadie people are nothing like the hipsters. A lot of commuters have their own identity. I feel like I'm a little bit like several of them, but not totally a part of any of them. I still have a lot of fun riding my bike though, and I've met a lot of good people of all kinds since I started riding more.

It's a subculture and it has gazillion of subcultures that often contradict one another to a great degree. You don't need to look far: road cyclists and mountain bikers. Each completely different and each divided into further subcultures. And cycling isn't really special in this regard: any sport or social activity is a complex subculture. Try RC helicopters forum or computer overclockers forum to see what I mean

I take an issue with trying to identify with "subcultures". A single individual may identify themselves with several subcultures or even have their own that is a mix of others. I don't know what I am I believe that people who identify themselves strictly with a single subculture, are either limited or wrong and confused about their identity. I'm a utility cyclist, a commuter, a touring cyclist, I was a XC mountain biker a road cyclist for a while, I even rode singlespeed for a year or two. I'm also a computer geek, hiker, camper, amateur photographer, amateur musician, I like Star Wars and anime, I have eclectic taste in music from techno, trance, electronic, eurodance to metal, reggae and southern rock. I like Chinese and Japanese food an pizza as well as burgers and fries I was an avid computer gamer, tweaker and overclocker and many other things. My attire lacks any style, it's a mix of casual, urban, cycling, outdoor, work clothing regardless of what I do. I stopped trying to categorize myself and others. We're all complex individuals, way too complex top put in a single drawer.

This:

There is a cyclig culture, but there are also subcultures within it.

I'm very fortunate in my area in that there is a lot of overlap between the various groups within the cycling community- utility cycling, SSFG hipsters, commuters, roadies, alt bikes- you'll see all these at our Critical Mass ride tonight, enjoying each other's company and hopefully drawing a few smiles from the "cagers."

I've gotten sucked in to an extent into the local cycling community. They are the reason I joined Facebook- for some rides, that is the ony way to find out about them. Having joined FB, I've become friends (both on FB and IRL) with several people who like to ride. Even if you take the cycling aspect away, these are people I would enjoy the company of. Cycling, then, just becomes a rallying point and an ice breaker.

You doing the CM ride tonight? Maybe I'll see you there. (Are you the locally roasted pallen?)

That's me, but we have something else going on tonight unfortunately

You only have one pair of shorts and you've only worn them once? When you've worn out several pairs of shorts and tires (I mean worn out... no tread, threads showing) maybe you will start to relate to the cycling subculture.

The "us verses them" mentality I feel is generated by the rebel nature of cyclists from always being referred to as "crazy" or "something I wouldn't do" by your friends, neighbors and coworkers... and of course from motorists honking at you, yelling at you, and generally treating you "differently." Before too long (a year or 5 or more) of regular commuting and generally riding a bike all over the place instead of driving, and lo and behold... you are us, and they are them. While you may try to be nice to "them," and your non-cycling friends tolerate your peppy energetic arrival at group events, the increasing mental gap in your way of thinking verses the thinking of the non-cyclists will further foster that us vrs them feeling.

Suddenly you may find that you seek more of "your own kind" and begin hanging out in bike shops, coffee shops and going to bicycle events. What can I say... it happens. Suddenly the price of gasoline is no longer important to you, and you may decide to sell your old car, so you can put more bikes in your garage. You then discover the n+1 phenomena of do I have enough bikes. And so the conversion continues.

At this point you may find you have signed up with one of the bigger on line bike shops and are having shorts sent on a regular basis to your house... to support your habit.

You may start seeking work that along a good bike route or a great path, or perhaps you just commute "the long way" to your current job. You're hooked. Maybe one of your old friends ribs you about your cycling "habit..." and you turn to them with disdain and spit out the word "cager."

Oh well... see you another time, then.

The more I ride my bike, the more I try to focus on the similarities and to emulate the late, great Sheldon Brown. He considered all cyclists his brothers and sisters. Whether your bike has one gear or 30, whether it's steel or carbon fiber, whether you ride to work or on the velodrome, we all love to ride a bike. And that's cool with me.

I'm a commuter. To me it means I use my bike to get from one place to another.

https://www.bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com does a great job of describing/ridiculing bike subcultures. It can be a fun read.

To the extent that riding a bike is linked to your social life, that is probably the extent to which you feel you're part of any biking subculture. If you don't hang out with other people who are into bikes then it's just a hobby and/or a way to get to work.

I don't know. Is there a subway subculture or a bus subculture?

I do think there's a difference between people who choose a greyhound bus for travel as opposed to a car or plane. I think it's economics but goes beyond just that. I will take a Greyhound to another part of the state even though I could drive. I know people who wouldn't get on a greyhound unless there was absolutely no other option. The way you sit in a Greyhound is remarkably similar to the way people sit in a plane, but a bus is a much more social place.

I do not, never have or ever will identify myself to be part of any group or subcultures. I ride a road bike and do not consider myself to be a "roadie," a term which I don't like the sound of. I ride a hybrid and although am commuting, I don't consider myself as being a commuter. I ride a TT bike and am a triathlete but really dislike being called one. The list can go on and on but my point is that I like to ride anything with wheels because it gets me from point A to point B and keeps me in fairly decent health.

If you asked five people to find you a hippie, they'd probably bring you back five pretty different examples. I'd find you a smelly person who hasn't seen a shower in weeks, is high, and listens to awful music. Someone else would bring you a political liberal. A third test subject would bring you a lazy person who's always looking for a handout and won't lift a finger for any reason. Etc.

And so it goes with bike subculture. There's a gradient from someone who's been on a bike before and you'd never know it, to a homeless-looking person on a steel frame with lots of over-stuffed panniers who wants to outlaw parking.

That goes without saying... sort of like the cycling subculture getting recycled.

Cycling subculture. Well, I don't quite see it that way. I see it as one role among many others. When I cummute, I have the role of cummuter. When I ride with my club on the weekend, I have the role of road cyclist. I also have the roles of husband, father, employee, group leader, bill payer, etc. Put it all together and it defines who I am. Cycling subculture, well that's just one of those roles.

There's an entire subculture in Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The problem for me is that I don't fit into it. I wear cycling clothes, ride a carbon fiber bike, have money. They wear hipster jeans, flannel shirts, ride fixies, and act like they don't have money until they're in a restaurant where a $15 hamburger is a "bargain".

When I'm commuting I feel like part of the culture, since I'm riding my converted mtb, and in street clothes.

When I think of cycling subculture that's what comes to mind for me too, - the hipsters, the messengers, and the wannabes. Bikes are an integral part of the group lifestyle and part of their fashion sense.

Roadies are different. They don't wear their jerseys and shorts to social events. The clothing is worn for function and less for fashion. In my mind cycling is more a hobby than a lifestyle for most roadies (excluding pros and highly ranked amateurs) so I don't think of them as being a "subculture" in the same way as I do hipsters.

I commute and I compete on occasion. I do group rides and mix training with socializing. But that's not much different than when I was playing soccer regularly. We'd go to the bar after the game. After a couple of years I got to know a few of my teammates well enough that we'd get together to do things completely unrelated to soccer. So even though it was both a hobby and a social thing, I never thought of myself as belonging so a soccer "subculture".

So I take back what I said earlier, - that being a subculture means combining socializing and the activity. It's more than that. It becomes a "subculture" when it's a lifestyle that you share with others. So while commuting is a lifestyle choice for me, I don't consider myself part of a "subculture" because for me commuting is a solo activity. I could quit commuting tomorrow and it would have very little impact on the rest of my life assuming I replaced it with another physical activity.

I see other cyclists when I ride, sometimes they wave and sometimes not. I don't have cycling shorts, have no desire to wear spandex. When it's cool I'll wear blue jeans, once it gets warm I wear cargo shorts, or whatever is on sale at Old Navy if the previous season shorts just look too worn out.
I always hear how cycling is such great exercise, and true it is. I don't ride for the exercise myself. Just look up why hog riders and hell's angels types ride their motorcycles, and you have the reason I ride my bicycle. Seems all the biker gangs are truly missing out, if they got rid of there engines and became selfpowered, they'd understand real freedom.
This year I am changing up my diet as I want to drop enough weight over the riding season so that I can walk to work. I've found 210lbs is a bit hard on the knees and ankles for walking 2 miles to work, being on my feet for 10 hours, then walking 2 miles home. I like the freedom of being independant of my car. Once I feel comfortable walking next winter I just may get rid of my car, though that'll be a tough call as there are times I absolutely need so I'll also be trying to line up friends and getting to know the bus system.
Where I live about the only riders I see are wannabes dressed in full TdF gear and bikes. A few years back when I used to smoke I came across a guy just pulling out of his house and I followed way back just for kicks. I got tired of his slow pace especially since he was stuffed in full Lance Armstrong outfit and on the latest overly priced race bike. I pulled up beside him, took a drag on my smoke, a sip of my coffee, and said' What a great day for a ride' then pulled away from him. I was wearin cutoff shorts, black pocket T, tennis shoes while on a Trek 7300 with fenders, racks and panniers. I probably shouldn't have done that.Just couldn't resist though. Anyhow, I don't think I mix in with the cycling culture where I live.

Ah... maybe that's why I don't like it. I don't pigeonhole bike riders. They're just bike riders to me.

There is a cycling subculture, but it, like all other subcultures, is wrong when it sees itself in isolation. I also think the easy mental picture to see when thinking about belonging to a subculture is to see yourself as belonging to a club, and others dont belong to a club.

We all belong to many subcultures.

Everybody is a collection of their subcultures, and maybe after deconstructing a person into their subculture components, there is nothing left over

z

Cycling culture


(from tonight's Critical Mass ride)