Tag: bike culture

NYC Bike Culture Summit THURSDAY

This is tomorrow, folks! Get your tickets here. Sorry for the late notice.

As urban cycling expands by leaps and bounds, how is bicycle culture changing? The image and ethos of commuters, racers proponents of “cycle chic” and outlaw cycling vie with each other to define what it means to be an urban cyclist. Transportation Alternatives brings together leading pundits of bicycle culture to debate the bike culture issues:

* Do cyclists need to rehabilitate their public persona?

* To what extent should safety trump convenience and style?

* Will protected bike lanes segregate cyclists?

* Is Critical Mass a boon or a liability for the bike movement?

* What can be done about sexism in the cycling community?

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Jhong: Bicycle Culture Revolution

“Chinese Bike Culture” once meant millions of Chinese cruising wide bike boulevards on black and basic commuter bikes equipped with fenders, chaincases, heavy duty racks, and sturdy double kickstands. The bicycle was the preferred mode of urban transportation nationwide, with right of way at intersections and ample parking on wide sidewalks. These days, though, public space for bikes shrinks as prosperous Chinese abandon the poor peasant’s pedalcycle in favor of the rich man’s car at a rate of more than on million new cars and SUVs each month.

Some Chinese have gone upscale with their bikes by buying multispeed mountain and road models. Another cadre of Chinese youth take their bike culture cues, perhaps a little ironically, from American urban centers by adopting fixed gear bike style as their own. (more…)