Bicycle Niches: The Sub-Cultures
by Daniel Atticus Anderson
As an American youth, when I think of the bicycle I remember back when I was just a little kid and getting a shiny red Schwinn on my birthday. I remember learning to ride it in a cul-de-sac or a park. If this story, or some variation of it, is true for some if not most Americans, then this begs the question of the nature of the second bicycle that one would purchase. Once one is a conscious bicycle riding individual, it can be presumed that the next bicycle they get fit’s their unique character, permitting that they can afford it. If not an expression of personality, the bicycle is just a tool to get one from point A to point B. Regardless of the quality of the bicycle, it’s features, or safety. This is most common for college students, or equivalently, people of low to moderate income. Despite this, when a person does purchase a bicycle that suits their style, be it a mountain bike, a beach cruiser, a fixed gear, a 21 speed, or a 3-speed; the type of bicycle defines the person as much as the type of person defines the designs of the bicycles. In 2009, US bicycles accounted for a $5.6 billion industry.
Mountain Bikes
Clunker bikes developed in the 1920s and 1930s. As young boys hungry for speed removed the fenders, chain guard, bell, an all the rattling accessories, they created stripped down bikes ready to charge any terrain. Due to technological advancements of pneumatic tires and seamless rubber tubes that got continusouly more sturdy over time, bikers were able to conquer more and more volitile terrain.
In the mid 1970s, at Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, near San Francisco, a group of entrepreneurial cyclists started creating what we call “mountain bikes”.[1] From bikes pieced together by tinkerers, armed with light frames and large tired, these bikes were perfect for going downhill and over trails. In Colorado the hills around San Francisco, and pertty much anywhere there was a good amount of dirt, mountain biking began to take off. By the 1980s the MountainBike was available, among other name brands.[2]
Mountain biking is a sport currently enjoyed by millions of people worldwide, but it is not for everyone. The mountain bike is a very common type of bicycle, because of it’s range in gearing but people who choose to buy other bikes occupy different parts of society and have different needs.
Beach Cruiser
Cruiser bicycles, defined by their single-three geared drivetrain, bright colors, and fat white-wal tires were the most popular bikes form the 1930s to 1960s. Their simple construction, durability and ease of balance led them to being very efficient and desirable bicycles.
In the 1930s, Schwinn came up with a method to boost sales. Adults were not purchasing bikes beause they were seen as recreational goods that were unneeded in such financial hardships. Schwinn instead marketed to the youths.[3] They came out with B-10E, which was eventually renamed the Aero Cycle. This bike had a faux gas tank and aerodynamic design. Today this image conjures up images of the 1950s and fast cars.
Those who purchase Cruisers today are leisurely bike riders. Usually not intended for strenuous rides, these Cruisers are often seen going to and from class, or to and from the market. A very different purpose from the mountain bike, yet still the bicycles use shapes its design and its design shapes its user.
The BMX Bike
The BMX Bike is designed around maneurverability, versatility, and revolutionized urban-style biking. BMX, or bicycle motor-cross, incorporates elements of mountain and off-road biking, elements of motorcross, and freestyle tricks turning simply bike riding into an extreme sport.
It began in the early 1970s alongside mountain biking. Early mountain bikes incoprorated elements of current BMX bikes and vice versa. The main difference in BMX bikes are those for racing and those for Freestyle. Many BMX riders ride in skate-parks or in half pipes. These bikes, built for performance and aeorodynamics are simple, yet versatile. [4]
The BMX rider is a unique individual in his own right. Risky, skilled, and courageous above all, the BMX enthusiast is not one who is partial to fear. When one decides to be a BMX rider one is daring to go against the norm of bicycles as transportation, and turn it into an expressive form where sport meets art.
These are the main types of bicycles in use today. However there are still more types of bikes that have even more obscure followings. Recently fixed-gear, or single-speed bikes with no breaks, similar to the very first safety bikes, have become popular among youths. Painted in bright colors and often built from scratch, these bikes are the prized possession of their owners. As the desire for a more sustainable future arrises in contemporary society, the bicycle becomes a more and more personalized expression of the rider.
[1] Fat Tire: a Celebration of the Mountain Bike. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1999. (p. 19)
[2] Fat Tire, (p. 31)
[3] Crown, Judith, and Coleman, Glenn, No Hands: The Rise and Fall of the Schwinn Bicycle Company, An American Institution, New York: Henry Holt, 1996. (p. 32-34)
[4] Barrette, Craig. “BMX Bikes,” Popular Mechanics May 1988: 79-81