The cycling culture  has taken off  exponentially throughout the last 10  years, whereas  before  it had just been a means of getting around, particularly  if you didn’t have  a vehicle. Now the cycling culture has its own sense of identity and is much more than  two  wheels and seat, being impelled along by human power from A to destination B. Cyles  (Human – power-driven  vehicles ), were initially  seen in the 19th century and now there is going on for  one billion worldwide , so are an increasingly influential group .

There are a lot of  subcultures  emerging  or already here , such as fixed gear aficionados, cruiser bike devotees , vintage bicycle fans, extreme bike cycle cross, weekend racers, mountain bikers, and the ever increasing status of the urban cyclist, all with their own sense of style and of being part of thier own community .

Unsurprisingly wherever  there are competing social culture, fashion styles and a sense  of identity for the various groups is bound to follow . The styles are a mixture of fashion sense , color and most importantly  practicality, as we are dealing  mainly  with Urban Hybrid Bikes in this series then this is the section  we will take a look at .

Urban cyclists an diverse  group  of individuals , whose tastes and styles are as diverse  and individual as they tend to be themselves. The urban cyclist style  is founded virtually  exclusively  on practicality, heavily  prejudiced  by the established  weather patterns, with a large  handful comfort thrown in. All of this indicates that as an urban cyclist is primarily  making good use of their bicycle  to travel to the place of work , or downtown on social or essential  missions, they are having to adapt their usual dress to match  their chosen form of transport. Trouser legs not too baggy  and shoe laces kept short to prevent  clothing  vs chain clothing accidents. In the dark nights  a bright colored top or even luminous patches to compliment  the bicycles lights is an eternaly  primo idea for the urban cyclist, to steer clear of  the maneuverings  of the usual  late evening  motorists .

As part of the overall  cycling  tradition  there is the important element of keeping fit, cycling  is less costly  and more practical than your usual  gym  membership. It is worth noting that gym club  memberships  are not often  kept up  in the long run but  supplementary  exercise like cycling  has a much higher chance of being prolonged. As  addition this meaningful  health advantage, it might be informative  to understand  what the regular use of your urban bike  is assisting you to stay clear of  by noting that the normal  American male  dedicates  more  1,600 hours every year  to drive, park, clean, maintain and pay for the vehicle . Even if cycling is a fraction of of your transport  needs, then you are still able to save loads  of your hard earned money  and that list does not even include  the parking fees!

Finally  I would like to say my piece about  head protection, I understand that there is an edifying  trend amongst urban cyclists to wear the correct  head protection there is an disappointing  number  of those that think that  this adornment  not required or seemingly un-manly. To which my answer is that my sister was a nurse for  of long standing and her experiences in dealings with cyclists who had not worn head protection following, often quite minor accidents, would put you off eating for a long time. So wear a helmet  every time you ride !