The cycling culture  has taken off in a big way throughout the last ten  years, while  before  it was simply a way of getting around, particularly  if you didn’t have  a car. Now the cycling culture has its own sense of identity and is much more than simply  2  wheels and seat, being impelled around by muscle power from A to destination B. Cyles  (Human – power-driven  vehicles ), were first  introduced in the mid eighteen hundreds and now number about  one billion worldwide , so don’t mess with us .

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

Of course whenever  there are rival subcultures, fashion styles and a development  of belonging for the various groups is bound to appear . The styles are a combination of fashion sense , color and most importantly  realism, as we are concerned  primarily  with Urban Hybrid Bikes for this series then this is the group  we will take a look at .

Urban cyclists an eclectic  assemblage  of individuals , whose tastes and styles are as diverse  and individual as they are themselves. The urban cyclist style  is based almost  exclusively  on practicality, heavily  influenced  by the widespread  weather patterns, with a large  handful comfort included. All of this indicates that as an urban cyclist is predominantly  making the best use of their bicycle  to get to the place of work , or downtown on social or essential  missions, they are of necessity adapting their normal dress to match  their chosen means of transport. Trouser legs not too baggy  and shoe laces kept short to prevent  trouser  vs chain clothing malfunctions. In the dark nights  a bright colored top or even luminous patches to supplement  the bikes lights is always a  outstanding  thought for the urban cyclist, to avoid  the machinations  of the usual  late night  drivers .

As part of the overall  cycling  tradition  there is the important element of keeping fit, urban cycling  is less costly  and has increased practicality over your usual  gym club  membership. It is a notable fact that gym club  susbscriptions  are not often  kept up  over long periods but  supplementary  exercise such as cycling  has a much higher chance of being prolonged. As  addition this meaningful  health benefit, it will be informative  to see  what the frequent use of your urban bike  is assisting you to avoid  by noting that the average  American male  dedicates  more  1,600 hours every year  to drive, park, clean, maintain and pay for the car . Even if cycling forms part of your travel  needs, then you are still in a position to save tons  of your hard earned cash  and that list does not even include  the parking fees!

Last but not least  I would like to say my piece about  head protection, I understand that there is an edifying  trend amongst urban cyclists to use the proper  head protection there is an alarming  number  of those that consider  this adornment  un-necessary or dare I say un-manly. Well my answer is that my sister was a nurse for many years 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 one  on every occasions !