When will bike boom end?

[Smokin Joe]

We've had a few booms before, in the eighties when Roche won the TdF road bikes suddenly became popular and even the most unlikely people were riding round in team kit. Indeed Halfords were busy flogging Carrera and Fagor jerseys, to name but two. It remains to be seen whether this surge in popularity has a lasting effect, I have my doubts. It reminds me of when Carl Fogarty was dominating Superbikes and motorcycling became that era's "New Golf". Exactly the same type who are now splashing out on top range road bikes were buying Fireblades, R1s and the like. Then overnight the whole thing died on it's arse and dealerships everywhere were going bust.

The faster a fashion rises, the quicker it falls.

 

[Globalti]

Not sure if that will apply in this case. I count myself as a typical born again cyclist; rode bikes up to my mid twenties then got into cars and motorbikes and became overweight and unfit. Moved to beautiful Lancashire in 1988 and discovered the joys of the new mountain bikes, which I continued to enjoy for 20 years until I lost my MTB mojo and found road cycling. Thanks to this I am fitter at the age of 58 than I've ever been and don't think I will ever give up road cycling as long as I remain healthy enough and don't lose my marbles. I can't think of another sport that gives so much reward while keeping me so fit and healthy, at an affordable cost and straight from my front door. It also has a fascinating and subtle "lore" and offers the possibility of tinkering with some genuinely cutting edge sports equipment.

 

[format]

There really isn't a boom. You need to remember that just because you might have noticed some more people out cycling, it doesn't constitute much in a nation of 65m people. There might have been a *slight* upwards shift, but calling it a 'boom' or a 'revolution' is nonsense.

 

[raleighnut]

Where do they get these figures from- Nobody ever asked me how far and often I rode.
Gallup polls why don't you ask a few cyclists what they do.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Not sure if that will apply in this case. I count myself as a typical born again cyclist;

Aha, thus proving my point. You gave up before when the benefits of riding a bike were no different to what they are now.

Well done for getting back into it and with your history of cycling I'm sure you'll stick, but many of the new cyclists we see out and about are fashionistas. When it's no longer cool they'll be off to the next Big Thing.

 

[Cyclopathic]

there will always be a demand for cheap n chearfull bso's

Cheap perhaps. Cheerful definitely not.

 

[Globalti]

What sport will be next, do you think?

 

[davdandy]

What sport will be next, do you think?

Ladies beach volleyball.

 

[snorri]

Where do they get these figures from- Nobody ever asked me how far and often I rode.
Gallup polls why don't you ask a few cyclists what they do.

They've asked me in the past..

 

[Pat "5mph"]

They've asked me in the past..

They seem to be asking us a lot here in Glasgow, then they do exactly the opposite of what was suggested

 

[raleighnut]

[QUOTE 3169570, member: 30090"]I'm assuming the peak in the late 70's and early 80's is due to the Winter of Discontent and the Recession?[/QUOTE]
Got me to pack up Motorcycles and rely wholly on my cycles

 

[srw]

If this is the data I suspect it is (which is, I believe, estimated based on vehicle counts on main roads) it's considered so unreliable by the ONS that they've stopped using it to calculate casualty rates. In particular it doesn't take account of the steady growth in off-road biking in the 1990s or of the propensity of cyclists to avoid main roads. Their main comparator is self-reported cycling distance based on large-scale surveys.

I work in two offices, one of about 400 people in a city, the other of about 1000 in an affluent town. Both regularly see 20-30 bikes in the bike racks. When I first started working I was, for years and years the only person in the office to ride to work, and considered slightly loopy for it. Up until a couple of years ago I'd have said the London cycling success story was confined to zone 1. I regularly drive on a commute from home to the M25. I first saw an adult cyclist on one particular stretch of road about 2 years ago. These days - at exactly the same time of day - it's rare I don't see at least one cyclist, whatever the weather. Gradually the habits of London are stretching into its hinterland.

The London cycling boom (which is, I think, what it is) it now too entrenched to burst in a hurry.

 

[raleighnut]

If this is the data I suspect it is (which is, I believe, estimated based on vehicle counts on main roads) it's considered so unreliable by the ONS that they've stopped using it to calculate casualty rates. In particular it doesn't take account of the steady growth in off-road biking in the 1990s or of the propensity of cyclists to avoid main roads. Their main comparator is self-reported cycling distance based on large-scale surveys.

I work in two offices, one of about 400 people in a city, the other of about 1000 in an affluent town. Both regularly see 20-30 bikes in the bike racks. When I first started working I was, for years and years the only person in the office to ride to work, and considered slightly loopy for it. Up until a couple of years ago I'd have said the London cycling success story was confined to zone 1. I regularly drive on a commute from home to the M25. I first saw an adult cyclist on one particular stretch of road about 2 years ago. These days - at exactly the same time of day - it's rare I don't see at least one cyclist, whatever the weather. Gradually the habits of London are stretching into its hinterland.

The London cycling boom (which is, I think, what it is) it now too entrenched to burst in a hurry.

The midlands has always had lots of cycles, Maybe cos most were traditionally made here. For the purpose of this post I'll define "the midlands as Northamptonshire- Yorkshire inclusive and across the width of the country. The world does not revolve around London ye knaw.

 

[Wobblers]

As @srw says, I don't think that the graph shows the whole story. When I moved to Birmingham, it was very rare that I ever saw another cyclist: now, it is rare when I don't. The same pattern is seen in Glasgow - every time I go back, I see more cyclists on the road. Even over Christmas and the new year, I spotted quite a few Glasgow cyclists whereas in earlier years I would have been the only one. So we're not just seeing an upturn in fair weather cyclists. I suspect that increasing fuel prices has resulted in at least some people turning away from their cars to try and save money.

 

[A-lexandre]

I think the question is : the bike boom, in which population group, and in which region. In my city the 16-25 unemployment rate is 42%. Thus we see a lot of young cyclists going around town, which is often linked with socialistic-environment-aware ideology (hey, that's me!). But 10 kilometers away, in another town, although which a higher global unemployment rate and patent poverty, you don't see a single cyclist, and mostly because the local administration doesn't make any incentive towards bicycle commuting, and because poor people are proud to own a car. And in a neighbourhood of the capital, on a flat ground and with a quite higher per capita income, you will see Bromptons everywhere ridden by people in suits.

The bike boom is there - in certain spots of society. But I think the best way to ensure the development of bicycle in one area is the creation of bicycle lanes, subsidied repair shops and 30km/h-limitation in the urban zones.