Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

A Quiet Velorution is Taking Place


The Breezer Citizen U-frame town bike. Run an errand in style.

Covering Interbike 2007, the largest bicycle trade show in North America, Wired magazine notices an emerging trend:

Some people believe that, right now, a quiet revolution is taking place. In cities like London, San Francisco, Boston and New York, the ranks of bicycle riders are swelling with the rise of a new breed: the urban biker.

Traffic snarls, soaring gas prices and worries about global warming have prompted a big boost in cycling, affecting even places like Los Angeles -- America's freeway capital -- that have traditionally given bicycles the cold shoulder.

"What's really happened in the past year is a cultural shift," says Monica Howe, 31-year-old outreach coordinator for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

At Interbike 2007, the bicycle industry's giant annual trade show, the shift toward the urban rider is loudly evident. Fancy road and mountain bikes are clearly no longer king of the roost -- or road. It's the scads of fixed-gear, town, single-speed and other urban bicycles that are drawing the crowds.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

NO URGENCY: With the Clock Ticking, Hochul Twiddles Thumbs on Congestion Pricing

Gov. Hochul is showing no urgency to "un-pause" congestion pricing before Donald Trump takes charge of the federal government.

November 7, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines: Victory and Loss Edition

It's a great country. Let's hope nothing bad happens to it. Today's news roundup.

November 7, 2024

Tech Could Speed Up City Transportation Projects: Report

Current technology could shorten reviews from months to a few hours, one expert said.

November 6, 2024

Q&A: On the Front Lines of America’s ‘Long War to Take Back Streets’

Streetsblog chats with author Nicole Gelinas, whose new book, "Movement," is a deep dive into all the ways our cities have been destroyed by cars.

November 6, 2024

Opinion: Clean Trucks Will Save Lives — If Gov. Hochul Stays the Course

With each truck that rumbles through our communities, families are exposed to unsafe levels of diesel soot and tailpipe pollution.

November 6, 2024
See all posts