![Bicycling Tamil girl, Batticaloa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Bicycling_Tamil_girl%2C_Batticaloa.JPG)
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of
cycles for
transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
,
recreation,
exercise or
sport
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two-wheeled bicycles, "cycling" also includes the riding of
unicycles,
tricycle
A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle.
Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes ...
s,
quadricycle
Quadricycle refers to vehicles with four wheels.
In 1896 Henry Ford named his first vehicle design the "Quadricycle". it ran on four bicycle wheels, with an engine driving the back wheels.Brinkley, David, ''Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His ...
s,
recumbent
Recumbent may refer to:
* Recumbence, the act or state of lying down or leaning
* Recumbent bicycle, a bicycle, tricycle or quadricycle which places the rider in a reclined or supine position
* Recumbent effigy, a tomb sculpture of the deceased ...
and similar
human-powered vehicles (HPVs).
Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now number approximately one billion worldwide. They are the principal means of transportation in many parts of the world, especially in densely populated European cities.
Cycling is widely regarded as an effective and efficient mode of transportation optimal for short to moderate distances.
Bicycles provide numerous possible benefits in comparison with motor vehicles, including the sustained physical exercise involved in cycling, easier parking, increased maneuverability, and access to roads,
bike path
A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...
s and rural trails. Cycling also offers a reduced consumption of
fossil fuels, less
air
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
and
noise pollution
Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is ma ...
, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and greatly reduced
traffic congestion.
These have a lower financial cost for users as well as for society at large (negligible damage to roads, less road area required). By fitting bicycle racks on the front of buses, transit agencies can significantly increase the areas they can serve.
In addition, cycling provides a variety of health benefits and reduces the risk of cancers, heart disease, and diabetes that are prevalent in sedentary lifestyles.
Cycling on
stationary bikes have also been used as part of rehabilitation for lower limb injuries, particularly after hip surgery.
Individuals who cycle regularly have also reported mental health improvements, including less perceived stress and better vitality.
Among the disadvantages of cycling are the requirement of bicycles (excepting tricycles or quadricycles) for the rider to have certain level of basic skill in order to remain upright, the reduced protection in crashes in comparison to motor vehicles, often longer travel time (except in densely populated areas), vulnerability to weather conditions, difficulty in transporting passengers, and the fact that a basic level of fitness is required for cycling moderate to long distances.
History
Cycling quickly became an activity after
bicycles
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bi ...
were introduced in the 19th century. Today, over 50 percent of the human population knows how to ride a bike.
War
The bicycle has been used as a method of reconnaissance as well as transporting soldiers and supplies to combat zones. In this it has taken over many of the functions of
horses in warfare. In the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...
, both sides used bicycles for scouting. In World War I, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand used bicycles to move troops. In its 1937 invasion of China, Japan employed some 50,000 bicycle troops, and similar forces were instrumental in Japan's
march or "roll" through Malaya in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Germany used bicycles again in World War II, while the British employed airborne "Cycle-commandos" with
folding bikes.
In the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, communist forces used bicycles extensively as cargo carriers along the
Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The last country known to maintain a regiment of bicycle troops was Switzerland, which disbanded its last unit in 2003.
Equipment
![Cycling kit full body](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Cycling_kit_full_body.jpg)
In many countries, the most commonly used vehicle for road transport is a
utility bicycle
A utility bicycle, city bicycle, urban bicycle, European city bike (ECB), Dutch bike, classic bike or simply city-bike, is a bicycle designed for frequent very short, very slow rides through very flat urban areas. It is a form of utility bicycle ...
. These have frames with relaxed geometry, protecting the rider from shocks of the road and easing steering at low speeds. Utility bicycles tend to be equipped with accessories such as mudguards, pannier racks and lights, which extends their usefulness on a daily basis. Since the bicycle is so effective as a means of transportation, various companies have developed methods of carrying anything from the weekly shop to children on bicycles. Certain countries rely heavily on bicycles and their culture has developed around the bicycle as a primary form of transport. In Europe, Denmark and the Netherlands have the most bicycles per capita and most often use bicycles for everyday transport.
Road bikes tend to have a more upright shape and a shorter wheelbase, which make the bike more mobile but harder to ride slowly. The design, coupled with low or dropped handlebars, requires the rider to bend forward more, making use of stronger muscles (particularly the
gluteus maximus) and reducing air resistance at high speed.
The price of a new bicycle can range from US$50 to more than US$20,000 (the highest priced bike in the world is the custom Madone by
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst (; né
Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...
, sold at US$500,000), depending on quality, type and weight (the most exotic road bicycles can weigh as little as 3.2 kg (7 lb)). However
UCIregulations stipulate a legal
race bike cannot weigh less than 6.8 kg (14.99 lbs). Being measured for a bike and taking it for a test ride are recommended before buying.
The
drivetrain
A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...
components of the bike should also be considered. A middle grade
dérailleur
Shimano 600 front derailleur (1980)
A derailleur is a variable-ratio bicycle gearing system consisting of a chain, multiple sprockets of different sizes, and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another.
Modern front and rear d ...
is sufficient for a beginner, although many utility bikes are equipped with
hub gear
A hub gear, internal-gear hub, internally geared hub or just gear hub is a gear ratio changing system commonly used on bicycles that is implemented with planetary or epicyclic gears. The gears and lubricants are sealed within the shell of the ...
s. If the rider plans a significant amount of
hillclimbing
Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...
, a triple-chainrings
crankset
The crankset (in the US) or chainset (in the UK), is the component of a bicycle drivetrain that converts the reciprocating motion of the rider's legs into rotational motion used to drive the chain or belt, which in turn drives the rear wheel ...
gear system may be preferred. Otherwise, the relatively lighter, simpler, and less expensive double chainring is preferred, even on high-end race bikes. Much simpler fixed wheel bikes are also available.
Many road bikes, along with mountain bikes, include
clipless pedals to which special shoes attach, via a
cleat, enabling the rider to pull on the pedals as well as push. Other possible accessories for the bicycle include front and rear lights,
bells or horns, child carrying seats, cycling computers with GPS, locks, bar tape, fenders (mud-guards), baggage racks, baggage carriers and pannier bags, water bottles and bottle cages.
For basic maintenance and repairs cyclists can carry a
pump (or a
CO2 cartridge), a puncture repair kit, a spare inner tube, and
tire levers and a set of
allen keys
Hex keys of various sizes
Socket head screws of various sizes
A hex key (also, hex wrench, Allen key and Allen wrench) is a simple driver for bolts or screws that have heads with ''internal'' hexagonal recesses (sockets).
Hex keys are form ...
. Cycling can be more efficient and comfortable with special
shoes
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...
,
gloves
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb.
If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless glo ...
, and
shorts
Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...
. In wet weather, riding can be more tolerable with waterproof clothes, such as cape, jacket, trousers (pants) and overshoes and high-visibility clothing is advisable to reduce the risk from motor vehicle users.
Items legally required in some jurisdictions, or voluntarily adopted for safety reasons, include
bicycle helmet
A bicycle helmet is a type of helmet designed to attenuate impacts to the head of a cyclist in falls while minimizing side effects such as interference with peripheral vision. There is ongoing scientific research into the degree of protection ...
s, generator or battery operated lights,
reflectors, and audible signalling devices such as a bell or horn. Extras include
studded tires
Snow tires, also known as winter tires, are tires designed for use on snow and ice. Snow tires have a tread design with larger gaps than those on conventional tires, increasing traction on snow and ice. Such tires that have passed a specific wi ...
and a
bicycle computer.
Bikes can also be heavily customized, with different seat designs and handle bars, for example.
Skills
Many schools and police departments run educational programs to instruct children in bicycle handling skills, especially to introduce them to the
rules of the road Rules of the road may refer to:
Transportation
*Rules of the Road (Ireland), the official road safety manual for Ireland
*Rules of the road in China
*International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
*
Arts and entertainment
* ''Rules of ...
as they apply to cyclists. In some countries these may be known as
bicycle rodeo
A bicycle rodeo is a clinic to teach children the skills and precautions to ride a bicycle safely.
Origin
In the United States, Kiwanis clubs originated the idea of teaching bicycle safety to organized groups of children. They set up bicycle le ...
s, or operated as schemes such as
Bikeability
Bikeability is the Department for Transport’s national award provider for cycle training in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. T ...
in the UK. Education for adult cyclists is available from organizations such as the
League of American Bicyclists
The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education.
A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizat ...
.
Beyond simply riding, another skill is riding efficiently and safely in traffic. One popular approach to riding in
motor vehicle traffic is
vehicular cycling
Vehicular cycling (also known as bicycle driving) is the practice of riding bicycles on roads in a manner that is in accordance with the principles for driving in traffic, and in a way that places responsibility for safety on the individual.
The ...
, occupying road space as car does. Alternately, in countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands, where cycling is popular, cyclists are often segregated into bike lanes at the side of, or more often separate from, main highways and roads. Many primary schools participate in the national road test in which children individually complete a circuit on roads near the school while being observed by testers.
Infrastructure
![Cambridge CMS Bicycle Racks](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Cambridge_CMS_Bicycle_Racks.jpg)
Cyclists, pedestrians and motorists make different demands on road design which may lead to conflicts. Some jurisdictions give priority to motorized traffic, for example setting up one-way street systems, free-right turns, high capacity roundabouts, and
slip roads. Others share priority with cyclists so as to encourage more cycling by applying varying combinations of
traffic calming
Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers in the neighbourhoods. It aims to encourage safe ...
measures to limit the impact of motorized transport, and by building
bike lane
Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor ...
s,
bike path
A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...
s and
cycle track
A cycle track, separated bike lane or protected bike lane (sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath) is an exclusive bikeway that has elements of a separated path and on-road bike lane. A cycle track is located within or next to the r ...
s. The provision of cycling infrastructure varies widely between cities and countries, particularly since cycling for transportation almost entirely occurs in public streets. And, the development of computer vision and street view imagery has provided significant potential to assess infrastructure for cyclists.
In jurisdictions where motor vehicles were given priority, cycling has tended to decline while in jurisdictions where cycling infrastructure was built, cycling rates have remained steady or increased. Occasionally, extreme measures against cycling may occur. In Shanghai, where bicycles were once the dominant
mode of transport
Mode of transport is a term used to distinguish between different ways of transportation or transporting people or goods. The different modes of transport are air, water, and land transport, which includes rails or railways, road and off-road ...
, bicycle travel on a few city roads was banned temporarily in December 2003.
In areas in which cycling is popular and encouraged, cycle-parking facilities using
bicycle stand
A bicycle parking rack, usually shortened to bike rack and also called a bicycle stand, is a device to which bicycles can be securely attached for parking purposes. A bike rack may be free standing or it may be securely attached to the ground o ...
s, lockable mini-garages, and patrolled cycle parks are used in order to reduce theft. Local governments promote cycling by permitting bicycles to be carried on public transport or by providing external
attachment devices on public transport vehicles. Conversely, an absence of secure cycle-parking is a recurring complaint by cyclists from cities with low
modal share
A modal share (also called mode split, mode-share, or modal split) is the percentage of travelers using a particular type of transportation or number of trips using said type. In freight transportation, this may be measured in mass.
Modal share i ...
of cycling.
Extensive cycling infrastructure may be found in some cities. Such dedicated paths in some cities often have to be shared with in-line skaters, scooters, skateboarders, and pedestrians. Dedicated cycling infrastructure is treated differently in the
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
of every jurisdiction, including the question of liability of users in a collision. There is also some debate about the
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are two slightly dif ...
of the various types of separated facilities.
Bicycles are considered a sustainable mode of transport, especially suited for urban use and relatively shorter distances when used for transport (compared to recreation). Case studies and good practices (from European cities and some worldwide examples) that promote and stimulate this kind of functional cycling in cities can be found at
Eltis, Europe's portal for local transport.
A number of cities, including Paris, London and
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, now have successful
bike hire schemes designed to help people cycle in the city. Typically these feature utilitarian city bikes which lock into docking stations, released on payment for set time periods. Costs vary from city to city. In London, initial hire access costs £2 per day. The first 30 minutes of each trip is free, with £2 for each additional 30 minutes until the bicycle is returned.
![Utrecht-IMG 7481](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Utrecht-IMG_7481.JPG)
In the Netherlands, many roads have one or two separate
cycleway
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wher ...
s alongside them, or cycle lanes marked on the road. On roads where adjacent bike paths or cycle tracks exist, the use of these facilities is compulsory, and cycling on the main carriageway is not permitted. Some 35,000 km of cycle-track has been physically segregated from motor traffic,
equal to a quarter of the country's entire 140,000 km road network. A quarter of all the trips in the country made on bicycles, one quarter of them to work. Even the prime minister is going to work by bicycle, when weather permits. This saves the life of 6,000 citizens per year, prolong the life expectancy by 6 months, save the country 20 million dollars per year, and prevent 150 grams of to be emitted per kilometer of cycling, on each bicycle.
Types
Utility
![Coconut bunch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Coconut_bunch.jpg)
Utility cycling refers both to cycling as a mode of daily
commuting
Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regul ...
transport as well as the use of a bicycle in a commercial activity, mainly to transport goods, mostly accomplished in an
urban environment
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...
.
The
postal services
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...
of many countries have long relied on bicycles. The British
Royal Mail first started using bicycles in 1880; now bicycle delivery fleets include 37,000 in the UK, 25,700 in Germany, 10,500 in Hungary and 7000 in Sweden. In Australia, Australia Post has also reintroduced bicycle postal deliveries on some routes due to an inability to recruit sufficient licensed riders willing to use their uncomfortable motorbikes. The
London Ambulance Service
The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) is an NHS trust responsible for operating ambulances and answering and responding to urgent and emergency medical situations within the London region of England. The service responds to 999 phone cal ...
has recently introduced bicycling
paramedic
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
s, who can often get to the scene of an incident in
Central London more quickly than a motorized ambulance.
The use of
bicycles by police has been increasing, since they provide greater accessibility to bicycle and pedestrian zones and allow access when roads are congested. In some cases, bicycle officers have been used as a supplement or a replacement for horseback officers.
Bicycles enjoy substantial use as general delivery vehicles in many countries. In the UK and North America, as their first jobs, generations of teenagers have worked at delivering newspapers by bicycle. London has many delivery companies that use bicycles with trailers. Most cities in the West, and many outside it, support a sizeable and visible industry of
cycle couriers who deliver documents and small packages. In India, many of Mumbai's
Dabbawala
The dabbawalas (also spelled dabbawallas or dabbawallahs, called tiffin wallahs in older sources) constitute a lunchbox delivery and return system that delivers hot lunches from homes and restaurants to people at work in India, especially in Mu ...
s use bicycles to deliver home cooked lunches to the city's workers. In
Bogotá, Colombia the city's largest bakery recently replaced most of its delivery trucks with bicycles. Even the car industry uses bicycles. At the huge
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
factory in
Sindelfingen
Sindelfingen (Swabian: ''Sendlfenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg in south Germany. It lies near Stuttgart at the headwaters of the Schwippe (a tributary of the river Würm), and is home to a Mercedes-Benz assembly plant.
History
* 1155 †...
, Germany workers use bicycles, color-coded by department, to move around the factory.
Recreational
Bicycle touring
Bicycles are used for recreation at all ages.
Bicycle touring
Bicycle touring is the taking of self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy rather than sport, commuting or exercise. Bicycle touring can range from single-day trips to extended travels spanning weeks or months. Tours may be ...
, also known as cyclotourism, involves touring and exploration or sightseeing by bicycle for leisure. Bicycle tourism has been one of the most popular sports for recreational benefit. A
brevet or randonnée is an organized long-distance ride.
One popular Dutch pleasure is the enjoyment of relaxed cycling in the
countryside
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...
of the Netherlands. The land is very flat and full of public
bicycle trails and
cycle track
A cycle track, separated bike lane or protected bike lane (sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath) is an exclusive bikeway that has elements of a separated path and on-road bike lane. A cycle track is located within or next to the r ...
s where cyclists are not bothered by cars and other traffic, which makes it ideal for cycling recreation. Many
Dutch people
The Dutch ( Dutch: ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Netherlands. They share a common history and culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Aru ...
subscribe every year to an event called ''
fietsvierdaagse
{{Unreferenced, date=February 2009
The fietsvierdaagse ("cycling four-day") is a Dutch bicycle event. The event consists of four days of recreational cycling. Mainly during spring and summer, several ''fietsvierdaagsen'' are organised throughout ...
'' — four days of organised cycling through the local environment.
Paris–Brest–Paris (PBP), which began in 1891, is the oldest bicycling event still run on a regular basis on the open road, covers over and imposes a 90-hour time limit. Similar if smaller institutions exist in many countries.
A study conducted in Taiwan improved the environmental quality for bicyclist tourists which demonstrated greater health benefits in tourists and even in natives. The number of bicyclists in Taiwan increased from 700,000 in 2008 to 5.1 million in 2017. Thus, this resulted in more and safer bicycle routes to be established. When cycling, cyclists take into account the safety on the road, bicycle lanes, smooth roads, diverse scenery, and ride length. Thus, the environment plays a huge role in people's decision factor to utilize bicycle touring more. This study utilized many questionnaires and conducted statistical analysis to come up with the conclusion of cyclists' top 5 factors that they consider before making a decision to bike are: safety, lighting facility, design of lanes, the surrounding landscape, and how clean the environment is. Thus, after improving these 5 factors, they found much more recreational benefits to bicycle tourism.
Organized rides
Many
cycling club
A cycling club is a society for cyclists. Clubs tend to be mostly local, and can be general or specialised. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Cyclists' Touring Club, (CTC) is a national cycling association; the Tricycle Association, Tandem ...
s hold organized rides in which bicyclists of all levels participate. The typical organized ride starts with a large group of riders, called the mass, bunch or even
peloton
In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reducti ...
. This will thin out over the course of the ride. Many riders choose to ride together in groups of the same skill level to take advantage of
drafting.
Most organized rides, for example
cyclosportive
A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term '' Gran Fondo'' is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and so ...
s (or gran fondos),
Challenge Rides or
reliability trials, and
hill climbs
Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the fir ...
include registration requirements and will provide information either through the mail or online concerning start times and other requirements. Rides usually consist of several different routes, sorted by mileage, and with a certain number of rest stops that usually include refreshments, first aid and maintenance tools. Routes can vary by as much as .
![Kluft-photo-2019-07-19-SJBP-regroup2a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Kluft-photo-2019-07-19-SJBP-regroup2a.jpg)
Some organized rides are entirely social events. One example is the monthly
San Jose Bike Party which can reach attendance of one to two thousand riders in Summer months.
Mountain
Mountain biking began in the 1970s, originally as a downhill sport, practised on customized
cruiser bicycle
A cruiser bicycle, also known as a beach cruiser or (formerly) motobike, is a bicycle that usually combines balloon tires, an upright seating posture, a single-speed drivetrain, and straightforward steel construction with expressive stylin ...
s around
Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais (; ; Miwok: ''Támal Pájiṣ''), known locally as Mount Tam, is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Moun ...
. Most mountain biking takes place on dirt roads, trails and in purpose-built parks. Downhill mountain biking has just evolved in the recent years and is performed at places such as Whistler Mountain Bike Park. Slopestyle, a form of downhill, is when riders do tricks such as tailwhips, 360s, backflips and front flips.
There are several disciplines of mountain biking besides downhill, including: cross country (often referred to as XC), all mountain, trail, free ride, and newly popular
enduro
Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is ...
.
In 2020, due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
, mountain bikes saw a surge in popularity in the US, with some vendors reporting that they were sold out of bikes under US$1000.
Other
The
Marching and Cycling Band HHK from
Haarlem (the Netherlands) is one of the few marching bands around the world which also performs on bicycles.
Racing
![Borgå rund](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Borg%C3%A5_rund.jpg)
Shortly after the introduction of bicycles, competitions developed independently in many parts of the world. Early races involving
boneshaker style bicycles were predictably fraught with injuries. Large races became popular during the 1890s "Golden Age of Cycling", with events across Europe, and in the U.S. and Japan as well. At one point, almost every major city in the US had a
velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...
or two for
track racing
Track racing is a form of motorcycle racing where teams or individuals race opponents around an unpaved oval track. There are differing variants, with each variant racing on a different surface type.
The most common variant is Speedway which ha ...
events, however since the middle of the 20th century cycling has become a minority sport in the US whilst in Continental Europe it continues to be a major sport, particularly in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Italy and Spain. The most famous of all bicycle races is the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
. This began in 1903, and continues to capture the attention of the sporting world.
In 1899,
Charles Minthorn Murphy
Charles Minthorn Murphy (October 1870 – February 16, 1950), also known as Mile-a-Minute Murphy, was an American cycling athlete. He was the first man ever to ride a bicycle for one mile in less than a minute. He performed this feat in 1899 ...
became the first man to ride his bicycle a mile in under a minute (hence his nickname, Mile-a-Minute Murphy), which he did by drafting a
locomotive at
New York's
Long Island.
As the bicycle evolved its various forms, different racing formats developed. Road races may involve both team and individual competition, and are contested in various ways. They range from the one-day road race,
criterium
A criterium, or crit, is a bike race consisting of several laps around a closed circuit, the length of each lap or circuit ranging from about 400 m to 10,000 m.
Overview
Race length can be determined by a number of laps or total time, ...
, and time trial to multi-stage events like the Tour de France and its sister events which make up cycling's
Grand Tours
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in ...
.
Recumbent bicycles were banned from bike races in 1934 after Marcel Berthet set a new
hour record
The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious reco ...
in his ''Velodyne streamliner'' (49.992 km on 18 November 1933).
Track bicycle
A track bicycle or track bike is a bicycle optimized for racing at a velodrome or outdoor track. Unlike road bicycles, the track bike is a fixed-gear bicycle; thus, it has only a single gear ratio and has neither a freewheel nor brakes. Tires ar ...
s are used for
track cycling
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles.
History
Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...
in
Velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...
s, while
cyclo-cross races are held on outdoor terrain, including pavement, grass, and mud. Cyclocross races feature man-made features such as small barriers which riders either
bunny hop over or dismount and walk over.
Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...
races, another form of road racing require a rider to ride against the clock. Time trials can be performed as a team or as a single rider. Bikes are changed for time trial races, using
aero bars
A bicycle handlebar is the steering control for bicycles. It is the equivalent of a tiller for vehicles and vessels, as it is most often directly mechanically linked to a pivoting front wheel via a stem which in turn attaches it to the fork. B ...
. In the past decade,
mountain bike racing
Mountain bike racing (shortened MTB or ATB racing) is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanction ...
has also reached international popularity and is even an Olympic sport.
Professional racing organizations place limitations on the bicycles that can be used in the races that they sanction. For example, the Union Cycliste Internationale, the governing body of international cycle sport (which sanctions races such as the Tour de France), decided in the late 1990s to create additional rules which prohibit racing bicycles weighing less than 6.8 kilograms (14.96 pounds). The UCI rules also effectively ban some
bicycle frame
A bicycle frame is the main component of a bicycle, onto which wheels and other components are fitted. The modern and most common frame design for an upright bicycle is based on the safety bicycle, and consists of two triangles: a main triangl ...
innovations (such as the
recumbent bicycle) by requiring a double triangle structure.
Activism
Many broad and correlated themes run in bicycle activism: one is about
advocating the bicycle as an alternative mode of transport, and another is about the creation of conditions to permit and/or encourage bicycle use, both for utility and recreational cycling. Although the first emphasizes the potential for energy and resource conservation and health benefits gained from cycling versus automobile use, is relatively undisputed, the second is the subject of much debate.
![Critical Mass, San Francisco, April 29, 2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Critical_Mass%2C_San_Francisco%2C_April_29%2C_2005.jpg)
It is generally agreed that improved local and
inter-city rail
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains.
There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
services and other methods of mass transportation (including greater provision for cycle carriage on such services) create conditions to encourage bicycle use. However, there are different opinions on the role of various types of
cycling infrastructure in building
bicycle-friendly
Bicycle-friendly policies and practices help some people feel more comfortable about traveling by bicycle with other traffic. The level of bicycle-friendliness of an environment can be influenced by many factors including town planning and cyclin ...
cities and roads.
Some bicycle activists (including some traffic management advisers) seek the construction of
bike path
A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...
s,
cycle track
A cycle track, separated bike lane or protected bike lane (sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath) is an exclusive bikeway that has elements of a separated path and on-road bike lane. A cycle track is located within or next to the r ...
s and
bike lane
Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor ...
s for journeys of all lengths and point to their success in promoting
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are two slightly dif ...
and encouraging more people to cycle. Some activists, especially those from the
vehicular cycling
Vehicular cycling (also known as bicycle driving) is the practice of riding bicycles on roads in a manner that is in accordance with the principles for driving in traffic, and in a way that places responsibility for safety on the individual.
The ...
tradition, view the safety, practicality, and intent of such facilities with suspicion. They favor a more holistic approach based on
the 4 'E's; ''education'' (of everyone involved), ''encouragement'' (to apply the education), ''enforcement'' (to protect the rights of others), and ''engineering'' (to facilitate travel while respecting every person's equal right to do so). Some groups offer
training courses to help cyclists integrate themselves with other traffic.
Critical Mass
In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fi ...
is an event typically held on the last Friday of every month in
cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
around the world where bicyclists take to the streets ''en masse''. While the ride was founded with the idea of drawing attention to how unfriendly the city was to bicyclists, the leaderless structure of Critical Mass makes it impossible to assign it any one specific goal. In fact, the purpose of Critical Mass is not formalized beyond the
direct action of meeting at a set location and time and traveling as a group through city streets.
There is a long-running
cycle helmet debate among activists. The most heated controversy surrounds the topic of
compulsory helmet use.
It is paradoxical that in many developing countries cycling is in decline as bicycles are replaced by motorbikes and cars, while in many developed countries cycling is on the rise.
Equality
Within western societies the demographic of those who cycle is often not representative of broader society. Research by
TfL in London, UK, suggests that cyclists in London are typically 'white, under 40, male, with medium to high household income.' Studies from large-scale representative data from Germany show that people higher levels of education cycle substantially more often than those with lower levels of education. Even for trips of the same distance and among people from the same city with the same income level, those with higher education cycle more. As a result, there are various forms of activism focused on diversifying the cycling community. Inspired by the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...
movement are organizations such as
Street Riders NYC that seek to protest while on bicycles about systemic racism and police brutality. An incidental experience for Street Riders NYC protest participants is the inequity in where safe bicycling infrastructure exists by neighbourhood, which is interpreted as a form of
classism
Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense ...
within cycling and
urbanism
Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, which is the profession focusing on the physical design and ...
. Historically the bicycle has acted as a means for women's liberation and thus has links to
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
.
Associations
![World Cycling Centre - Aigle Switzerland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/World_Cycling_Centre_-_Aigle_Switzerland.jpg)
Cyclists form associations, both for specific interests (trails development, road maintenance, bike maintenance, urban design, racing clubs, touring clubs, etc.) and for more global goals (
energy conservation, pollution reduction, promotion of fitness). Some bicycle clubs and national associations became prominent advocates for improvements to roads and highways. In the United States, the
League of American Wheelmen
The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education.
A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...
lobbied for the improvement of roads in the last part of the 19th century, founding and leading the national
Good Roads Movement
The Good Roads Movement occurred in the United States between the late 1870s and the 1920s. It was the rural dimension of the Progressive movement. A key player was the United States Post Office Department. Once a commitment was made for Rural F ...
. Their model for political organization, as well as the paved roads for which they argued, facilitated the growth of the automobile.
In Europe, the
European Cyclists' Federation
The European Cyclists' Federation (ECF) is a non-profit member-based umbrella federation of local, regional and national civil society organizations that promote cycling for both transportation and leisure.
ECF has around 70 member organizati ...
represents around 70 local, regional and national civil society organisations across more than 40 countries that work to promote cycling as a mode of transport and leisure.
As a sport, cycling is governed internationally by the
Union Cycliste Internationale
The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
The UCI issues raci ...
in Switzerland,
USA Cycling
USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States. It covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, and BMX across all ages and ability level ...
(merged with the United States Cycling Federation in 1995) in the United States, (for
upright bicycle
Body relative directions (also known as egocentric coordinates) are geometrical orientations relative to a body such as a human person's.
The most common ones are: left and right; forward(s) and backward(s); up and down.
They form three pairs ...
s) and by the
International Human Powered Vehicle Association
The International Human Powered Vehicle Association (IHPVA) is a US-based organization dedicated to promoting the design and development of human powered vehicles (HPVs) and the keeping of speed and distance records for these vehicles and bikes.
...
(for other HPVs, or human-powered vehicles). Cycling for transport and touring is promoted on a European level by the
European Cyclists' Federation
The European Cyclists' Federation (ECF) is a non-profit member-based umbrella federation of local, regional and national civil society organizations that promote cycling for both transportation and leisure.
ECF has around 70 member organizati ...
, with associated members from Great Britain, Japan and elsewhere. Regular conferences on cycling as transport are held under the auspices of
Velo City
Velo-city is a series of cycle planning conferences that started in 1980 in Bremen. The name Velo-city is a small play on word using the French for bicycle – vélo, and Velo-city can also be read as velocity or speed. European Cyclists’ Fe ...
; global conferences are coordinated by Velo Mondial.
Health effects
The health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks, when cycling is compared to a sedentary lifestyle. A Dutch study found that cycling can extend lifespans by up to 14 months, but the risks equated to a reduced lifespan of 40 days or less. Mortality rate reduction was found to be directly correlated to the average time spent cycling, totaling to approximately 6500 deaths prevented by cycling.
Cycling in the Netherlands
Cycling is a common mode of transport in the Netherlands, with 36% of Dutch people listing the bicycle as their most frequent way of getting around on a typical day, as opposed to the car (45%) and public transport (11%). Cycling has a modal sha ...
is often safer than in other parts of the world, so the
risk-benefit ratio will be different in other regions. Overall, benefits of cycling or walking have been shown to exceed risks by ratios of 9:1 to 96:1 when compared with no exercise at all, including a wide variety of physical and mental outcomes.
Exercise
![Cyclist-189](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Cyclist-189.JPG)
The
physical exercise gained from cycling is generally linked with increased health and well-being. According to the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
(WHO), physical inactivity is second only to
tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and ingesting the resulting smoke. The smoke may be inhaled, as is done with cigarettes, or simply released from the mouth, as is generally done with pipes and cigars. The practice is believed ...
as a health risk in developed countries,
and is associated with 20-30% increased risk of various cancers, heart disease, and diabetes and tens of billions of dollars of healthcare costs. The WHO's 2009 report
suggests that increasing physical activity is a public health "best buy", and that cycling is a "highly suitable activity" for this purpose. The charity
Sustrans
Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network.
Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United K ...
reports that investment in cycling provision can give a 20:1 return from health and other benefits. It has been estimated that, on average, approximately 20 life-years are gained from the health benefits of road bicycling for every life-year lost through injury.
Bicycles are often used by people seeking to improve their fitness and cardiovascular health. Recent studies on the use of cycling for commutes have shown that it reduces the risk of cardiovascular outcomes by 11%, with slightly more risk reduction in women than in men.
In addition, cycling is especially helpful for those with
arthritis of the lower limbs who are unable to pursue sports that cause impact to the knees and other joints. Since cycling can be used for the practical purpose of transportation, there can be less need for self-discipline to exercise.
Cycling while seated is a relatively non-
weight bearing In orthopedics, weight-bearing is the amount of weight a patient puts on an injured body part. Generally, it refers to a leg, ankle or foot that has been fractured or upon which surgery has been performed, but the term can also be used to refer to ...
exercise that, like
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
, does little to promote bone density. Cycling up and out of the saddle, on the other hand, does a better job by transferring more of the rider's body weight to the legs. However, excessive
cycling while standing can cause knee damage It used to be thought that cycling while standing was less energy efficient, but recent research has proven this not to be true. Other than air resistance, there is no wasted energy from cycling while standing, if it is done correctly.
Cycling on a
stationary cycle is frequently advocated as a suitable exercise for rehabilitation, particularly for lower limb injury, owing to the low impact which it has on the joints. In particular, cycling is commonly used within knee rehabilitation programs, to strengthen the quadriceps muscles with minimal stress on the knee ligaments. Further stress of the knee can be relieved by changing seat heights and pedal position to improve the rehabilitation. Cycling is also used for rehabilitation after hip surgery to manage soft-tissue healing, control swelling and pain, and allow a larger range of motion to the nearby muscles earlier during recovery.
As a result, many institutions have established a rehabilitation protocol that involves stationary cycling as part of the recovery process. One such protocol offered by Mayo Clinic recommends 2–4 weeks of cycling on an upright stationary bike following
hip arthroscopy
Hip arthroscopy refers to the viewing of the interior of the acetabulofemoral (hip) joint through an arthroscope and the treatment of hip pathology through a minimally invasive approach. This technique is sometimes used to help in the treatment of ...
, starting from 5 minutes per session and slowly increasing to 30 minutes per session. The goal of these sessions are to reduce joint
inflammation
Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molec ...
and maintain the widest range of motion possible with limited pain.
![Bike at Prins hendrikkade Amsterdam centraal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Bike_at_Prins_hendrikkade_Amsterdam_centraal.JPG)
As a response to the increased global sedentary lifestyles and consequent overweight and
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
, one response that has been adopted by many organizations concerned with health and environment is the promotion of
Active travel, which seeks to promote walking and cycling as safe and attractive alternatives to motorized transport. Given that many journeys are for relatively short distances, there is considerable scope to replace car use with walking or cycling, though in many settings this may require some infrastructure modification, particularly to attract the less experienced and confident.
An Italian study assessed the impact of cycling for commute on major non-communicable diseases and public healthcare costs. Using a health economic assessment model, the study found a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes, acute myocardial infarction, and stroke in individuals that cycled compared to those that did not actively commute. This model estimated that public healthcare costs would reduce by 5% over a 10-year period.
Illinois designated cycling as its
official state exercise in 2007.
Mental health
The effects of cycling on overall mental health have often been studied. A European study surveying participants from seven cities about self-perceived health based on primary modes of transportation reported favorable results in the bicycle use population.
The bicycle use group reported predominantly good self-perceived health, less perceived stress, better mental health, better vitality, and less loneliness. The study attributed these results to possible economic benefits and senses of both independence and identity as a member of a cyclist community. An English study recruiting non-cyclist older adults aged 50 to 83 to participate as either conventional pedal bike cyclists, electrically assisted e-bike cyclists, or a non-cyclist control group in outdoor trails measured cognitive function through executive function, spatial reasoning, and memory tests and well-being through questionnaires. The study did not find significant differences in spatial reasoning or memory tests. It did, however, find that both cyclists groups had improved executive function and well-being, both with greater improvement in the e-bike group. This suggested that non-physical factors of cycling such as independence, engagement with the outdoor environment, and mobility play a greater role in improving mental health.
A 15-month randomized controlled trial in the U.S. examined the impact of self-paced cycling on cognitive function in institutionalized older adults without cognitive impairment. Researchers used three cognitive assessments: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Fuld object memory evaluation, and symbol digit modality test. The study found that long-term cycling for at least 15 minutes per day in older adults without cognitive impairment had a protective effect on cognition and attention.
Cycling has also been shown to be effective adjunct therapy in certain mental health conditions.
Bicycle safety
![Santa-Maria-Patroness-of-bicyclists-4606](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Santa-Maria-Patroness-of-bicyclists-4606.jpg)
Cycling suffers from a perception that it is unsafe. This perception is not always backed by hard numbers, because of under reporting of crashes and lack of bicycle use data (amount of cycling, kilometers cycled) which make it hard to assess the
risk
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environm ...
and monitor changes in risks.
In the UK, fatality rates per mile or kilometre are slightly less than those for walking.
In the US, bicycling fatality rates are less than 2/3 of those walking the same distance. However, in the UK for example the fatality and serious injury rates ''per hour of travel'' are just over double for cycling than those for walking.
Despite the risk factors associated with bicycling, cyclists have a lower overall mortality rate when compared to other groups. A Danish study in 2000 found that even after adjustment for other risk factors, including leisure time physical activity, those who did not cycle to work experienced a 39% higher mortality rate than those who did.
Injuries (to cyclists, from cycling) can be divided into two types:
*
Physical trauma (extrinsic)
* Overuse (intrinsic)
Physical trauma
Acute
Acute may refer to:
Science and technology
* Acute angle
** Acute triangle
** Acute, a leaf shape in the glossary of leaf morphology
* Acute (medicine), a disease that it is of short duration and of recent onset.
** Acute toxicity, the adverse eff ...
physical trauma includes injuries to the head and extremities resulting from falls and collisions. Most cycle deaths result from a collision with a car or heavy goods vehicle. Drivers are at fault in the majority of these crashes. Segregated cycling infrastructure reduces the rate of crashes between bicycles and motor vehicles.
Although a majority of bicycle collisions occur during the day,
bicycle lighting
Bicycle lighting is illumination attached to bicycles whose purpose above all is, along with reflectors, to improve the visibility of the bicycle and its rider to other road users under circumstances of poor ambient illumination. A secondary p ...
is recommended for
safety when bicycling at night to increase visibility.
Overuse injuries
Of a study of 518 cyclists, a large majority reported at least one overuse injury, with over one third requiring medical treatment. The most common injury sites were the neck (48.8%) and the knees (41.7%), as well as the groin/buttocks (36.1%), hands (31.1%), and back (30.3%). Women were more likely to suffer from neck and shoulder pain than men.
Many cyclists suffer from overuse injuries to the knees, affecting cyclists at all levels. These are caused by many factors:
*Incorrect bicycle fit or adjustment, particularly the saddle.
*Incorrect adjustment of clipless pedals.
*Too many hills, or too many miles, too early in the training season.
*Poor training preparation for long touring rides.
*Selecting too high a gear. A lower gear for uphill climb protects the knees, even though muscles may be well able to handle a higher gear.
Overuse injuries, including chronic nerve damage at weight bearing locations, can occur as a result of repeatedly riding a bicycle for extended periods of time. Damage to the
ulnar nerve in the palm,
carpal tunnel
In the human body, the carpal tunnel or carpal canal is the passageway on the palmar side of the wrist that connects the forearm to the hand.
The tunnel is bounded by the bones of the wrist and flexor retinaculum from connective tissue. Norma ...
in the wrist, the genitourinary tract or
bicycle seat neuropathy may result from overuse.
Recumbent bicycles are designed on different
ergonomic
Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Four primary goals of human factors learnin ...
principles and eliminate pressure from the saddle and handlebars, due to the relaxed riding position.
Note that overuse is a relative term, and capacity varies greatly between individuals. Someone starting out in cycling must be careful to increase length and frequency of cycling sessions slowly, starting for example at an hour or two per day, or a hundred miles or kilometers per week. Bilateral muscular pain is a normal by-product of the training process, whereas unilateral pain may reveal "exercise-induced arterial endofibrosis". Joint pain and numbness are also early signs of overuse injury.
A Spanish study of top
triathlete
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...
s found those who cover more than 186 miles (300 km) a week on their bikes have less than 4% normal looking
sperm, where normal adult males would be expected to have from 15% to 20%.
Saddle related
Much work has been done to investigate optimal
bicycle saddle
A bicycle saddle, often called a bicycle seat, is one of five contact points on an upright bicycle, the others being the two pedals and the two handles on the handlebars. (A bicycle seat in the specific sense also supports the back.)
The bic ...
shape, size and position, and negative effects of extended use of less than optimal seats or configurations.
Excessive saddle height can cause
posterior knee pain, while setting the saddle too low can cause pain in the
anterior of the knee. An incorrectly fitted saddle may eventually lead to muscle imbalance. A 25 to 35 degree knee angle is recommended to avoid an overuse injury.
Cycling has been linked to sexual impotence due to pressure on the perineum from the seat, but fitting a proper sized seat prevents this effect.
In extreme cases,
pudendal nerve entrapment
Pudendal nerve entrapment (PNE), also known as Alcock canal syndrome, is an uncommon source of chronic pain in which the pudendal nerve (located in the pelvis) is entrapped or compressed in Alcock's canal. There are several different types of P ...
can be a source of intractable perineal pain. Some cyclists with induced pudendal nerve pressure neuropathy gained relief from improvements in saddle position and riding techniques.
The
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, ) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the C ...
(NIOSH) has investigated the potential health effects of prolonged bicycling in police bicycle patrol units, including the possibility that some bicycle saddles exert excessive pressure on the urogenital area of cyclists, restricting blood flow to the genitals. Their study found that using bicycle seats without protruding noses reduced pressure on the groin by at least 65% and significantly reduced the number of cases of urogenital paresthesia. A follow-up found that 90% of bicycle officers who tried the no-nose seat were using it six months later. NIOSH recommends that riders use a no-nose bicycle seat for workplace bicycling.
Despite rumors to the contrary, there is no
scientific evidence linking cycling with
testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility.
Risk factors include an ...
.
Although cycling is beneficial to health, men can be negatively affected by cycling more than three hours a week due to the significant weight on their perineum, an area located between the scrotum and the anus which hold some of the nerves and arteries that pass to the penis. This weight for continuous hours a week can cause men to experience numbness or tingling which can lead to them losing the ability to achieve an erection due to reduced blood flow; which 13% of males did experience in a study by Norwegian researchers who gathered data from 160 men participating in a long-distance bike tour.
Exposure to air pollution
One concern is that riding in traffic may expose the cyclist to higher levels of air pollution, especially if he or she travels on or along busy roads. Some authors have claimed this to be untrue, showing that the pollutant and irritant count within cars is consistently higher, presumably because of limited circulation of air within the car and due to the air intake being directly in the stream of other traffic. Other authors have found small or inconsistent differences in concentrations but claim that exposure of cyclists is higher due to increased minute
ventilation
Ventilation may refer to:
* Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation
** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing
*** Ventilator, a m ...
and is associated with minor biological changes. A 2010 study estimated that the gained life expectancy from the health benefits of cycling (approximately 3–14 months gained) greatly exceeded the lost life expectancy from air pollution (approximately 0.8–40 days lost).
However, a systematic review comparing the effects of air pollution exposure on the health of cyclists was conducted, but the authors concluded that the differing methodologies and measuring parameters of each study made it difficult to compare results and suggested a more holistic approach was needed to accomplish this.
The significance of the associated health effect, if any, is unclear but probably much smaller than the health impacts associated with accidents and the health benefits derived from additional physical activity.
See also
*
Cycling mobility
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...
*
History of cycling
Cycling quickly became an activity after bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and remains popular with more than a billion people worldwide used for recreation, transportation and sport.
Racing
The first documented cycling race was a 1,2 ...
*
Outline of bicycles
:''This article is an outline about bicycles themselves. For an outline about cycling, the associated activity, see outline of cycling.''
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to bicycles:
Bicycle – pedal- ...
*
Bicycle culture
Bicycle culture can refer to a mainstream culture that supports the use of bicycles or to a subculture. Although "bike culture" is often used to refer to various forms of associated fashion, it is erroneous to call fashion in and of itself a cu ...
*
Cycle sport
*
Masters cycling
Masters cycling is an age category of cycling officially established by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 1994.
Competitions
* ''World Masters Track Cycling Championships'' organized since 1997.
* ''European Masters Cycling Championships' ...
*
Fancy Women Bike Ride
References
{{Authority control
Aerobic exercise
Sustainable transport
Articles containing video clips
Symbols of Illinois
Emissions reduction