Henninger Turm-2005-Finale-Runde2-Spitzengruppe

Road cycling is the most widespread form of

cycling 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 ...

in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes

recreational Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleas ...

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

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 regu ...

, and

utility cycling Utility cycling encompasses any cycling done simply as a means of transport rather than as a sport or leisure activity. It is the original and most common type of cycling in the world. Cycling mobility is one of the various types of private ...

. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same

laws 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 vari ...

as motorists, however there are certain exceptions. While there are many types of

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 ...

that are used on the roads such as

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

recumbents A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons: the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by b ...

, touring and

utility bicycles 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 ...

, dedicated road bicycles have specific characteristics that make them ideal for the sport. Road bicycles have thinner tires, lighter frames with no suspension, and a set of drop handle bars to allow riders to get in a more

aerodynamic Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...

position while cycling at higher speeds. On a flat road, an intermediate cyclist can average about , while a professional rider can average up to . At higher speeds,

wind resistance In fluid dynamics, drag (sometimes called air resistance, a type of friction, or fluid resistance, another type of friction or fluid friction) is a force acting opposite to the relative motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding flu ...

becomes an important factor; aerodynamic road bikes have been developed over the years to ensure that as much as possible of the rider's energy is spent propelling the bike forward.

History

In 1817, Karl von Drais created the first bicycle which used heavy

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

and

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

, but since then, the road bicycle industry has adopted

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

, and

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion i ...

as the main materials for production. The first steel bicycles weighed as much as 80 pounds, whereas the lightest carbon fiber road bikes now can weigh as little as thirteen pounds. On May 31, 1868, cycling officially became a sport with the first race occurring at Saint-Cloud Park in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. While this first race was not considered a road race, road cycling races began to pop up throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in the 1870s. Road cycling as a form of recreational activity as well as a way to

commute Commute, commutation or commutative may refer to: * Commuting, the process of travelling between a place of residence and a place of work Mathematics * Commutative property, a property of a mathematical operation whose result is insensitive to th ...

began to gain traction shortly after these first road races. Since its origins, millions of people have adopted road cycling for either recreation or commuting. In 2020, it was estimated that about 44.5 million people worldwide participate in road cycling, which is an increase of about five million people since 2019. Demand for road bicycles as well as other types of bicycles continued to increase throughout 2021. Since the beginning of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

in 2020, the cycling industry saw a massive increase in sales which amounted to a worldwide market size of $57.5 Billion USD, about 35% of which can be attributed to road cycling. Partially due to this increase in popularity as well as

supply chain In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, activ ...

issues, the cycling industry saw a global bicycle shortage in the second half of 2021.

Riding Safety

Sharing the roadways with other motorists is an unavoidable aspect of road cycling, so road cyclists are generally expected to follow the same

as their motorist counterparts. That being said, road cyclists also have the same fundamental

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...

as motorists. In the U.S., laws for cyclists vary by state, so it is important to keep up to date on your state's road cycling laws. You can find a breakdown of all cycling laws by stat
here

Helmets

While laws on wearing

helmets A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protec ...

vary by juristiction in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, helmets significantly reduce the risk of serious injury and death in the event of an accident. Cyclist_removing_helmet_after_cycling_on_roads

Crash Prevention

In 2019, 846 cyclists were killed in road related accidents in the United States. Most fatal bike crashes were caused between 6 P.M. and 9 P.M. and about 78% of fatal crashes in 2019 were in urban areas. Some tips for crash prevention are: * Check to make sure that your brakes work. * Wear reflective gear as much as possible. * If you have shoe laces, make sure they are tied so they do not get caught in the drivetrain. * Plan your route with caution. * Use bike lanes as much as possible. * Invest in a rear tail light.

Road Cycling Industry

Some of the major companies within the road cycling industry are: * Accell Group * Atlas Cycles (Haryana) Ltd. * Avon Cycles Ltd. * Cervelo * Dorel Industries Inc. *

Giant Bicycles Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (commonly known as Giant) is a Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer, recognized as the world's largest bicycle designer and manufacturer. Giant has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, the Netherlands, China, and Hungary. H ...

* Merida Industry Co., Ltd *

Pinarello Cicli Pinarello S.p.A. is an Italian bicycle manufacturer based in Treviso, Italy. Founded in 1953, it supplies mostly handmade bicycles for the road, track, E-bikes(NYTRO), mountain bikes and cyclo-cross. The company also produces bicycles un ...

Shimano , originally and later , is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company for cycling components, fishing tackles and rowing equipment, who also produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear until 2008. Named after founder Shozabu ...

* SRAM *

Specialized Bicycle Components Specialized Bicycle Components, Inc., colloquially known as and stylized as SPECIALIZED, is an American company which designs, manufactures and markets bicycles, bicycle components and related products under the brand name "Specialized", as well ...

, Inc. *

SCOTT Sports Scott Sports SA (formerly Scott USA) is a Swiss producer of bicycles, winter equipment, motorsports gear and sportswear. The company's main office is in Givisiez, Switzerland, with branches in Europe and in the United States, South Africa and In ...

SA *

Trek Bicycle Corporation Trek Bicycle Corporation is a bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Electra Bicycle Company, Bontrager, and Diamant Bikes. The company has previously manufactured bikes under the Gary Fisher, LeMond Rac ...

References