“Despite some signs of a shift, the bike industry as a whole remains very much in the business of selling recreational equipment. A quick leaf through Bicycling will tell you that. For two decades the bike industry has pursued performance enhancements that offer precisely no benefit to commuting bicyclists, offering high-tech toys to competitive or athletic bicyclists. You know, maybe .5 percent of the American population? Us bicycle commuters? Well, we just kind of ‘got by.’ We commuted by bicycle in spite of the bike industry, not because of it.

A ‘Commuting’ section at REI. Another sign of the bicycle industry’s growing interest in the bicycle commuting market? Maybe?!?”

It remains to be seen whether the industry sees commuting as just another fad to be exploited, or whether there’s really been change. Bicycling magazine, which actually got a little less Lycra-boy for a while, now is swinging back in the other direction, full of car ads and crap about “dropping your buds” on the club ride. I remain wary – we had to go way out of our way, when we were looking for a new commuter for L, to find a bike shop that would take a woman commuting seriously and not just put her on a comfort hybrid. My experience in Westchester has been that most bike shops here still cater to middle-aged captains of industry with TdF fantasies. But there are good shops out there, even if you need to travel a bit to get to them. After doing some research, we ended up going to Yorktown Cycles in Yorktown Heights, where we got excellent service. After a couple test rides, including a hill where she cackled quietly the whole way up, L decided on a Specialized TriCross and loves it.

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commuting, bikes, bicycling, bike commuting