The bicycle as a symbol of lifestyle, status and distinction. A cultural studies analysis of urban cycling (sub)cultures in Berlin

ABSTRACT

The bicycle has been gaining attention in planning, politics, academia and across the media and has become increasingly present in urban landscapes and popular cultures: young urbanites ride minimalistic, stylish and individualised bicycles and wear messenger bags for their commute to work or to university. Additionally, bicycles can be seen in lifestyle blogs, advertising, shop windows or living rooms as decoration and eye-catchers. Taking this observation as a starting point, I focus my research on how bicycles, especially fixed-gear bikes and recent cycling trends are being used to express lifestyle, status, and social distinction in an urban middleclass context. In order to investigate further, I conducted a cultural studies analysis based on participant observations and media analysis exploring cultural meanings and practices in urban cycling cultures in Berlin, Germany. My research leads me to the result that the bicycle is increasingly turning into a key object of popular urban culture, combining tendencies of commercialisation, specialisation and standardisation, with a strong focus on aesthetics, design, lifestyle and consumerism. In the context of urban cultures, the bicycle is therefore experiencing a symbolic revaluation, making it desirable to more and more urbanites, but also more exclusive.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban cycling
• cycling cultures
• cultural studies
• consumer cultures
• lifestyle
• fixed-gear bicycles

Acknowledgments

This work was kindly supported by the Chair of Integrated Transport Planning at Technische Universität Berlin. I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Dr. Oliver Schwedes,my PhD colleagues, and the reviewers for their critical examinations and helpful suggestions, as well as Svenja Paulsen for proofreading, lengthy discussions and thoughtful editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. See https://volksentscheid-fahrrad.de/en/3550-2/for further information.

2. See https://radbahn.berlin/en

3. Gravel biking is probably the hottest trend for urban bikers in Berlin at the moment––as one participant said: “Everyone rides gravel now”. Simply put, it is a mixture of mountain-biking and road cycling. Gravel biking evolved within the last ten years in the United States and is currently booming, with a huge rise in gravel-events and participation (King 2020).

4. A fixed-gear bike is a bicycle whose main feature is simplicity. It has only one gear with no freewheel mechanism, forcing riders to constantly keep pedalling while riding. This also enables riders to slow down or bring their bike to a halt by pushing back with every rotation, or by fully blocking the back wheel. Fixed-gears can thus function without brakes. The single-speed bicycle is a hybrid that combines the minimalistic aesthetics of the fixed-gear with the comfort of a free wheel and thus requires brakes. Both types have become icons of urban cycling today and are often mistaken for each other.

5. Following Greif, Ross, and Tortorici (2010) the hipster functions as a general term for young, mainly white and male, fashion-conscious urbanites, based on cultural attribution.

6. e.g. Coboc, Ampler, VanMoof, Geos Urban, Cowboy, HNF Heisneberg, Sushi Bikes, Asfalt LR, Schindelhauer.

7. See https://itstartedwithafight.de/category/wandhalterungen/for a collection of over 80 different types of bicycle wall holders.

8. e.g. Standert, Keirin Cycling Culture Café, Steel Vintage Bikes or Cicli Berlinetta in Berlin; Look Mum No Hands, or former Lock 7 in London; Dosnoventa or Pavé Culture Cycliste in Barcelona or the several Rapha Clubhouses.

9. Similar events in the UK would be Spin Cycling Festival in London and Birmingham BikeFest.

10. e.g. RadRace and 8bar Crit in Germany; Thundercrit and London Nocturne in the UK, as well as a lot of races and criteriums in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy and the U.S.

11. The RadRace Last Man Standing in Berlin was live-streamed and commentated by British Global Cycling Network (GCN) reaching about 100 000 views on top of about 10 000 spectators at the venue.

12. https://www.rapha.cc/it/en/stories/riding-is-the-answer