Influence Watch: Cycling

Now that all the ice has well and truly melted, and it’s a little safer to get back on the saddle, thoughts turn to cycling. Profiled here are some cycling blogs that I think have been able to hit that magic combination of consistency and relevance, that makes them so influential.

Bike Snob NYC adopts the format of obsessive diary rants, vexing about various trends in cycling (and generally anything that falls in his crosshairs). He even counts Lance Armstrong among his readers, who was seen in one of his ‘Seal Of Disproval’ t-shirts. His success has no doubt been partly due to his anonymity, achieving a very enjoyable ‘Average Joe’ tone. Although recently, he has revealed his identity as Eben Weiss, with the launch of his book Bike Snob: Systematically and Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling. The recent surge in interest over fixed-gear bicycles both fuelled his anger and his readership. With single-speed and fixed-gear cyclists the fastest rising group taking up cycling, his ‘too cool for school’ attitude was always going to draw contention amongst young internet-savvy riders. Another influential bike blogger and fixed-gear enthusiast from New York, John Watson, admitted that he “hated it” at first, but over time began to appreciate the style of his ramblings.

Watson’s own blog Prolly Is Not Probably is also very popular, and panders to the younger crowd that Bike Snob NYC simultaneously derides and relies upon. A central figure among trick riders in New York, he organises meet-ups between riders called the Peel Sessions. The content of the blog is broader and more colourful, with a focus on design. He often features new manufacturers, frame builders, films, and clothing brands. Travelling to conventions and events, he keeps his ear to the ground for exciting developments in the international scene.

Copenhagenize takes a much more socially-conscious approach to cycling as a phenomenon. The term Copenhagenization was a term that was circulated in Australia at one point, when Melbourne city council used the term to refer to the creation of a bicycle-friendly infrastructure (they originally called this the ‘Copenhagen Treatment’). Mikael Colville-Andersen, a Danish urban design consultant, brought the term to a wider audience in 2007 with Copenhagenize. The Guardian called him “The Sartorialist on two wheels”, as he documents the daily travels of Copenhagen’s stylish inhabitants on their daily bicycle journeys. The blog takes an approach to cycling that looks at its’ wider functions and potential role in city development. He relates the simple pleasures of riding bicycles, back to their potential for achieving a better standard of city living.

Check them out:

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/ – 112, 437 links

http://prollyisnotprobably.com/ – 63, 526 links

http://www.copenhagenize.com/ – 97, 741 links

(Link analysis was conducted using Yahoo Site Explorer) …