The Rise of Fixed Gear Bikes and the Advancement of Bike Culture in China

There’s a point when a trend turns into a movement and movement turns into a way of life. In regards to the advancement of bike culture in major Chinese cities, a movement has begun. The influx of foreign and local led biking efforts across major Chinese cities is propelling both the customized (through the fixed gear scene) and the traditional bike culture movement forward into 2010 and beyond.

Looking back at 2009, the promotion of bike culture in China came from many global and local channels. The Danish Expo Pavilion plans to offer 1500 bikes to be used during the Shanghai 2010 Expo, Alley Cat races in both Shanghai and Beijing and a future race in Guangzhou united bike enthusiasts in urban environments. Bike culture amongst Chinese youth was further empowered by initiatives in Shanghai including the Good to Shanghai – 01Cool Bike program and a local government initiative in Minhang providing free bikes to university students. Youth magazines, such as URBN and 1626, began to recognize the fashionable and hip nature of local fixed gear bike products and riders, publishing multiple articles over the past year on the fixed gear bike culture in China. In addition, we saw online and offline bike groups popping up all over China promoting fixed gear bike culture. Even the Shanghai Government chimed in with their expressed desire to create more biking lanes in Shanghai that focus on getting commuters with the last 3 kilometers of their destination–often the most troublesome and inconvenient for public transportation. Looking back at the steps being taken to promote bike culture in China, it’s safe to say a movement has begun.

Local Shanghai Bike enthusiast and co-founder of Shanghai’s People’s Bike, Karl Ke also has noticed a renewed focus on China’s bike movement.

“Basically, I think people more and more fancy riding a bike, based on four key areas: 1) the government began extensive promotion of environmental protection concepts. 2) More and more Western media are promoting the concept of bike riding and healthy living, which is a cool thing for young riders. 3) More people want to escape from depression and immerse themselves in city life. Cycling is one of the most effective and easy ways to escape and control things in one’s daily life. 4) Fixed gear is simple and close to the concept of extreme sports, but has its own unparalleled noble temperament.”

As with most trends, it’s the early adopters that create the initial first steps that lead to an entire movement. For biking culture in China, we turn to the introduction and spread of fixed gear bikes as a blueprint on where this overall movement is headed and how organizations and environmental groups can capitalize. The global popularity of fixed gear bikes is a storied one from the velodrome to the streets of New York and San Francisco. These brake-less bikes, with a fixed gear hub, making biking both dangerous and exhilarating, came across the oceans and spread into fashion circles in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. 2008 and 2009 marked their arrival into China. But could such brake-less devices catch on with local riders throughout China?

We asked Ethan, a fixed gear bike rider in Dalian his views on the advancement of this movement in China.

“The young people riding Fixed Gears through the concrete jungle general think Fixed Gear represents a way of life and an attitude that is simple. There’s no compromise; it’s a free cultural product. Different from other extreme sports such as skateboarding, Fixed Gear is quickly popular in China. The key reason is the popularization of the network, and it includes the development of exchanging online information and e-commerce (Most of the Fixed Gear parts are sold through the internet because they are rare and hard to locate in China.)”

These youth values of freedom, self-expression, and simplicity have been some of the most prominent in 2009 and we don’t see this changing in the coming years. In addition, environmental protection is another value we have seen emerging over the past year. As we have written previously, events such as Copenhagen, the movie 2012, and also the daily reality within most cities, has led to an increased focus on small changes youth can make in their daily lives to help the environment. As the government and organizations (in Shanghai, especially related to the 2010 Expo) continue to focus on the environment, we believe biking will become an important way for youth to take action.

People’s Bike co-founder, Tyler Bowa agrees with a renewed community and government involvement.

“The bicycle in China has a much maligned status as one of the lowliest methods of transport and is excluded from its roles as tool for exercise, competition and leisure. This stigma makes the sport prime for revitalization.  The overwhelming growth of youth riders in China within the last year has exceeded 100 times that of 2008.  I expect by 2012 to see a major shift not only in the youth trend, but also in the reaction and support from the Chinese community and government.”

In addition, customizable options on fixed gear bikes allow youth to re-engage with biking culture in China.  Bikes have obviously been the fabric of society for many years but youth will value a new take on the device. While some within the new Chinese consumer space may look down on bikes and biking as a representation of a lower class in society, alternative (and more expensive) options such as highly customizable bikes align with youth desire for trendy and personalized objects.

Over the next few years, look for the following areas to grow and expand the bike movement into more regions of Chinese culture:

Local online and offline bike movements.

As the bike movement speeds forward, look for more and more bike-interest groups to rise online and offline. A perfect example is Shanghai’s People’s Bike.

Founded by Canadian native Tyler Bowa and Shanghai local Karl Ke, these guys are on a mission to be the hub for all things “bike” in China. Through the bilingual site and their extensive foreign and local rider networks, they plan weekly rides, races, and have recently stared a movie project called Jhong.

“Jhong seeks to promote the idea that cycling is not merely a form of transportation, but also an exciting sport and a tool of cultural exchange. Based in Shanghai and using peoplesbike.com as a catalyst, they hope to expand on an already growing network of cycling enthusiasts throughout China through direct contact, mutual interaction, and, of course, bike rides.”

Support from non-profit initiatives and government programs

It takes a single order from the National Chinese Government in Beijing to change both public and local government mindsets. Beijing simply needs to focus their eye on improving bike culture in China for this movement to really take off.

Local initiatives such as Good to Shanghai – 01Cool Bike, led by passionate biking enthusiast Susan Evans, are working with local governments, Chinese bike companies and Chinese university students to promote bike culture in cities throughout China. Susan is planning many bike events throughout China to coincide with Shanghai’s 2010 Expo as well as global environmental initiatives.

Stay tuned for more and also lets us know your thoughts on biking in China.