The 4 Types of Cyclists You'll Meet on U.S. City Streets

A decade ago, Portland bike chief Roger Geller famously sorted the city’s cycling population into four kinds of riders. A small fraction, Geller ballparked, were “strong and fearless.” A slightly larger share, some 7 percent, were “enthused and confident.” A majority of 60 percent were “interested but concerned.” And one-third settled under the label “no way no how.” Geller considers his assessment critical to cities hoping to get more travelers onto two wheels:

Turns out that four-part typology fits the rest of urban America pretty well, too. In a new study, set to be presented next week at a major transportation conference, planning scholars Jennifer Dill and Nathan McNeil of Portland State University report a similar national breakdown based on phone and online surveys of 3,000 residents of the 50 largest U.S. metros. The results align with Geller’s estimates as well as a 2013 analysis of Portland in particular by Dill and McNeil.