Bike Tribes: A Field Guide to North American Cyclists

A fast, pleasant read. There's nothing especially deep about Mike Magnuson's portrayals of the different types of cyclists -- everything from hardcore roadies, to commuters, to beach cruisers, to BMX riders, and mechanics and store managers thrown in for the heck of it. But it's fun to reflect on all the different types of riders and how you may or may not fit the stereotypes.Magnuson has an easy writing style. He's written novels (notably The Right Man for the Job) and, more relevantly, many contributions to Bicycling magazine and other cycling and outdoor sports related magazines. Here he won't challenge you as a reader. He may make you cringe a bit if you find yourself closely resembling one or another of his sketches of cycling types, but, even there, he sticks to the positive -- he's no Bike Snob NYC.I read the book in a couple of pretty short sessions, on rainy no-riding days. A nice diversion, nothing more, nothing less. If you want something more biting, try Bike Snob.

This book keeps it light and doesn't take itself too seriously, all the while being an entertaining read. As another reviewer stated this is a short read, probably about 3-4 hours tops.If you are already a member of one of these "tribes" chances are you aren't going to be learning anything new about the other "tribes" discussed. Alot of this is regurgitated stereotypes but put into an entertaining format by loosely interweaving the interactions of the members of each group. The illustrations and descriptions of each group were especially entertaining to me and rang pretty true about most of these groups.I'd say the book was an entertaining enough read but did seem a bit short and not fully fleshed out. Overall, this is a great light-hearted quick read and proved entertaining to me as a recent bicycle commuter convert.

There are all kinds of bicycle riders, and their various characteristics are caught succinctly by the author of "Bike Tribes". Anyone who rides a bicycle will see a bit of himself somewhere in this book. I don't fit into any of the tribes exactly, but I see myself in many of these insightful (and very funny) descriptions. It is always helpful in any sport to not take oneself too seriously, and this author pokes fun at those who do with a rapier like wit. If you need to bring yourself down a peg, pick up a copy of "Bike Tribes" and see what fits. You may be surprised as you recognize not only yourself but also some of your nearest and dearest friends. If you can't laugh at yourself, this book will be wasted on you!

While people who ride bicycles are not mainstream in American culture - it is an activity that will likely grow and it is therefore interesting to examine this sub-culture as it is developing. While Magnuson has injected a fair amount of his own bias into his descriptions of these different "tribes" of cyclists - much of his description rings true and I'm sure cyclists like myself will recognize themselves as well as others within the broad strokes painted by the author. Overall fairly enjoyable for me - but then I share many of the author's biases!

...Now I know what they're called and why they are as they are. New to the modern sport of bicycling, I knew there were groups and cliques and hierarchies. This little book has given me a clue about what kind of cyclist I might become and what kind of cyclists I might want to let charge ahead of me down the road. It is funny and informative, and in my limited experience, accurate and descriptive. It's a good read.

You will see yourself and your friends in this book. I laughed out loud several times while reading it in a public place. Okay, I was having a microbrew at the time. Really, this book is entertaining and at the same time the message is right: we are all bicyclists, let's not take our "serious" cycling habit so seriously. The chapters start with a drawing of the type of cyclist being reviewed, the drawings are hilarious and so to the point. For a light read, for a good laugh, for seeing yourself in the mirror and laughing at your own ego trip, read this book. Highly enjoyable.

Read a pre-review of this in some magazine a number of months ago, so I pre-ordered, and had high hopes for this. Literature I wasn't expecting, but I did expect to be entertained, and I did expect to read some insight, and a few surprises.I'm sorry to say that I received little of what I was hoping for.The idea was good, the execution wasn't, in my opinion Mr. Magnuson had a great idea for a magazine article, and then made that idea into a book, the idea is better served in a much shorter format.There were a few clever thoughts, and good ideas in here, but they were few and far betweenI don't want to demean anyone's efforts, writing a book, and getting it published is a major accomplishment, kudo's for that.Mr. Magnuson obviously loves cycling, as I do, again, great idea, but really repetitious.

Nothing really special, but written with some flair and sense of humour. I had plenty of fun reading it casually - while in a bus, on boring meeting, seating you know where ;) etc.

There are some nice sentiments in this book, and the author happily seems to believe in riding for its own sake. But the fictional situations in each tribe's chapter have dialogue that seems a bit wooden and forced, and the dietary references are painfully out of date. I enjoyed the analysis of various types of cyclist and agreed with the author on many levels. It's worth reading to round out my library of cycling. But this book just did not speak to me as effectively as my recent reads on the same subject.