You've been riding a Riese & Müller Birdy for around 30 years.
I first read about them in a magazine. When the internet was still in its infancy, in 1995 or 1996, I saw some advertised in the USA. I still have that bike – it is the one in the photo. It was a very early model with different hinge bearings and cheaper components. Its appeal was its ability to close gaps in transport networks and getting around faster when I was younger and a busy academic. And, being tall, also the comfort of the bike.

Where have you travelled with the Birdy?
My family has three Birdys in Australia, including a Birdy Rohloff. I keep the original one, and a 24 speed in Europe. I usually take a Birdy with me on holiday and when I travel for work. Not many people have cycled out of the old Berlin airport through the tunnel, crossed Sydney Harbour Bridge, cycled the Danube, and commuted on 6 lanes of London traffic every day, all on a Birdy.

You are a university professor and research sustainable lifestyles and their implications for politics and society. Does cycling also play a role in your academic work?
Although I research environmental problems and indigenous peoples, currently in the Pacific and working in New Caledonia-Kanaky, bikes are important as they cross cultures and places. They are useful and healthy, and don’t consume much energy. They are part of a ‘sustainability transition’ in the West, I think, where we need to consume less and remain active, and are also essential in societies where mobility is difficult or too expensive.

Among other things, you conduct research into ‘bike kitchens’ and ‘community bike workshops’. What is it all about?
I did not research cycling until I noticed a community-led, not-for-profit bike workshop in Tucson, Arizona in 2002. Local people could go there to fix their own bikes, learn skills, or buy a second-hand bike. That happens worldwide! Since then I have visited about 60 workshops and I have some funding to complete a book on this subject. You can find out more about my work on my website. I also help to run WeCycle, a workshop in Melbourne that has appeared on tv.

What role do community bike workshops play in the social life and everyday mobility of urban residents?
They are community development organisations that promote ‘vélonomie’ – the ability to ride and fix. As well as recycling parts and keeping bikes on the road, they are social (convivial) hubs, usually run cheaply by volunteers and often in inexpensive premises without good facilities. Sometimes, governments support them. Their work is remarkable. In France alone there are 419 urban bike workshops. Urban planners and engineers provide bike lanes: workshops help to make cycling acceptable and affordable.

Thank you very much, Simon!