I think much depends on which segment of the bicycling market you're looking at. In many metropolitan areas, you will find a very diverse cycling community, however, much of the diversity is focused on riding for transportation (ie the "invisible" cyclists). These are the folks who ride because of necessity -- transportation to work because they can't afford a car. The average price of a bike for this type of cyclist is probably less that $100.

Then there are the commuters -- folks who use their bike for transportation by choice (not by necessity). While there is still some diverstiy in this segment, you typically see more affluence (and bikes in the $250 - $1,000 range).

But many of you have cited examples from the recreational riding community. These are the folks who are riding for pleasure or fitness or competition (and their bikes typically range in the $800+ category). In that segment, we really don't see a lot of racial diversity, even in an area as diverse as San Francisco. I can definitely say that the racial diversity in our club (Velo Girls) is not representative of the racial diversity of the greater SF area. In the past six years, we've seen good representation from the hispanic/latina community, stronger representation from the asian community, but only one or two women from the african-american community.

The demographic of recreational riders is definitely middle-aged, middle-income (or above), and white.