Controversy was caused when John Lennon said that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus. Hold your breath, here comes another one: Bikes are cooler than Kate Moss.

There is a two wheel renaissance taking place across Europe right now, in case you haven’t noticed.

Some things will always keep bikes on our streets and they are well known: cycling is good for the planet, it is good for your purse and it can work wonders on your legs. Despite these well stated benefits, people haven’t always been carried away by the idea of a bike. Yet at this moment in time it seems the wind has changed and Europe is finally let itself be taken for a ride.

Amsterdam and Copenhagen have always been laps ahead. Even France, who resisted bikes for so long started to catch up in 2007 with the introduction of Velib Bike rental scheme in Paris. ‘Velib’ allows you to rent a bike for the day which you can pick up at any of the ‘service stations’ dotted around the city for just one euro. Seville, Barcelona and Stockholm all have similar bike rental schemes.

And in London right now there is a phenomenal craze for the fixed gear bike. The fixed gear doesn’t have brakes apparently, or at least not the sort I’m used to. And no, research for this article did not include me giving the bike a test ride and risking my life for the worthy cause of online reportage,  especially as a friend who recently purchased one told me it was ‘to bring some danger into his life’. (If self destruction equals cool, the parallels with Moss can already begin to be drawn) But the fixed gear frenzy which seems to spreading like wild fire across Europe is just one example of bikes becoming cool. Yes, cool. Not just smart, or useful or cheap but cool. All of a sudden it seems bikes are donning dark glasses, a black leather jacket and hanging out at the Ivy.

One of the greatest challenges to bikes becoming cool traditionally has been the car. But it’s not such a good time for cars. On the 1^st June this year General Motors, the 100 year old car maker, which just a few decades ago produced half of all America’s cars, filed for bankruptcy. The car industry has been severely affected by the recession. But even if it manages to restart, there seems to have been a hit and run on the credibility of cars. In the 1920s when automobiles first arrived on the roads they were a symbol of modernity and glamour. The scenes of Grease portray the 1950s when car was king. And of course, you have seen the picture of Kate Moss and rock star boyfriend in her vintage car heading off for her country home. The car, not the bike, has always been cool. But what about now? Four wheels have fallen out of fashion. Driving a car seems a bit like smoking cigarettes after the ban has come in; old fashioned, expensive, and selfish.

The bike has become emblematic of a new type of consumerism; one risen out of the ashes of the ‘It’ bag and death of bling. The economic downtown has made us take a long hard look at our previous excessive ways. Stylists tell us to go ‘classic’ and buy ‘investment pieces’. The pages of Vogue equate cool and luxury with longevity and value for money. Such advice reflects the current significant shift in consumer philosophy and brand appeal. Today’s ‘New Luxury’ is subtle, understated and ethically and environmentally responsible, which is, of course, everything a bike is. Alas, the fixed gear raises its dangerous head once more, as the perfect example.  Someone described the fixed gear bike to me as ‘a bike in its purest terms’. The phrase utterly embodies the Puritanism of New Luxury, the feeling of getting back to basics and how ‘cool’ is being stripped all its unnecessary bells and whistles. Well, maybe not the bells.

Luxury fashion labels have jumped on the back of ‘New Luxury’ to ride them through the recession and beyond. Chanel’s summer’s Cruise collection was shown on a beach in Italy with nothing but a board walk and a few deck chairs. Designer Phoebe Philio’s collection for Celine includes a sophisticated yet practical bike range due to be released this August and last year Stella McCartney released a sustainable fashion line at Barney’s in New York. These brands seem to be shifting gear and trying to refine themselves, desperately scrubbing off the gloss and glitter of yesterday; a bit like smudged make up from the night before which was spent at a party you wished you never went to. The message is clear: real glamour is intelligent, responsible and low key. Brand identity is no longer shouted from the roof tops or encrusted with diamante . Instead it is carefully woven like handmade Indian silk or knitwear made with ethically sourced Peruvian wool.

There is something else luring us to saddle up which is less about cool and more about caution (which means at this point Moss isn’t even in the running) From terrorist attacks, to the extreme snow this winter and tube and train strikes, we have seen cities across Europe literally grind to a halt. Coupled with this, we are in an international moment of fear: terrorism, the global recession and the threat of the development of swine flu make for nerve-wracking times, however real or fabricated the fear might be. Fear plus immobility equals anxious urban dwellers wanting a get out quick card and trying to plan their escape. There is only one route and that is by bike. It is the only method, other than walking, which can keep you moving in a time of city gridlock.

The bike is therefore perversely a modern phenomenon, because when the grinding clogs of the city become rusty, old and stop working, or the horrors of modern life throw themselves upon us, the bicycle will always work providing you with mobility, independence and freedom – an iphone on wheels, you could say. (In fact, even the iphone thinks bikes are cool. There is an application to help you find your nearest Velib service station). Seen through rose-tinted bike goggles, the bike has become your ticket to freedom, your chance to swagger off into the sunset and to cut loose from all the trappings of the city. Taken to extremes, the bike is the rebellious maverick who lives by his own rules, a James Dean on wheels.  And even La Moss has to bow to James Dean.

As I write this most of the world (perhaps apart from Russia!) is celebrating the 40^th anniversary of the man landing on the moon. For the millions huddled around their television set, on that night in 1969 it seemed that the future had arrived. Thus I do recognise the irony of me telling you that the coolest thing on this planet right now is an invention that preceded the technology of the 1960s, and has been deemed completely uncool for just as long.  But if we feel the need to go backwards it is because, just like John Lennon did when he claimed his band was bigger than Jesus, we went too far. Right now the bike speaks to us in a way Kate can’t. She is too expensive, too exclusive, and too unconcerned with the world around her when she arrives in a vintage car wearing mink. Put simply, right now bikes are cooler than Kate Moss.

• For information on Velib bikes in Paris go to http://www.en.velib.paris.fr/
• To see more of Celine Cycle chic go to http://dazeddigital.com/Fashion/article/2688/1/Cycling_gets_the_Celine_treatment