From the U.S. Pacific Northwest to Scandinavia, we hear lots of talk about which city is best for bicycling.

Well, now there’s another standard. Copenhagenize Consulting, a Danish firm that focuses on how to transform cities through increased bicycle ridership, recently released an index of the world’s 20 most bicycle-friendly cities.

The firm spent six months gathering information on more than 80 cities. It awarded points in 13 categories, including bicycle infrastructure, social acceptance and urban planning. There’s even a category that looks at the gender makeup of cycling communities.

With the exception of Tokyo and Montreal, all the cites in the top 10 are in Europe, led by Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Barcelona. Three U.S cities made the list: Portland, San Francisco and New York, coming in at numbers 11, 17 and 20, respectively.

So what are these cities doing right? In the case of Amsterdam, the index lauds its bicycle advocacy programs and relaxed cycling atmosphere. Barcelona ranked third, though a scant five years ago, there were few cyclists in the city. The city changed that by investing in bike infrastructure and a bike share program, making it the “yardstick that many other new bicycle cities should measure by,” according to the index.

One category that was especially interesting was the “bicycle culture” ranking, which assesses whether cycling is widely established among the population, or only in bike-centric subcultures.

If you live in an urban area, chances are there’s a culture of die-hard cyclists – maybe decked out in Lycra or perhaps zipping around on fixies – but for cycling to flourish, it must move into the mainstream. In some places, those subcultures can be a hindrance to wider adoption, according to Copenhagenize, but it cites San Francisco as a city where such cliques have actually helped bring cycling to the masses.

The lesson? If you’re already a seasoned cyclist, reach out and help a newbie get rolling. And if you’re thinking about taking off on two wheels, don’t be intimidated by those who are more experienced – chances are, we share the same goals of cleaner, healthier communities.

Photo by Flickr user Kr. B. Used under Creative Commons license.