Just like any old clunker car named Bessie or Bob, bicycles carry a lot of sentimental value for their riders, new research from the University of Alberta suggests.

As part of her thesis research, Edmonton's Karly Coleman found that, if you're a regular cyclist, chances are you have a strong emotional bond with your bike.

After years of riding together, all those gears, rubber and metal become something much more than machine," Coleman said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

"You feel the road in a very particular way, it becomes this meld of person-bike, as opposed to just you on the bike," she said.

A PhD student with the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, Coleman surveyed nearly 30 "diehard" cyclists and found that every one of her survey participants considered their bikes as a keen reflection of their identity.

What kind of bike you ride says a lot about you and bikes are all tied about in people's feelings about their personality and personal freedom, Coleman said.

"They certainly build their personal identities around the type of bike they choose to ride or buy or use on special occasions," said Coleman, who has served as CJSR Radio's bike reporter since 2007.

"You're going out and picking a thing that you feel represents your ideas and values about life."

Bicycles are also nostalgic objects, said Coleman. Because bikes are one of the few objects used in the same way from childhood through to adulthood, they are often synonymous with pleasant memories from years past.

For her part, Colman has a collection of 15 bikes, including a unicycle, a cruiser and a tandem, and has personally affiliation for each one.

"Oh, they're all named and there is quite a bond and deep relationship with them, that's for sure."