•There are statistical differences in bicycle use motivations between experienced and new cyclists.•Recent bicyclists were motivated to switch to bicycling by utilitarian factors.•Effects of congestion and poor quality transit on travel time reliability are the main reason for mode change for recent bicyclists.•Experienced cyclists were more motivated by a passion for cycling. Bogotá has recently seen an increase in bicycle commuting with this means of transport being currently used for around 880,000 daily trips, in contrast to 475,000 in 2011. What has led bicycle ridership to nearly double in nine years and what are the factors influencing a growing number of residents to switch to bicycle commuting? Using data from an intercept survey, we analyze the personal attitudes, commuting preferences, and mode change motivations of utilitarian bicyclists (people bicycling for work, study, shopping, errands, or health). We conducted an ordered probit model and statistical tests of differences in means between four statistically different quartiles based on the time period for which they have been bicycling. Quartiles of cyclists were further divided based on socioeconomic and attitudinal characteristics into two groups: those who have recently taken up bicycle commuting (people who started bicycling 3 years ago or less) and those experienced utilitarian cyclists who adopted this mode much earlier (people who started bicycling 4 years ago or more). Results show that recent and experienced cyclists differ in how they view the bicycle as a transport vehicle: recent cyclists were more motivated to switch to bicycling for rational reasons such as saving money and shifting from a poor-quality transit system while the longer-term cyclists were more motivated by a passion for bicycling.