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Richard Ballantine is a cycling journalist, writer and advocate, born in America but now principally resident in London, England. He is Chairman of the British Human Power Club and chair of the International Human Powered Vehicle Association.

Ballantine's best known work, Richard's Bicycle Book, was published in 1972 at around the time that cycling began to recover in popularity due in part to the world oil crisis, and rapidly established itself as an indispensable reference for new and returning cyclists, containing a mixture of history, folk wisdom, practical maintenance advice and descriptions of state of the art machines such as the Avatar 2000 long-wheelbase recumbent bicycle. The style is friendly and enthusiastic, but not polemical.

One of the elements which made the book unusual for a British audience was the inclusion of advice from the Effective Cycling school, and from experienced everyday cyclists. Previously the dominant theme in cycle training in Britain had been keeping out of the way of motor traffic. Richard's Bicycle Book was at the head of a new wave of publications advocating the idea that cyclists had a right to use the road, and that their safety, not the convenience of others, should be of paramount importance. This is now the dominant view, as stated in publications such as Cyclecraft, and is a cornersotone of Britain's new National Standards for cycle training, but at that time was thought very radical.

The book has been through several incarnations, most recently Richard's 21st Century Bicycle Book.

Ballantine has also been a prominent figure in the human powered vehicle movement since its inception in the 1980s, and active in the HPV racing movement worldwide. He also founded several magazines including Bicycle Magazine. He is an editor with Rufus Publications, founded by his parents Ian and Betty Ballantine, and is a long-time friend of visionary bike designer Mike Burrows (whose creations feature on both front and back covers of the 21st Century Bicycle Book).