What bikes do couriers use?
Discussion
I'm of the opinion that if you want the best of anything in life, buy what the professionals use.
I don't live in a city so have never actually seen a courier in real life but would like to know what bike choices they make and why?
I'd imagine they'd use good quality steel frames for all day comfort,no suspension which would just sap energy, narrow bars for squeezing through traffic,heavier than normal tyres etc or do they just buy as cheaply as possible as the bike is likely to be wrecked/stolen every few weeks?
At 50 plus and 20 stone I'm not up to cycling as much as I used to be so not considering it as a career, just curious.
I don't live in a city so have never actually seen a courier in real life but would like to know what bike choices they make and why?
I'd imagine they'd use good quality steel frames for all day comfort,no suspension which would just sap energy, narrow bars for squeezing through traffic,heavier than normal tyres etc or do they just buy as cheaply as possible as the bike is likely to be wrecked/stolen every few weeks?
At 50 plus and 20 stone I'm not up to cycling as much as I used to be so not considering it as a career, just curious.
S10GTA said:
Celtic Dragon said:
The only common denominator is they are usually a fixie.
Why? I can't think of anything worse in townGiven the amount of riding those guys are doing every day, they'll have legs like steel anyway, so it's probably not much of a trade off, especially in a predominantly flat city like London. I wouldn't mind betting Bristol bike couriers have gears!
Fixie in town is a fashion item. Single speed is a mug's game anywhere with hills if you are out all day.
I've done 15k miles + on conventional derailleurs. I've had modest levels of maintenance. The whole "fixies need less maintenance" is wishful thinking or a reflection on people's ability to maintain their machines.
Yes, I have a SS bike, for fun. But if I were a courier I'd have gears. I'd buy mid market secondhand and run it till it died, fitting second hand bits at intervals. I can get a good SH bike for the price of a pair of wheels and a transmission, so that's what I'd do. That's what I DO do, in general.
Bearing in mind that pro taxi drivers drive Skoda Octavia diesels or Toyota Avensis, is that the very best car available for all of us to drive to work?
I've done 15k miles + on conventional derailleurs. I've had modest levels of maintenance. The whole "fixies need less maintenance" is wishful thinking or a reflection on people's ability to maintain their machines.
Yes, I have a SS bike, for fun. But if I were a courier I'd have gears. I'd buy mid market secondhand and run it till it died, fitting second hand bits at intervals. I can get a good SH bike for the price of a pair of wheels and a transmission, so that's what I'd do. That's what I DO do, in general.
Bearing in mind that pro taxi drivers drive Skoda Octavia diesels or Toyota Avensis, is that the very best car available for all of us to drive to work?
S10GTA said:
BoRED S2upid said:
S10GTA said:
Why? I can't think of anything worse in town
Very little maintenance your going to wear out gears pretty quickly if your on it all day every day. Generally fixed and pretty much anything road/fixed/hybrid/single speed
There was a guy that took it up and used a Carrera Hybrid, think he wrote a blog
Just done a google image search and there was a mix of bikes
Guess its function/convention/fashion to use fixed, its like why do some of the riders I know buy road bikes when they never use the drops?
Ironically out of all the bikes I've ever commuted on my fixie/single speed needed the most maintenance! Everything wore out really quick as they were cheap components and the wheels, whilst sturdy would require weekly hub adjustment, something I never needed to do on my other bikes!
Although the above was down to a tough commute and a cheap bike, if I was to be a courier in London I would go Single Speed , steel/alu frame and narrow bars, with some decent sturdy wheels
There was a guy that took it up and used a Carrera Hybrid, think he wrote a blog
Just done a google image search and there was a mix of bikes
Guess its function/convention/fashion to use fixed, its like why do some of the riders I know buy road bikes when they never use the drops?
Ironically out of all the bikes I've ever commuted on my fixie/single speed needed the most maintenance! Everything wore out really quick as they were cheap components and the wheels, whilst sturdy would require weekly hub adjustment, something I never needed to do on my other bikes!
Although the above was down to a tough commute and a cheap bike, if I was to be a courier in London I would go Single Speed , steel/alu frame and narrow bars, with some decent sturdy wheels
Fixed gear is easy once you get used to it and is great for town riding. No faffing with gears, virtually no maintenance etc. I ran one for a few years as a commuter bike and it needed one chain, thats it...once you get strong even most average hills are no bother.
I replaced it for a 'normal' bike simply to go faster and for longer distances as I kept gearing up the fixie to the point it was not easy to get started out of junctions.
I replaced it for a 'normal' bike simply to go faster and for longer distances as I kept gearing up the fixie to the point it was not easy to get started out of junctions.
TwistingMyMelon said:
Guess its function/convention/fashion to use fixed, its like why do some of the riders I know buy road bikes when they never use the drops?
I'd disagree on that. I don't use the drops on my bikes when I'm commuting (and that's the only thing I do on road bikes, as all my leisure riding is mountain biking), but I do move between three different hand positions whilst riding, so they're still more versatile than straight bars, even without using the drops positions. Batfink said:
Fixed gear is easy once you get used to it and is great for town riding. No faffing with gears, virtually no maintenance etc. I ran one for a few years as a commuter bike and it needed one chain, thats it...once you get strong even most average hills are no bother.
I replaced it for a 'normal' bike simply to go faster and for longer distances as I kept gearing up the fixie to the point it was not easy to get started out of junctions.
You're the exact polar opposite of a guy I've seen riding up CS7 a few times. He rides to work on his bike polo bike, the gearing of which makes him the fastest vehicle on the planet, powered or otherwise, up to about 5mph, by which point he looks like he's already pumping out 200rpm cadence! I replaced it for a 'normal' bike simply to go faster and for longer distances as I kept gearing up the fixie to the point it was not easy to get started out of junctions.
I spend several years working as a courier and used a Cotic Roadrat flat bar singlespeed with disc brakes.
Maybe not what most couriers use, but it was a super bike.
Singlespeed was an absolute must, anyone who started working with gears had switched to singlespeed within a few months. The cost and maintenance adds up and its just not needed. Snapped chains were the most frequent issue.
Some guys used fixed and that was for 2 main reasons - image and brakes/rims.
Riding in crap weather you would go through a set of pads very quickly and new wheels required every 4-6 months.
Disc brakes overcame this and I was only changing pads every month or so at the very most.
When a bike is a tool of the job performance is not important, it is all about being able to get the job done every time without fail.
Maybe not what most couriers use, but it was a super bike.
Singlespeed was an absolute must, anyone who started working with gears had switched to singlespeed within a few months. The cost and maintenance adds up and its just not needed. Snapped chains were the most frequent issue.
Some guys used fixed and that was for 2 main reasons - image and brakes/rims.
Riding in crap weather you would go through a set of pads very quickly and new wheels required every 4-6 months.
Disc brakes overcame this and I was only changing pads every month or so at the very most.
When a bike is a tool of the job performance is not important, it is all about being able to get the job done every time without fail.
Kermit power said:
S10GTA said:
BoRED S2upid said:
S10GTA said:
Why? I can't think of anything worse in town
Very little maintenance your going to wear out gears pretty quickly if your on it all day every day. 
king way" and keep going 
I guess it partly depends on where you are. In London they all seem to ride some form of single speed. In Oxford they seem to very cheap bikes that probably get nicked all the time (although they are mostly Deliveroo, so not really couriers, and possibly they only people on the road worse than taxi drivers)
I ride in London everyday (Bank to Euston) and I don't think I have ever seen a courier using a geared bike. All the ones I see are steel framed fixed gear and usually fitted with very narrow bars. Some of no brakes and other just have one on the front.
Having commuted using geared bikes for a few years, I can understand why they use fixies. The mud and general road crud means geared bikes need constant cleaning and adjustment to keep all the gears working smoothly,
Pretty much every courier I see runs the lights too. On the flip side, you do see some impressive bike handling skills.
Having commuted using geared bikes for a few years, I can understand why they use fixies. The mud and general road crud means geared bikes need constant cleaning and adjustment to keep all the gears working smoothly,
Pretty much every courier I see runs the lights too. On the flip side, you do see some impressive bike handling skills.
I had a straightforward commute that had me doing 300 miles a month so 1000 miles is nothing much. That's only 40-50 miles a day, which should take 4 or 5 hours of actual rolling to do even in traffic.
At 300 miles a month I was using gears, no real issue. Wheel bearings wore out quickly, brakes so-so, tyres surprisingly little. Chains lasted a year or so, new cassette every 2-3 chains. Once I learned to grease cables they started lasting for ever. London is flat so single speed is easier than elsewhere.
There really isn't much of a maintenance burden for a geared bike, once you know how to do it.
At 300 miles a month I was using gears, no real issue. Wheel bearings wore out quickly, brakes so-so, tyres surprisingly little. Chains lasted a year or so, new cassette every 2-3 chains. Once I learned to grease cables they started lasting for ever. London is flat so single speed is easier than elsewhere.
There really isn't much of a maintenance burden for a geared bike, once you know how to do it.
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