[BanTamStoWay]

What kind of messengers are you referring to? We don't have that as much down south.

[BackBayBrewing]

Bike messengers put a lot of miles on their bikes and in some very terrible weather, especially in cities in the northeast where the winters are bad. They want to be on bikes that have as few small, moving parts as possible. That way their is much less likelihood of constantly repairing these things. Also, just about everything on a fixie is bolted to the bike, so simply locking the frame to a fixed object gives you reasonable security for the whole bike which is nice. Finally, it is certainly a status thing. To the original poster, you are probably mistaken when you say that they all seem to ride single speed bikes. I would be willing to bet that they all ride fixed gear bikes. I think that because it is such a tight community, and because they tend (but are not always) very elitist, you would get laughed out of the room if you tried to get a messenger job on a single speed.

[john from dc]

i know several messengers in dc, new york, and a few other cities and none of them fits neatly into the descriptions offered here or elsewhere on the internet. they each have their reasons for doing what they do, and so do we.

some reasons for riding a singlespeed in the city include lower cost of ownership, less frequent maintenance, cheaper maintenance, easier to clean, fewer moving parts, less to steal.

fixed gear also adds more control with your legs and more control at low speeds.

oh yeah, did i mention that these bikes can be a lot of fun? that's the best and only good reason to ride them if you ask me.

they also force you to stand up and pedal to get up the hills. if you're not in good enough shape to ride hills hard before riding a fixed gear, you will be aferwards.

plus there's the "cool" factor that influences some more than others. these days the coolness has pretty much worn off being that there are kids on fixed gears everywhere you look in the city.

but really, who cares why messengers ride them? or why hip kids ride them or why some roadies ride them for training? do it if it feels good, and don't if it doesn't.

[bonbock]

How much do bike messengers make?

[hophead]

Originally Posted by bonbock

How much do bike messengers make?

If you have to ask, it's not enough.

[Cycle Snack]

Funny, last couple of forays I have made into NYC on bidness I have not seen one messenger on a fixie. Though, I have seen plenty on geared bikes. I did talk to one chap on a free wheel SSer with one brake and asked what he does for the rear brake -- said he uses his foot against the tire.

[hophead]

Originally Posted by Cycle Snack

Funny, last couple of forays I have made into NYC on bidness I have not seen one messenger on a fixie. Though, I have seen plenty on geared bikes. I did talk to one chap on a free wheel SSer with one brake and asked what he does for the rear brake -- said he uses his foot against the tire.

I was in Manhattan in February and not only did I not see any fixies, but no singlespeeds either. Almost all of the bikes that I saw were cheap pieces of ****e! The contrast was striking compared to Philly. We always stop in South Philly for cheese steaks whenever we are on 95. There are tons of cool bikes in Philly and the overwhelming majority are fixed or ss.

[Cycle Snack]

Originally Posted by hophead

I was in Manhattan in February and not only did I not see any fixies, but no singlespeeds either. Almost all of the bikes that I saw were cheap pieces of ****e! The contrast was striking compared to Philly. We always stop in South Philly for cheese steaks whenever we are on 95. There are tons of cool bikes in Philly and the overwhelming majority are fixed or ss.

I should have mentioned that all the fixies I did see were all appropriately locked to posts, which could mean that the messenger was inside the building. The POS bikes are usually ridden by food delivery guys. They are unique in their own right. I have seen some with grips made out of pipe insulators.

[Oneway]

POS, fixed and single speed enable us to forget about the bike; forget about it chained to a lamp post and forget about it on the ride. Leaves more time to enjoy the motion.

[trx1]

Generally your messengers will only be in the building for a couple minutes to drop the package off with the receptionist. In that amount of time there is little chance of someone nabbing the bike.

yea, i had a USED mtb taken within 10 sec, when i went it to get a drink of water!