fixies and bike couriers

Sprool
Sprool Posts: 1,022
edited March 2013 in Road general
why is it most bike couriers rides fixes? Is it some sort of status thing or is there technical reasoning behind it?

Comments

  • agentsammo
    agentsammo Posts: 19
    Sprool wrote:
    why is it most bike couriers rides fixes? Is it some sort of status thing or is there technical reasoning behind it?


    i guess because they require the least amount of fixing, simple bike, fast gets the job done without fuss, and also because prats like them love them to bits, give me a hard tail anyday, not as quick but more fun.
  • iPete
    iPete Posts: 6,076
    fun to ride and super simple to run
  • Jwleggett
    Jwleggett Posts: 11
    Low maintenance, cheap and therefore uninteresting to thieves / low cost to replace
  • Sprool
    Sprool Posts: 1,022
    makes sense...
  • RowCycle
    RowCycle Posts: 367
    agentsammo wrote:
    Sprool wrote:
    why is it most bike couriers rides fixes? Is it some sort of status thing or is there technical reasoning behind it?


    i guess because they require the least amount of fixing, simple bike, fast gets the job done without fuss, and also because prats like them love them to bits, give me a hard tail anyday, not as quick but more fun.

    I have a singlespeed (freewheel not fixed) for commuting for the very reason that it requires less maintenance. Two years and only cleaned it for the first time the other weekend.
  • lotus49
    lotus49 Posts: 763
    I completely agree that fixies are cheap and easy to maintain and work well in flattish cities but there is a huge element of fashion here. I used to live in London 12 years ago and there weren't anywhere near as many fixies then.

    Another clue that fashion plays its part is the number of courier bikes with those silly little handlebars.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,312
    Bike couriers sadly are a thing of the past... They have been replaced by PDFs

    There are a lot of posers with bike courier bags on fixies, but you can probably count the number of couriers in London with your hand
    left the forum March 2023
  • iPete
    iPete Posts: 6,076
    lotus49 wrote:
    I completely agree that fixies are cheap and easy to maintain and work well in flattish cities but there is a huge element of fashion here. I used to live in London 12 years ago and there weren't anywhere near as many fixies then.

    Another clue that fashion plays its part is the number of courier bikes with those silly little handlebars.

    Element of truth here but when something gets popular, more people try it and more people might like it. The thought of buying myself a 1 geared bike when I started out would have been a very alien thing!

    If you run a top lever brake, you tend to keep your hands in that position, hence th fashion to cut the excess off, wouldn't do it myself but there is some logic.

    And I've no issues on the Sunday club run in the Surrey hills, although they are probably nothing on proper hills! :D
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,312
    iPete wrote:

    And I've no issues on the Sunday club run in the Surrey hills, although they are probably nothing on proper hills! :D

    Yes, but your lot goes to Box Hill for the glamour and avoids Whitedown Lane instead... :wink:
    left the forum March 2023
  • iPete
    iPete Posts: 6,076
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    iPete wrote:

    And I've no issues on the Sunday club run in the Surrey hills, although they are probably nothing on proper hills! :D

    Yes, but your lot goes to Box Hill for the glamour and avoids Whitedown Lane instead... :wink:

    They took me up whitedown on my first ride, evil evil people! :evil:

    But they were left head scratching as I cruised past :lol:
  • Herbsman
    Herbsman Posts: 2,029
    Couriers don't get paid much.

    Obviously they'll choose what's cheapest and more durable
    CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!
  • Kerguelen
    Kerguelen Posts: 248
    Sprool wrote:
    why is it most bike couriers rides fixes? Is it some sort of status thing or is there technical reasoning behind it?

    Well, there's a funny thing. I spent a couple of years in the early 90s dispatching in Edinburgh and didn't see any ss/fg bikes. A few of us went single chainring but that was it.

    Maybe the fashion thing has taken over, I don't know. These young people. No idea what it's like to *really* work. Back in my day we pushed an unsuitable ratio on a climb and ruined our knees, but we *liked* it that way.
  • Sprool
    Sprool Posts: 1,022
    Was that you as the little kid in the hovis advert with the wicker basket on the front?
    :p
  • Kerguelen
    Kerguelen Posts: 248
    Sprool wrote:
    Was that you as the little kid in the hovis advert with the wicker basket on the front?
    :p

    Cheeky sod! :)

    Actually I had a Clockwork Orange in matt black... lovely...
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    And I've no issues on the Sunday club run in the Surrey hills, although they are probably nothing on proper hills!

    Never had any problems riding up the hills on fixed, it was coming down the likes of Whitedown on a fixed gear with only a front brake where it gets a bit more interesting.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • iPete
    iPete Posts: 6,076
    Monty Dog wrote:
    And I've no issues on the Sunday club run in the Surrey hills, although they are probably nothing on proper hills!

    Never had any problems riding up the hills on fixed, it was coming down the likes of Whitedown on a fixed gear with only a front brake where it gets a bit more interesting.

    Wrestling the bear! Felt like a passenger, too much front brake and the rear wheels starts to lift with the crazy cadence, certainly felt alive after that!

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