Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Courier Bike Q's

Hey guys,

I need a new bike for a messenger job and was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on frames. I was sent here by the road bike posters, apparently the couriers aren't very welcome there. I was interested in multiple gears though, sorry, I know this is the wrong forum for that but I figured someone must know something that can help me. Thanks.

Buy one of the other messengers' old bikes.

i guess a rigid mtb with 1" slicks. i used to have a bridgestone mb-3 back in the day and i ran it that way. really nice bike—lugged steel frame, amazing ride. i ran mine ss but it came with gears. i'd scour ebay and whatever.

I would check with other couriers in company and see what they roll. SS and fixies are generally the norm.

Head up to Freewheel bikeshop on Hayes and Clayton and talk to Travis.
Get a membership there too that way you can do your own work.

Look on craigslist.org plenty of used stuff to go around.

SS and fixies are generally the norm.

not in nyc

here are some pros ideas:

NYBMA FAQ (http://www.nybma.com/faq/question2.htm)

use whatever you are comfortable with - you'll be sitting on your bike A LOT. as you go you will pick up any needed maintenance skills.

cross bikes make great commuters city bikes...

You need my kona cruiser. It's even got a "stars and bars" paint job!

I've never been a courier but I have ridden in SF. I vote for beater rigid MTB with slicks as well. Those street are nasty. I was riding a road bike that happened to be running 700x28 tires and I was very glad.

If I were doing messenger work I'd probably run a rigid steel MTB frame with 1x8 setup (one chainring in front, eight speed cassette in the rear). Old Shimano rapid fire shifter. Slick tires. Used, undesirable saddle. Replace quick releases with sold nut axles or allen key skewers. Maybe some Sun Rhyno Lite rims and Deore / Ritchey / cheap sealed hubs. Maybe a nice basket in front. Take any "fancy" brand name logos off it or cover it in stickers to deter theft.

Find the frame at a bike coop for free or cheap. Build it yourself.

I'm sorry if this is you or a friend or something....but mags? Come on.....Those things are junk, if you get a quality wheel build with durable rims and a set of high flange track hubs you can get a bullet-proof wheel

I cant imagine working in SF... i work in dc on an old track bike with a 47x17 ratio which im sure would not be useful at all over there. itd probobly be more like death.

Personally, i would either dish out some cash on an older cannondale cyclocross, or build up a 1 chainring x 6 (or 7) cogs, sorta road bike... id advise Lightweight fenders or any sort of rain deterant hardware, usually the black 3x plastic ones are under 20 bucks and i think look totally sweet. If you decide to ride fixed or track... id take into consideration a rack on the back or figure out what handlebars you can carry the biggest boxes on the safest, when your legs are always moving and a box slips off your bars, you are gonna kick it around...

my cross bike is my city commuter for the winter. it's an older steel pinarello cross frame with a straight-blade steelman fork. durable as all get-out and clearance for wider tires, should i desire (no fender mounts, but i'm thinking of adding the SKBs that don't require braze-ons). if i mess'd, it's what i'd use.

since i added top-mount cross levers, i'm considering:

ditching the drops and switching to bullhorns (rare that i use the drops)

ditching the STI road levers and switching to bar-end shifters (they're bullhorn-compatible, and since i rarely use the drops, i rarely use those brake levers)

ditching the front derailleur and replacing the 39 and 52 rings with a single 44 (it's rare that i use the 52 in front and i also rare that i use the 25 cog on the cassette)

Hey guys,

I need a new bike for a messenger job and was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on frames. I was sent here by the road bike posters, apparently the couriers aren't very welcome there. I was interested in multiple gears though, sorry, I know this is the wrong forum for that but I figured someone must know something that can help me. Thanks.

Goto any used bike store and look for yourself a bike, bikes abound, no need to wait on ebay or somesuch.

How much do you ride now per day?

my cross bike is my city commuter for the winter. it's an older steel pinarello cross frame with a straight-blade steelman fork. durable as all get-out and clearance for wider tires, should i desire (no fender mounts, but i'm thinking of adding the SKBs that don't require braze-ons). if i mess'd, it's what i'd use.

since i added top-mount cross levers, i'm considering:

ditching the drops and switching to bullhorns (rare that i use the drops)

ditching the STI road levers and switching to bar-end shifters (they're bullhorn-compatible, and since i rarely use the drops, i rarely use those brake levers)
that's exactly what i did. cross bike w/ bullhorns w/ bar end shifters and cross levers. it works well if you don't shift too often. i like bar end friction shifters especially if you aren't religous about rear der. maintance. any slack in the rear der. can be automatically adjusted for.

Find the frame at a bike coop for free or cheap. Build it yourself.

Try the Bike Kitchen, 18th and Alabama. Open Tuesdays 7-9 pm and Saturdays 11-4, and, starting in January, Thursdays 7-9 pm. There are loaner bikes you can use while you build one.

It's 30 bucks for a year's membership, which includes a free frame from upstairs.

Old steel mountain bike frame. 1-1.5" slicks (I use panaracer t-servs w/ kevlar belt). Wide, comfy seat, high hbars for a comfy heads-up position, STRONG WHEELS (I build my own w/ phil hubs, lots of spokes, heavy rims, 3 or 4 cross.) If you're going geared, the low ones are more important than the highs, IMHO. Old used parts are great because no one will want to steal them (except those wheels of mine, use good locks.)

i dont understand how anyone can use a track bike in san fran, is it just pure hell or what?

Just get anything that fits. As time goes along, you will figure out what you do and don't like about the bike. Then buy a better bike you know will suit you when you get more money. Your first paycheck is going to be pretty low if you are starting out (mine shure was), so you probably don't want to be spending unecessary money on a bike. Once you buy a second bike, you will have a backup.

i dont understand how anyone can use a track bike in san fran, is it just pure hell or what?

it's totally do-able (maybe depends on where you live), but you get intimate knowledge of the hills (or to be more precise the valleys).

It's not that hard. I go from downtown to upper haight all the time, easy. Only part of town I ever have trouble with is twin peaks, or getting from the marina to haight. fortunately neither of those are trips i have to do very often.

Gearing to match the terrain is what it is all about.

47x18 is what I use mostly and there are only a few hills that would really suck, however all of them are easily circumnavigated.

track in san fran intrigues me... for a few weeks, i had to ride 42x17, and i could ****ing crush my way up wisconsin, georgia, and connecticut here in dc... but going downhill was stupid. what ratios you ride in SF?

I've never not made it up a hill in a 74 inch gear with sufficient thrashing, but I'm going to try to drop a couple inches for my knees.

track in san fran intrigues me... for a few weeks, i had to ride 42x17, and i could ****ing crush my way up wisconsin, georgia, and connecticut here in dc... but going downhill was stupid. what ratios you ride in SF?


I'm running 46x16 and it works fine. My roommate runs a 49x16 for his commute from La Mission to upper haight. A messenger friend runs 46x15. My brother has 44x16. Its just personal preference, i guess.

How about something with an internal hub? Maybe a road bike with one of those cheap 3 speed wheels they sell on ebay.

I just don't like derailers. I know my 3 speed in low gear goes up a hill like a goat.

Or if the roads suck, a mountain bike with slicks and a three speed.

steel rigid mountain frame with strimey archer 4 speed hub laced 4 cross to some bomber rims. 1" slicks and your pick of bars

steel rigid mountain frame with strimey archer 4 speed hub laced 4 cross to some bomber rims. 1" slicks and your pick of bars

Sounds a lot like Joel Metz' bike :http://www.sandsmachine.com/a_syc_r1.htm

I'm running 46x16 and it works fine. My roommate runs a 49x16 for his commute from La Mission to upper haight. A messenger friend runs 46x15. My brother has 44x16. Its just personal preference, i guess.

What does it mean to ride a 46x15 or 44x16?

gear ratio. number of teeth on chainringxnumber of teeth on cog.

see sheldon brown

gear ratio. number of teeth on chainringxnumber of teeth on cog.

see sheldon brown

so does one ratio allow you to go faster or climber better than another?

so does one ratio allow you to go faster or climber better than another?

Well, that's the thing.

Ask six people what the ideal ratio is, you'll get nine answers.

So the only true way to find an ideal ratio is to ride them all (n factorial what!). Well right now im riding a ladies Peugeot touring bike to get used to the saddle but I'm shopping for a bike on craigslist to fix up, thoughts on MTB versus road frames? I've been getting a lot of MTB suggestions and im thinking that might be a good way to go.

it's a lot to do with personal experience and preference, what you plan to do with the bike, and on what terrain. san francisco is hilly, so i imagine a more forgiving shorter gear ration would be preferable. for street riding, of course. also skip/skidding is easier with a shorter gear too.

i'd be interested to hear the reasons behind converting an mtb. they tend to be heavier with slacker geometry than a road bike.

Sounds a lot like Joel Metz' bike :http://www.sandsmachine.com/a_syc_r1.htm


Katio you should know that this forum is just a wee bit biased as far as fixed gear riding. :D

Take a look at Joels ride in the link above. Aside from being ideal for Joel it also has many qualities that many professional messengers would find ideal for a new worker. It's durable, servicable and has a geometry that isn't too radical, quite the opposite really. You'll spend many hours a day 5 days a week (and when you get hooked 7 days a week). Going from whatever you're riding now recreationally to a more aero position, tighter and lower, may not be a good change when you consider how much more you'll be in the saddle. You'll also be carrying more weight at work than you're accustomed to and for longer amounts of time. A stable, more upright position may benefit you while your body adjusts to the changes it'll go through.

That bike is still on the road btw, the 90,000 mile mark on the website was 4/2004.

And you can get a bike like it very reasonably, $500 bucks cheaper if you forego the S&S couplings.

So I guess most of the SF posters with flashy track bikes aren't messengers? Or they are messenegers and either don't post their work bikes or just like to fend off newbie riders by suggesting MTB builds for messenger work?

So I guess most of the SF posters with flashy track bikes aren't messengers? Or they are messenegers and either don't post their work bikes or just like to fend off newbie riders by suggesting MTB builds for messenger work?

Or they're experienced and realize this person clearly implies they're new. :)

So his bike comes apart into two pieces with that coupling? What does he use to loosen the coupling?

that s and s joel metz page totally fascinated me. That's awesome. I want couplers now!

Thanks for all your suggestions and knowledge, I really appreciate it. I finally decided to go with my 80's Peugeot mixte frame for a while and fix it up a bit then after a while I'll move to a big girl's bike and drop some serious dough. By the way, can you turn mixties into fixies?

of course you can.

Thanks for all your suggestions and knowledge, I really appreciate it. I finally decided to go with my 80's Peugeot mixte frame for a while and fix it up a bit then after a while I'll move to a big girl's bike and drop some serious dough. By the way, can you turn mixties into fixies?


Mixte Fixte! (http://search.freefind.com/find.html?id=68837735&pageid=r&mode=ALL&n=0&query=mixte) and those are just from the fixed gear gallery.

they're called fixties

By the way, can you turn mixties into fixies?
If you want to... But why would you want to???

Why would you want to turn a regular road bike into a fixie?

hmmm.... i weirdly kind of like the mixte fixies.

get a real job.

That said, if your paycheck is dependent on how fast you are, why limit yourself with a slower MTB? A 700c wheeled rig in any configuration, preferably with the geometry/gearing/equipment that suits the terrain.
The 700c three speed wheel on an old road frame would probably be a good place to start.