Living Car Free - Delivering pizza by bike

Has anyone ever delivered pizza by bicycle? How was the experience? Is it feasible? One of my bikes has an xtracycle, which might be ideal for this.

Mark

I have not done it myself, but I would imagine it all depends on the size of the delivery range.

I've seen it done in NYC. I've seen bikes there with special large front racks for delivery.

Just try it out man.

I've been thinking of using my xtracycle, and trying to make a taxi service with it around the University, like they do in Kenya. I'll rely on tips only, and just get people to their cars, classes, restraunts fast...

I just need to figure it out..maybe make a sign and put it on my bike.

Also I want my snapdeck to be more comfortable, so I need to figure out what I can put on it for that.

I see alot of opportunities with this thing.

Has anyone ever delivered pizza by bicycle? How was the experience? Is it feasible? One of my bikes has an xtracycle, which might be ideal for this.

Mark
There are several ways the pizza delivery guys do it in my neighborhood. Some have a pizza sized rear rack. Some use a pizza sized front rack. Some just balance the keepwarm bag on the handlebars. None of them look stable. I asked a guy in line at the post office last week about his wide and flat rear rack. He said it was pretty stable. He said he attached the wide plastic rack with twisted wire. I thought coat hanger but he said no it was thinner than coat hanger, just wire he had laying around.

Didn't Peter Parker deliver pizza by bike in the Spiderman movie?

Has anyone ever delivered pizza by bicycle? How was the experience? Is it feasible? One of my bikes has an xtracycle, which might be ideal for this.

Mark
The more important question is has anyone eaten a pizza delivered by bike? Was it still piping hot or was it stone cold garbage?

Hideaway Pizza here in Norman has an actual position for bicycle delivery boy. They have a custom bike, even, with an insulated pizza trailer.

Didn't Peter Parker deliver pizza by bike in the Spiderman movie?

Nope, that was a moped. Almost a bike.

has anyone eaten a pizza delivered by bike? Was it still piping hot or was it stone cold garbage?

The metaphysical connection between the spokes of a bicycle's wheels and the middle of a pizza causes a cooling effect on the pizza every time the bike's wheels turn. The esters in the pizza and the DNA are partly spoke-shaped and this causes a bond between them and the spokes creating this refrigeration effect. If you ever ride a bike with a pizza on it, you'll notice that (because of the law of conservation of energy) the spokes will be getting hot as they cool down the pizza.

This is why it's financially unfeasible to deliver pizza by bicycle. Despite the fact that in many densely-populated areas, it's quicker to deliver by bike than by car, bicycle-delivered pizza gets cold faster! You could buy racing disc wheels, which eliminate the cooling effect, but they cost so much that you may as well just deliver by car.

However, the refrigeration effect on pizza also works wonderfully on beer, which contains the same key partly-spoke-shaped esters in just large enough quantities that, if you pedal to the beer store and then ride home for a few miles, you'll have yourself some ice-cold beer, ready to drink!

Pizza Hut has a franchise in London that only delivers by bicycle. The owners say that in their situation it's an improvement on using mopeds/motorbikes because they can load up the bikes to up to 30 pizzas rather than the 6-10 maximum. They claim less occurences of late deliveries and no complaints of cold pies.

They use specially constructed pizza carriers and cover the smallest Pizza Hut franchise catchement area in the UK. Some other pizza delivery stores in the UK also use bikes. Not only does it reduce the cost of delivery but it also means that they can capitalise on the provisions of child labour laws for delivery work with none of the restrictions of driver licensing.

I've seen it done in NYC. I've seen bikes there with special large front racks for delivery.

Those are bike by Worksman. The rear wheel is made of solid rubber to cut down on flats. It give the rider a rough ride but these are utility bikes made for the comfort of the pizza. The front wheel is some high quality very thick rubber. There's a huge box on the front of bike to put pizza inside.

The metaphysical connection between the spokes of a bicycle's wheels and the middle of a pizza causes a cooling effect on the pizza every time the bike's wheels turn. The esters in the pizza and the DNA are partly spoke-shaped and this causes a bond between them and the spokes creating this refrigeration effect. If you ever ride a bike with a pizza on it, you'll notice that (because of the law of conservation of energy) the spokes will be getting hot as they cool down the pizza.

This is why it's financially unfeasible to deliver pizza by bicycle. Despite the fact that in many densely-populated areas, it's quicker to deliver by bike than by car, bicycle-delivered pizza gets cold faster! You could buy racing disc wheels, which eliminate the cooling effect, but they cost so much that you may as well just deliver by car.

However, the refrigeration effect on pizza also works wonderfully on beer, which contains the same key partly-spoke-shaped esters in just large enough quantities that, if you pedal to the beer store and then ride home for a few miles, you'll have yourself some ice-cold beer, ready to drink!

DR. SCIENCE!

You can't fool us! What are you doing with that alias and hanging out in Pennsylvania? In any case, I'm pleased to see you're still working for the betterment of humankind.

There are several ways the pizza delivery guys do it in my neighborhood. Some have a pizza sized rear rack. Some use a pizza sized front rack. Some just balance the keepwarm bag on the handlebars. None of them look stable.

A modified version of something like the Pashley Mailstar (or Pronto, it's the same bike basically!) with an insulated box in the front rack might work. Could also have insulated rear panniers for dealing with smaller items?

http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/work/mailstar/splash.html
http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/work/pronto/splash.html

However, the refrigeration effect on pizza also works wonderfully on beer, which contains the same key partly-spoke-shaped esters in just large enough quantities that, if you pedal to the beer store and then ride home for a few miles, you'll have yourself some ice-cold beer, ready to drink!
The Beer is even colder and tastes better if you drink it while riding. The ride is more enjoyable too if concurrently listening to good tunes. But of course only in locations where this activity can be done IAW the law and after a proper evaluation of the risks involved. I recommend a good non descript insulated opaque mug with a big handle for such transport of cold beer. Another advantage to coaster brakes and trigger shifting three speeds. One hand is safely free to hold the mug.

EDIT: I've got to admit when I cycle commuted for 5 years as an adult in Philadelphia from 1971-76. I never bothered even with a mug and just carried the 16oz returnable glassbottles in my hand while riding, with more in an insulted container on the rear rack. If there was a law against it the police couldn't have cared less what I did on a bike, and neither did I. I was lucky in that I had one head over handle bars accident (from a piece of wood in the front spokes) with a bottle in my hand. Fortunately the bottle flew out with the forward momentum and broke harmlessly farther on up the street. Wrecked the Raleigh Superbe Frame and lockable fork and cracked an elbow. The front wheel with Dyna hub suffered one broken spoke. Wow that wheel was strong and I used it for another 20 years on another bike.

Spokes Pizza delivers pizza on bicycles in Minneapolis.

i carry pizza home on an xtracycle on a regular basis. i know that at one point a major pizza chain was considering equipping all their stores with xtracycles for same.

i once looked hard into starting a bicycle-based food delivery service, or rather helping other people do so. do you know what killed it and the pizza chain plans?

insurance. the insurance companies of the businesses whose food was to be delivered freaked out at the thought, and quoted insane rate hikes. never underestimate lenders and insurers as anti-progressive forces in society.

I used to deliver pizza via bicycle when I was a teenager. This was in Philly, and I was significantly faster and made more money than the drivers. I used a rear rack and a bungee cord.

Minimum wage + tips came out to $10-15/hour

Here's how bicycle food delivery is done in Buenos Aires. Check out the pic half way down this page. Efficient, nothing to balance, and protected from the elements. This guys zipped all over town, and all night long (restaurants are open real late). Even on bad days they rush through fine restaurants to the kitchen raincoats drenched, and head back out. And probably getted tipped great those days too.

http://www.jamesvandellen.com/ba5.htm

i once looked hard into starting a bicycle-based food delivery service, or rather helping other people do so. do you know what killed it and the pizza chain plans?

insurance. the insurance companies of the businesses whose food was to be delivered freaked out at the thought, and quoted insane rate hikes. never underestimate lenders and insurers as anti-progressive forces in society.
Perhaps you should look into getting into the underwriting business. If the competing insurance companies are that far out of line maybe you can fill the need with offerings of "progressive" insurance rates for such delivery services.

http://www.xtracycle.com/2009/01/15/dit-pizzaloader/

one step closer to the pizza dream

http://www.xtracycle.com/2009/01/15/dit-pizzaloader/ one step closer to the pizza dream

At least get a space blanket around those puppies.

But then again, having managed the day shift of a pizza parlour, I'm of the opinion that a pizza delivered is a pizza destroyed. Pizza should be consumed on-site when possible. :innocent:

I dunno about pizza, but I used to deliver sub sandwiches and stuff from Jimmy Johns in Madison, Wi. I would just toss everything in my messenger bag and I'd be off

CETMA 5-rail rack: Perfect size for pizza delivery, nothing to construct, and it puts the pies out in front of you so you're more aware of assuring they don't get all banged around in transit.

Has anyone ever delivered pizza by bicycle? How was the experience? Is it feasible? One of my bikes has an xtracycle, which might be ideal for this.

Mark
You'd be looking at low speeds and a very limited operating range with a bicycle.
This sounds like a job for scooter-man.

------

The only time I've ever heard of that delivering pizza is a good job, , , , -is if you have a jacked-up 4WD and there's a big snowstorm--with snow so deep that most cars cannot drive at all (-or bicycles, neither-).

Under these circumstances, I have heard of guys making the equivalent of a week's pay in one night.
~

i saw a pizza-delivery guy on a bike just the other day (in seattle).

i have yet to try a bike-delivered pizza yet, but i look forward to it!

I actually work at a pizza shop. Delivery by bike would be possible for most of our "in-town" areas, but not for out of town. We have roughly a 5-mile radius. Just wouldn't work for someone who wants 4 pizzas, some pop, a cheesebread or two, and couple salads, to have to wait at least 50 minutes for their food to arrive. Would be great for the cycle delivery guys though, lol. Having all that time out of the store; reminds me of delivering newspapers as a kid. That was good-times.

We do all our deliverys by car. Sucks for the drivers, cause all that great extra money they make basically goes back into their cars.

portland, oregon has a ton of bike delivery operations going and seem to be doing fine:

soup delivery by bike: http://www.soupcycle.com/

take out delivery by bike: http://icycledelivery.com/

cleaning service by bike: http://bikeportland.org/2009/01/16/eco-friendly-cleaning-business-goes-by-bike/

Portland isn't that dense (population-wise), so if they can make a go of it in that city, you should be able to do it just about anywhere.

portland, oregon has a ton of bike delivery operations going and seem to be doing fine:

soup delivery by bike: http://www.soupcycle.com/

take out delivery by bike: http://icycledelivery.com/

cleaning service by bike: http://bikeportland.org/2009/01/16/eco-friendly-cleaning-business-goes-by-bike/

Portland isn't that dense (population-wise), so if they can make a go of it in that city, you should be able to do it just about anywhere.

Are any of these delivery services more than a couple of years old? It will be telling if they are still "doing fine" or even in business a few years from now.

I've carried pizza on aerobars before, and it works pretty well.

"Those are bike by Worksman. The rear wheel is made of solid rubber to cut down on flats. It give the rider a rough ride but these are utility bikes made for the comfort of the pizza. The front wheel is some high quality very thick rubber. There's a huge box on the front of bike to put pizza inside."

Worksman does make pizza bikes. (There was one on the Cincinnatti CL, I think). However, the solid rubber tires are an option, not a normal thing. I think they're more for factory use, not road use. I think the front wheels are standard 20x2.125" size, and you can use any tire/tube of that size.

I remember reading a post on the pizza delivery a while back. One of the comments made was that owners of pizza places weren't going to be using bicycles unless there was some advantage to them, simply due to the speed of delivery. You'd have to have a really congested area (difficult for auto traffic to get around) or very small but high-density area for bicycle delivery to offer any advantage to the owners.

I know of towns where it's done by pizza shops. Sometimes, I'd like to apply. Does not rain here much. Who wants soggy pizza. The bikes look like city bikes with a big delivery box on the back.. Don't take a spill, tho.. Looks like their delivery range is not much more than a small village, maybe 3 miles from end to end.

I know of towns where it's done by pizza shops. Sometimes, I'd like to apply. Does not rain here much. Who wants soggy pizza. The bikes look like city bikes with a big delivery box on the back.. Don't take a spill, tho.. Looks like their delivery range is not much more than a small village, maybe 3 miles from end to end.

Depending on where the pizza joint was located, it would work for many small towns in the US, problem is even the people that live several miles out of town want their pizza's delivered too.:innocent:

Aaron:)

I actually picked up pizza by bike last night. I rode with it about 2 miles and it was 30 degrees outside. It was still warm when I got home. Not piping hot, but plenty warm, especially considering I had no insulation around it besides the box. But bike delivery would never work here because the town is far too spread out; about 12 miles north to south and probably 8 miles east to west.

Bikes At Work's book PEDALING FOR PROFIT has a chapter discussing fast food (including pizza) delivery by bicycle.

(Obligatory disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with BAW.)

Village Pizza in Atlanta has a bike with a big insulated box mounted to a front rack and I've eaten from them and it is still piping hot and delicious.!

I just picked up my pizzaloader parts for my Big Dummy. I plan on starting to deliver by bike in May and keep it to a 2 mile radius from the pizza place I work. I've got a short survey about it online. If anybody here would take it, I'd really appreciate it.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=X2pgzPFjcn0CfkLJiQ5_2fJg_3d_3d

Sounds like you want a 'porteur' style bike with a big front rack inclined back and a reduced-trail geometry for better handling under front load.

This is a pizza delivery bike in Paris:

http://www.cyclofiend.com/working/2007/wb052-bb0207.html

For bigger loads, a bike with a platform behind the front wheel like a Bilenky cargo bike would be great

http://www.cyclofiend.com/working/2006/wb002.2-noahgerhard0206.html

The upper crust pizzeria (http://www.theuppercrustpizzeria.com/) here in the boston area delivers by bike with these hilariously and horribly top heavy rear rack boxes.There are a few of these bikes outside every uppercrust location and i've only ever seen someone riding one once, and it looked like one helluva squirrely ride. A friend who worked across the street from one location told me she saw the bikes fall over every single day.

If i were delivering pizza i'd go for the large wald or CETMA front rack. Or the CETMA cargo bike(expensive).

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/33/68072492_895f6205e0_o.jpg

From the looks of the saddle, that delivery guy is gonna be singing soprano soon anyway. I wouldn't buy a pizza from a company that makes their employees ride on a deathtrap like that.

From the looks of the saddle, that delivery guy is gonna be singing soprano soon anyway. I wouldn't buy a pizza from a company that makes their employees ride on a deathtrap like that.

hehe that and the quick release is open, meaning the seatpost is so rusted to keep that position or the rider is in for one really really wobbly ride. And actually, they make very decent pizza.

hehe that and the quick release is open, meaning the seatpost is so rusted to keep that position or the rider is in for one really really wobbly ride. And actually, they make very decent pizza.

Well looking again at the contraption, the box is so far forward that you couldn't sit down anyway. They might just as well remove the saddle. The box is total overkill. It looks like you could fit 10 large or 20 small pies in it. I guess you might need that many near a college. But they SO need one of those delivery bikes with the small front wheels with racks over them.

Oh well, at least they're trying. There's a coffee roaster here in Traverse City that delivers beans by bike. I don't think they deliver the hot coffee. That would be worthwhile!

I delivered subs to campus and local town during college via my old Schwinn-made BFGoodrich cruiser. Had a basket that was lined with a few kitchen towels for insulation, and my change bag was in the mess. bag. Great times, and loads of fun. The delivering wasn't bad either.

The beauty of it was that I never had to lock that bike. No one wanted it because it wasn't "cool" in their eyes. Stupid hoopies...