Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - God people are lazy.

I just got a job as a delivery boy. After driving my car the first two days of work, I'm done - switching to my fixie. Not going to tell the boss about it, since it would be looked down on here.

90% of the deliveries I make are to addresses less than a 1/2 mile away. These people are ridiculous. So tonight I'm going out to grab some lighting equipment and stuff to rig up a drink holder (mess bag is fine for food, but drinks need a rack), and am considering a front brake.

Anyone else do bike delivery jobs in suburban settings?

...says the man who cals himself "Eatadonut." But seriously, good for you. Cars are so overused in our society.

But wouldn't you go faster on a road bike?!

If your job is being on a bike all day why work harder & not smarter?

Are you going to rely solely on your fixie? I could see it for close deliveries, but don't delivery drivers in suburban settings typically deliver over a large area?

Is time efficiency going to be an issue?

That's great though. I'm happy because the high gas prices have driven my wife to ride her bike to work a lot more often now (it's about a 45 min ride). Any instance of people using bikes over cars is awesome IMHO. I'm glad I don't own a car anymore.

But wouldn't you go faster on a road bike?!

If your job is being on a bike all day why work harder & not smarter?

Because my fixie is plenty fast for 1/2 mile deliveries, and my only geared bikes are a mountain bike that would drive me crazy on pavement, and my racing bike, which I don't trust chained up outside the store.

Are you going to rely solely on your fixie? I could see it for close deliveries, but don't delivery drivers in suburban settings typically deliver over a large area?

Is time efficiency going to be an issue?

That's great though. I'm happy because the high gas prices have driven my wife to ride her bike to work a lot more often now (it's about a 45 min ride). Any instance of people using bikes over cars is awesome IMHO. I'm glad I don't own a car anymore.

No, unfortunately, I DO have a possibility of delivering up to about 3 miles away, and while it's not that far, it's far enough that it would be much faster by car, which means that I need to do it by car.

3 miles is only a few minutes in NYC time. how long could it possibly take you?

we're talking suburbs, nyc is a grid with traffic. bikes move faster than cars in the city, but in the suburbs cars are faster.

So tonight I'm going out to grab some lighting equipment and stuff to rig up a drink holder (mess bag is fine for food, but drinks need a rack), and am considering a front brake.

What type of food is it. Alot of things I can think of delivering should be put in a box on the back not a bag. I talked this over with my old boss numerous times. But that was in a more urban setting probably.


Three miles might not be far to ride to ride but without traffic it'll take at least twice as long in most suburban settings.

bikes move faster than cars in the city, but in the suburbs cars are faster.

then suburbs be damned.

but seriously, 20-25mph on a bike is 20-25mph anywhere. granted--a car'll most certainly be faster than that without gridlock and lights every block, but i think we can all agree that the bike is the more satisfying way to roll.

What type of food is it. Alot of things I can think of delivering should be put in a box on the back not a bag. I talked this over with my old boss numerous times. But that was in a more urban setting probably.


Three miles might not be far to ride to ride but without traffic it'll take at least twice as long in most suburban settings.

Sandwiches.

The store is on the north end of campus, and we cover the northeast part of the city. The close deliveries are all on and around campus (25mph roads and lots of lights and traffic), and the far deliveries are downtown (35mph roads and almost no traffic).


then suburbs be damned.

but seriously, 20-25mph on a bike is 20-25mph anywhere. granted--a car'll most certainly be faster than that without gridlock and lights every block, but i think we can all agree that the bike is the more satisfying way to roll.

True, I'd be much happier delivering all of my runs on bike, but I gotta make the deliveries to make the cash, and I gotta make the cash to sink ever more money into bikes.

Who are these lazy "God people" of whom you speak? In the thread title.

Eats shoots and leaves...

I too was hoping for evidence of people of faith and their slothfullness. Since I dislike the former and practice the latter.

Sandwiches.

The store is on the north end of campus, and we cover the northeast part of the city. The close deliveries are all on and around campus (25mph roads and lots of lights and traffic), and the far deliveries are downtown (35mph roads and almost no traffic).

Talk to your boss mine was actually willing to pay me more and give me all the close runs if I did them on my bike. It wasn't like he was pro-bike or anthing either he just accepted that I would be more productive on a bike. It never happened however because I couldn't figure out how to make an acceptable box cheap(wings and burgers would not fare well in a bag) and the "close" runs would have included the projects as well as campus.

then suburbs be damned.
i think we can all agree that the bike is the more satisfying way to roll.

ha, agreed. but i've seen what happens when you make hungry people wait for their food!

Who are these lazy "God people" of whom you speak? In the thread title.

I refuse to say my title is incorrect.

This IS the bible belt.

Jimmy Johns?

Jimmy Johns?

Indeed - are you at OU/in Norman?

does the food ever get tossed around in your bag? that seems like that may be a problem.... glad to hear about another happy bike "commuter".

Jimmy John's sandwiches seem pretty solid and baggable of an item, as long as they dont get crushed somehow, I would think.

I used to do the same thing at the Pita Pit here in Columbus. If your boss is anything like mine was, he'll get pissed about you being faster than car delivery people. Don't let him figure it out!

maybe you can get a rack and hang some cloth or wire panniers off it?

I used to do the same thing at the Pita Pit here in Columbus. If your boss is anything like mine was, he'll get pissed about you being faster than car delivery people. Don't let him figure it out!

Ha! a veggie like you would work at Pita Pit. I almost did, but JJ's called me first :D I love 'em both.

My boss seems pretty cool, but I've only been there a few days, so we'll see.

Ha! a veggie like you would work at Pita Pit. I almost did, but JJ's called me first :D I love 'em both.

That happened to be another thing my boss didn't like. Republican frat boys shouldn't own places with good food like that.

Maybe something like this (http://www.redbonesbbq.com/news.html) (scroll down to the rib rider at the bottom of the page)? There's also a local pizza shop that delivers pizza with a similar get up.

I did pizza deliveries on a bike in downtown Houston at night. Went the opposite way than you naturally, drinks in the bag and pizzas on the handlebars. Course pizzas in a mess bag woulda been..a mess. The shop was kinda cool, very downtown centric, wouldn't deliver outside of bike range

With sandwiches, I guess you could buy a couple of plastic boxes and throw them in your mess bag. The kind people put their foods in in the fridge. That'd stop them being crushed and make funny noises as you ride along.

BTW, are you paying for gas yourself, or is the company? If it's your money, you'll save an awful lot.

I work at Jimmy Johns too. We do all our delivery on bikes at this store. About a 4mile radius on the delivery area. I wouldn't call boulder a city, but its not really a suburb either, so a car 'might' be faster for some of the further deliveries.

As far as drinks go, I just tape the lids on, and put them inside two of the paper bags, then hold the bags with one hand while you ride. Maybe not the most effective method, but it works, and I can carry up to 6 larges or so, they just get heavy.

Oh that sort of drinks, yeah those suck to carry on a bike, I can carry 6-7 large coffes one handed on a fixed gear, it's awfully slowgoing but I've never spilled. The pizza shop I worked for said to hell with that, only sold canned drinks for delivery, kept me faster.

yeah when I was doing food delivery I would have a quickrelase rear rack with a fairly large milk crate zip tied and bolted down to it in the back Id bungee down the food and I had watter bottle cages zip tied to the side of it, it worked astonishingly well but the bungeeing of the food is key.

wes

then suburbs be damned.

but seriously, 20-25mph on a bike is 20-25mph anywhere. granted--a car'll most certainly be faster than that without gridlock and lights every block, but i think we can all agree that the bike is the more satisfying way to roll.
My wife has a car which measures average speed. We live out of town, about 10miles from the city center. Her car shows an average of 33-37km/h (google will convert it for you), consisting mostly of going to the city for work and giving the kids a lift to school. I have no problem averaging about the same (30-33km/h) doing my commute on my fixed gear.

I did pizza deliveries on a bike in downtown Houston at night. Went the opposite way than you naturally, drinks in the bag and pizzas on the handlebars. Course pizzas in a mess bag woulda been..a mess. The shop was kinda cool, very downtown centric, wouldn't deliver outside of bike range

Lemme, guess, Frank's? I usually make that my halfway stop when I'm riding out at night. OMT isn't there anymore. I'd love to deliver for my local pizza joint, NY Pizzeria, but I dunno...I like my nights.

I have no problem averaging about the same (30-33km/h) doing my commute on my fixed gear.
props

I too was hoping for evidence of people of faith and their slothfullness.

How often do you see a bike rack outside of a church? I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin.

props
It's mostly downhill (both ways ;) )

You cheater!!!
http://www.visionjuice.com/resources/puzzles/illusion/ill005q.png

Lemme, guess, Frank's? I usually make that my halfway stop when I'm riding out at night. OMT isn't there anymore. I'd love to deliver for my local pizza joint, NY Pizzeria, but I dunno...I like my nights.

Yah it was Franks, great lil joint. I did the Fri/Sat night thing for them solo, usually til 3-4AM. Get a bit bedraggled after working the road all day Fri just to put another 10hrs in, but after resting Sat was always fun. Good$$ too, I almost hit $400 take home one saturday and it was never less than $200 a night.

Hey Donut, a few questions and a couple of suggestions...

I work just down the street from you at Plaid. If you are looking for basket/rack possibilities, head over to Buchannan bikes, Those guys are great and the wrenches are top notch. Pick Dwayne's brain and he can probably help you work something out for a drink holder. He loves fabricating and coming up with solutions to oddball situations. Then again you mentioned a race rig... so you probably already know about those guys. I think I have an old weinmann sidepull if you need a brake, but no levers atm though.

If you don't have to cross '35, a bike is probably as fast as a car in Norman. I've been here a long time and ride almost everywhere. If it's just campus and downtown, maybe out as far as Griffin, I'd ride it!:D If you're doing Hall Park or such, then you do need the car.

For the questions, are you looking for a mellow mountain ride? There is a group of about 10-15 of us doing "Flow Ride" on monday nights. We head up to Draper after the bike shop closes, ride til the sun goes down. Starts out slow, last loop is usually a little faster but fair warning is given to the tail draggers if they want to head back to the lot early. Usually some good brews and company after we're done.

Also, have you heard about the "**** Tour"? The next one is this Sunday up in the Village. Single speed/fixed madness! Bike Sumo, skid contests, copious beers, mass start sprints and other hijinks. Yell if you want details on either.

Hey Donut, a few questions and a couple of suggestions...

I work just down the street from you at Plaid. If you are looking for basket/rack possibilities, head over to Buchannan bikes, Those guys are great and the wrenches are top notch. Pick Dwayne's brain and he can probably help you work something out for a drink holder. He loves fabricating and coming up with solutions to oddball situations. Then again you mentioned a race rig... so you probably already know about those guys. I think I have an old weinmann sidepull if you need a brake, but no levers atm though.

If you don't have to cross '35, a bike is probably as fast as a car in Norman. I've been here a long time and ride almost everywhere. If it's just campus and downtown, maybe out as far as Griffin, I'd ride it!:D If you're doing Hall Park or such, then you do need the car.

For the questions, are you looking for a mellow mountain ride? There is a group of about 10-15 of us doing "Flow Ride" on monday nights. We head up to Draper after the bike shop closes, ride til the sun goes down. Starts out slow, last loop is usually a little faster but fair warning is given to the tail draggers if they want to head back to the lot early. Usually some good brews and company after we're done.

Also, have you heard about the "**** Tour"? The next one is this Sunday up in the Village. Single speed/fixed madness! Bike Sumo, skid contests, copious beers, mass start sprints and other hijinks. Yell if you want details on either.

Me and Buchanan's are tight. I spend probably 10% of my income there, it's like a tithe. I might go ask them if they can set me up, I bet they could.

We cover all the way out to hall park, but I don't think into hall park (though we probably would if they called), and then west to the highway. I think. We don't go any further south than lindsey, that's the other store. I'm thinking of building up a completely new bike, sorta an SS-cross type of bike with 37c tires or something. I think it'll roll better in the dark through the freakin' potholes all over norman.

I'm totally up for a mellow mountain ride, and I'm pretty sure my roommate would be too. He's insane, he regularly whips my ass on his $100 schwinn, I think he just doesn't understand how to be scared of trails.

I have not heard about the **** Tour, but count me in - except not this time, I'm outta town this weekend, sucks.