Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - The Fax Machine killed the Bike Messenger

So many people want to be bike messengers. Here's why everyone who wants to, can't:

I had a conversation with judge a few years back. Before he became a judge he practiced law in DC. I asked him if he ever used bike messengers. He was like, "Yes. We used them all the time...until fax machines came about."

The Fax Machine killed the bike messenger industry.

Email made sure it was dead.

PDFs and Digital Photography are the nails in the coffin.

Internet cuts need for bike messengers (MSNBC.com)
"Around the country, high-speed Internet, which allows larger documents to be e-mailed quickly, is beating cyclists in the race for fast and cheap delivery of urgently needed material.

"I enjoy this. It's a lot of fun. But it's not a tenable way to make a living," said Portland courier Stephen Wagner, taking a break on a park bench. "You'd be dirt poor if you did this for a living."
-- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7736091/

(The Economist):
"The reason is straightforward. High-speed internet, PDF files, digital photography and digital audio have been eroding bike-messenger revenues by between 5-10% a year since 2000, or so reckons Lorenz Götte, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Zurich (and a former bike messenger himself). The revenue slump has sent wages tumbling. In 2000, messengers in San Francisco could make $20 an hour. Now the average is closer to $11."
-- http://twocitiestwowheels.blogspot.com/2006/07/economist-and-bike-messengers.html

But wait!

That doesn't mean that the culture is dead. Keep in mind that NASCAR was built around guys runnin' (messengering) moonshine. Now it's the largest spectator sport in the US over MLB, NBA, or NFL.

"During the Prohibition era of the 1920's and early 30's, the undercover business of whiskey, or "moonshine", running began to boom. More of a problem than secret manufacture of moonshine was the secret transportation of it. The common term for moonshine runners was "bootleggers". Bootleggers were "men who illegally ran whiskey from hidden stills to hundreds of markets across the Southeast. These men were the real Dukes of Hazzard, only there was nothing funny about their business. Driving at high speeds at night, often with the police in pursuit, was dangerous. The penalty for losing the race was jail or loss of livelihood." (1)

"As bootlegging boomed, the drivers began to race among themselves to see who had the fastest cars. Bootleggers raced on Sunday afternoons and then use, the same car to haul moonshine Sunday night. Inevitably, people came to see the races, and racing moonshine cars became extremely popular in the backroads of the South. Bootlegging continued even after the end of the Prohibition era, because of the huge tax placed on whiskey upon repeal of the Volstead Act in 1933."
-- http://www.new2nascar.com/history.htm

Hence, alcohol-fueled dragsters. Bringing it full circle.

There was also an article in the Economist a few months back. People made the point that there are ways that messengers can create new markets for themselves and make themselves indispensible; becoming process servers, or notaries, etc. There are still some things that have to be delivered in person, like legal filings and maybe medical records, I don't know. I'm not a messenger.

Hence, alcohol-fueled dragsters. Bringing it full circle.


Yeah! I can't wait to watch a post race interview and hear someone say,

"Yeah, the #24 Home Depot Nagasawa ran well today. Hats off to my builder and my awesome pit crew. Whew! That last wheel change was slower than we wanted, but we made up that time when that full-course yellow flag came out."

...and what if alleycats/races were held a spots like Laguna Seca and Sears Point Raceway.

Now THAT would KICK A**!

i said this same thing with way less words like...an hour ago.
+1 for me.

Carlton - Sprint Club RVA did a velo event on a raceway last year. I heard it was pretty cool

Messengers are pretty bitter about the internet I think. I asked a bunch if they felt they were being eliminated with the internet and one was like: "NO SOME PEOPLE STILL WANT FLOWERS DELIVERED!" Anyways, think the whole thing sounds like a fun job but technology is phasing out how massive the industry used to need to be. Now it will become more of a niche job to be involved in and not everyone will have 'that messenger friend.'

There are still some things that have to be delivered in person, like legal filings and maybe medical records, I don't know. I'm not a messenger.

The stuff I deliver (once every two weeks subbing for a guy, for an events organizing company) is mostly like that. Applications and stuff to government organs and back, contracts to be signed sent to and from partners, money and bills to and from partners... There's stuff that will always have to travel fast.

actually some digital things cant be delivered any other way than by hand, you arent going to email a video deposition for example, or a bunch of MRI's or CAT scans, or blueprints in huge digital image files

has it eliminated some business, yup it has, bankruptcy courts went electronic and runs in/our of their disappeared, but OTOH federal court went digital too but still get lots of runs in/out of there because they didnt do a very good job of implementing the system

here locally there were about 35 messengers just 3 years ago, now there's about 20, none of which was really a decline in business but a lack of growth and the fact that 7 of us went indie which took a whole bunch of business away from the big companies, its always been the legal work driving business around here but there's still plenty of point-to-point runs, its about 40% of my business---those that want to work will work, those that dont, wont, my company is growing at better than 30% per year

']Carlton - Sprint Club RVA did a velo event on a raceway last year. I heard it was pretty cool

I went last year, but never made it down this year. Last year it was held on a short oval track with very slight banking. The "track" surface was pretty rough in spots, but it was still a great time. Sprint Club did a great job--nice prizes and a great assortment of enthusiasts and racers.

u cant fax the garmet district

The industry is still strong in NYC. Anybody with a bike, bag, and a lock can find work here.

People have been crying the deathsong since before I started in 92, we are still here.

One thing that has increased is cargo bike delivery! Also a lot more pedicabs (not sure if that counts).

Nascar reminds me of Keirin. With track cycling and cycling in general becoming more popular in the states, the sky is the limit..

actually some digital things cant be delivered any other way than by hand, you arent going to email a video deposition for example, or a bunch of MRI's or CAT scans, or blueprints in huge digital image files


Yeah it'll be at least another couple of years before thats practical.

NetFlix.

Essetnially electronic entertainment delivered via - envelope and the postman?
Sure, once the pipeline gets big enough movies on the net may work, but who ever thought the NetFlix pitch would work?



FixedFlix.

...and what if alleycats/races were held a spots like Laguna Seca and Sears Point Raceway.

Now THAT would KICK A**!
Then it ceases to be an Alleycat. Traffic and having to actually think where you have to go is what makes an Alleycat different from other forms of cyclesport.

Then it ceases to be an Alleycat. Traffic and having to actually think where you have to go is what makes an Alleycat different from other forms of cyclesport.

NASCAR + Messengers Racing on Bikes = Red neck Alleycat?

No brakes, for fixies or cars!
Alchohol for everyone - spectators and participants and EMT crews!

:eek:

Then it ceases to be an Alleycat. Traffic and having to actually think where you have to go is what makes an Alleycat different from other forms of cyclesport.

Yeah, speeding around Talledega Raceway is a bit different that speeding through the hills and mountains of Tennessee, but you get my point. It's evolution.

isn't londonberry a converted car race track?
It seems to me like nascar tracks would be incredibly boring. No traffic or change of scenery and crappy banking.

As an enginerd, we send out BIG sets of blueprints in 36" long 9" diameter rolls a couple of times a week. You ain't getting that across town any other way. Last week I got into the elevator with the guy who finished one spot ahead of me in the six pack race during the NACCC. I may as well have had a gorilla suit on, he wouldn't have recognized me if I didn't say hey.

LUKE! where have you been?

In a drunken fog. Haha. No, really. The short version:
Looking at my sad unscrewed bb on the fixed I thought to myself "Self, you can fix this. Just pull the cranks, unscrew the fixed cup and take it to Via so they can sell you the right size obscure flat wrench." So I bought a crank puller that wasn't long enough. Then I bought the right size crank puller. Once the cranks were off I thought "Self, you can't take that cup to Via all dirty and gritty, you'll be chastised!" So I cleaned it and thought why not pull the whole thing and do a little overhaul? So I did. Then I realized Stella is out of commision for a while anyway, so what better time to strip the frame and drop it off at our local tall bike rider/frame painter extraodinaire?

OK, not the short version, but the bottom line is that my frame is getting sandblasted and painted cream with medium brown tracing on the lugs. I bought the el-cheapo hubs to built up a shiny set of wheels. I've got my eye on a honey Brooks b17 and the matching leather bar tape ($59?!?), a pair of eggbeaters, new seatpost (suggestions?), chain, Sugino RD cranks, more I haven't considered. Fun fun fun and it'll probably be done just in time for winter. Yay!

How have you been? Did you see your pics from NACCC on the Demoncats site?

In a drunken fog. Haha. No, really. The short version:
Looking at my sad unscrewed bb on the fixed I thought to myself "Self, you can fix this. Just pull the cranks, unscrew the fixed cup and take it to Via so they can sell you the right size obscure flat wrench." So I bought a crank puller that wasn't long enough. Then I bought the right size crank puller. Once the cranks were off I thought "Self, you can't take that cup to Via all dirty and gritty, you'll be chastised!" So I cleaned it and thought why not pull the whole thing and do a little overhaul? So I did. Then I realized Stella is out of commision for a while anyway, so what better time to strip the frame and drop it off at our local tall bike rider/frame painter extraodinaire?

OK, not the short version, but the bottom line is that my frame is getting sandblasted and painted cream with medium brown tracing on the lugs. I bought the el-cheapo hubs to built up a shiny set of wheels. I've got my eye on a honey Brooks b17 and the matching leather bar tape ($59?!?), a pair of eggbeaters, new seatpost (suggestions?), chain, Sugino RD cranks, more I haven't considered. Fun fun fun and it'll probably be done just in time for winter. Yay!

How have you been? Did you see your pics from NACCC on the Demoncats site?

sounds like quite the overhaul. but thursdays have been so uneventful without you. also: come to the preztel ride on your cruiser. and oct 21st party my place kegs!

Max,

I'm there! For the kegs, that is. The cruiser, sad to say, must go to Via tomorrow. Luke the Destroyer crashed it last week coming home late at night. Pulls to the right, so I'm guessing the forks have to go in a jig. I HOPE that's all the Schwinn needs, it's my war wagon. Maybe a Thrash on the raod bike? We'll see.

Hey guys, thanks for including your PMs here for all of us to read.

Hey guys, thanks for including your PMs here for all of us to read.


OK Mr. "Welcome from Club Med post that has nothin' to do w/ fixed gear/ss." Just kidding. Smootchies

As an enginerd, we send out BIG sets of blueprints in 36" long 9" diameter rolls a couple of times a week. You ain't getting that across town any other way.

PDF file! I've sent complete drawing sets (50+ drawings in 24x36) to contractors as a single file. If its overly large the firm I was at hosted a FTP for that reason. I can't speak for other professions but architecture is definately embracing the concept of a paperless office.

PDF file! I've sent complete drawing sets (50+ drawings in 24x36) to contractors as a single file. If its overly large the firm I was at hosted a FTP for that reason. I can't speak for other professions but architecture is definately embracing the concept of a paperless office.

Yup.
I do the majority of my work 5+ hours from the main office.
PDF, VRML, etc... all good.

I still deliver paper copies to builders though. Hard to tote around a laptop on a job site.
FedEx usually gets that work though. Tough to get a mess from Vermont to Boston.

as people pointed out, a lot of industries rely on messengers to quickly deliver original documents that need to be signed..

the majority of messengers in big cities are probably delivering food (not emailable) but i guess they don't fall under the spheres of influence of this board..

barnes & noble in nyc offers same day delivery of books via bike messenger

A lot of what a deliver is model portfolios, clothes for photo shoots, construction blueprints, and legal docs (most of my work). I just can't imagine what it was like before faxes in NYC.

<i>as people pointed out, a lot of industries rely on messengers to quickly deliver original documents that need to be signed..</i>

That will dissapear to change too over the next couple of decades.

People made the point that there are ways that messengers can create new markets for themselves and make themselves indispensible; becoming process servers, or notaries, etc.


Need something notarized? Notary comes to you. Need to get married in a hurry? Call the fixie priest. Concerned that your new Keirin grips clash with your paint scheme? The fashion expert is just a chirp away...

OK Mr. "Welcome from Club Med post that has nothin' to do w/ fixed gear/ss." Just kidding. Smootchies


Hahahaha!

Need something notarized? Notary comes to you. Need to get married in a hurry? Call the fixie priest. Concerned that your new Keirin grips clash with your paint scheme? The fashion expert is just a chirp away...


fixie priest? that'd be sweet, I want to start that service, I'm an ordained minister. Anyone in Boston need a quick marriage? (admittedly I'm not registered with the state, so it won't be binding right now)

<i>as people pointed out, a lot of industries rely on messengers to quickly deliver original documents that need to be signed..</i>

That will dissapear to change too over the next couple of decades.

theyve been saying that for 100 years, there will always be things that need delivered quickly, and the energy crunch will make it actually increase I believe

things definetly have changed for the worse .....10 years ago all you did was envelopes ...all inner stuff , gold . i use to take home 900 after tax !!! no shi.t . now im rolling into the suburbs with a baby grand strapped to my back paying standard ...... everyones undercutting their margins ...it wont be 2mrw but the messenger's days are numbered .....In australia ive just passed my 11th winter im gonna ride the last wave through to autumn and lap it up and them im gone like motherf.ukin kaiser sossa . so sad i thought was gonna do this shi.t for ever .:( :( :(

It's been said that the industry needs to change or die. I've found this to be concretely true even in my short time (5 years) on the job. I'm not trying to be all "the sky is falling!" Chicken Little steezy, but there is a definite need for innovation. A few pow-wows with like-minded friends hav yielded some notions:

-As paper documents may be going out, objects are coming in. Messengers have always delivered "stuff" (rubix cubes, reading glasses, urine samples, etc) but with the advent of things like Craigslist which enable people to more easily trade their stuff, the need arises to coordinate that transaction. Cue the messenger. Cargo bikes are of especial interest here.

-SECURE file transfer. Wires can be tapped. Can anyone say Armed Messenger?

-Drug running. I mean the legal kind. Old people need their meds.

-Errand boys. "Go pick up my laundry and get me some peanut butter" and all that. Not exactly glamorous, but something I believe people will always need.

-Area-relative jobs. I know there are a ****TON of photographers in San Francisco. Could one make a living out of delivering film for them? Discuss.

None of these ideas are new -they're all things messengers have been doing for years- but the state of things tells me that catering to niche markets will become more and more necessary.

-Also...there's been a big struggle to the get the industry unionized as a whole, some tout that as a solution. While unions are more and more common, the sloooooooow progress has taken it's toll and I think that it's going to be too little too late in some areas. Raising rates as necessary to meet their messenger's pay requirements would spell the end for a lot of companies in this oh-so-cutthroat pricing arena.

Need something notarized? Notary comes to you. Need to get married in a hurry? Call the fixie priest. Concerned that your new Keirin grips clash with your paint scheme? The fashion expert is just a chirp away...
Love it.

The industry is still strong in NYC. Anybody with a bike, bag, and a lock can find work here.

People have been crying the deathsong since before I started in 92, we are still here.

One thing that has increased is cargo bike delivery! Also a lot more pedicabs (not sure if that counts).

Nascar reminds me of Keirin. With track cycling and cycling in general becoming more popular in the states, the sky is the limit..


I agree, my company uses messengers all the time to deliver small packages that couldnt be sent over internet. But I agree the paper document is no longer the mainstay of the mesenger. Why do you think these messenger bags are getting bigger and bigger?

And we'll see Velodrome and allycat racing increasing in popularity for sure.

-SECURE file transfer. Wires can be tapped. Can anyone say Armed Messenger?
encryption.



-Area-relative jobs. I know there are a ****TON of photographers in San Francisco. Could one make a living out of delivering film for them? Discuss.
Cause film will definetly outlast paper documents.... oh wait.




-Also...there's been a big struggle to the get the industry unionized as a whole, some tout that as a solution. While unions are more and more common, the sloooooooow progress has taken it's toll and I think that it's going to be too little too late in some areas. Raising rates as necessary to meet their messenger's pay requirements would spell the end for a lot of companies in this oh-so-cutthroat pricing arena.

How exactly would unionization help save messengers jobs as their traditional market dies and they are forced them into less and less profitable niches.

Essetnially electronic entertainment delivered via - envelope and the postman?
Sure, once the pipeline gets big enough movies on the net may work, but who ever thought the NetFlix pitch would work?
TLA Video in Philly offers bicycle delivery of your movies. Simpsons already did it!

used to be a pizza place here that also had a huge stock of movies. not sure if they delivered beer or not...

TLA Video in Philly offers bicycle delivery of your movies. Simpsons already did it!
why do you know so much about philly but yet, your listing says dc?

it's not legal in GA(or most places) but for enough money it gets done. It's amazing what drunks will pay at 11:45PM to stay drunk.

The industry is still strong in NYC. Anybody with a bike, bag, and a lock can find work here.

People have been crying the deathsong since before I started in 92, we are still here.

One thing that has increased is cargo bike delivery! Also a lot more pedicabs (not sure if that counts).

Nascar reminds me of Keirin. With track cycling and cycling in general becoming more popular in the states, the sky is the limit..


less paper but there's been plenty of small packages under 15lb. hasnt slowed down, I'ts busy as always here. Remember what they said about the internet killing the post office? The Post office actually took off! Busier the ever!

why do you know so much about philly but yet, your listing says dc?
i lived in philly from 2003 until july 1 of this year. i moved to get a job that payed more than $7.50 an hour. i miss that city, but i still ****ing hate it. its weird, to love something and hate it at the same time.

i lived in philly from 2003 until july 1 of this year. i moved to get a job that payed more than $7.50 an hour. i miss that city, but i still ****ing hate it. its weird, to love something and hate it at the same time.
you can most def find a job that pays more than 7.50 an hour.

Sometimes it feels like all I have to do to earn my ($7.50*pi) per hour is read bikeforums. *Smiley*

you can most def find a job that pays more than 7.50 an hour.
(i was offered a job in dc is what i meant. i graduated at the end of june, started work july 5th.)

fair enough

i like it a lot down here. i don't want to leave. i mean philly was great, but i'd take dc over philly.