balls to the stem

get that weight forward, 48x18 should be easy to hold

Skidding is dumb. Why waste expensive rubber on uncontrolled slides?

Concentrate on useful messenger skills, like bunny-hopping a fixie. (Something I still can't do properly!)

Or knowing the names of all 16 squares in W1.

Or how fast you have to go to get the '30 mph speed limit - slow down!' sign to come on going through the Piccadilly under-pass (I did it once - maybe...)

Or how to false-call using a PDA/GPS tracker...



Now that's something I would really take my hat off to!

Gear size is personal choice, but most people ride 42-16. I rode as low as 42-18, and as high as 52-18. The ideal gear is something that doesn't hurt kicking away up Clerkenwell Road into the wind towards the Duke on a Friday afternoon AND allows you to go fast enough to light up the sign in the Piccadilly under-pass.

do you reckon most messengers run 42x16?

it is the classic fixed wheel road gearing, and i think it works well round london. but i reckon that there's a lot of macho over-gearing going on.

going down a hill is not a measure of how fast you can go on a bike...it's a measure of how fast a specific amount of mass will roll down a gradient if no brakes are applied....to measure your true speed ...enter a race and compare yourself against your peers.

You can race round Northweald aerodrome (nr Epping) on Tuesday nights, it's a staggered start of mixed ability (a bit like the early/late season Eastway's). You'll know in about 5mins how quick you are There is also Crystal Palace (wednesday?) if you're one of them weird Sarf Londoners. (all the best messengers can hold their own in these )

I had a great deal of fun on 67 inches (42-17) I struggled with anything much higher as I really like the feeling of a bike when spinning. I found everything becomes more responsive about the handling. one gains a lightness to manouvers.

I reserved locking up the back wheel for emergencies.

Of course You'll get this with 42-16 (what's that in inches 71?? so pretty close to what you are riding now nik) but maybe i just prefered going slower
The endless stop-start style of of messenger riding also served as a deterrent for me to run a higher gear too.

The fastest I ever got 67" to on the flat was about 33 mph. I wouldn't really encourage that though and I don't think i could physically move my legs any quicker. I bet it looked really funny.

There was some thunder thighed commuter who lived near me a few years back. We tended to leave our houses at a similar time and converge in the peckham area. He must have been riding 52-13. A monster gear and in stupidly slow in traffic. It was painful to watch!

brake cables are cheaper than tyres, that said you don't want to make a habit of breaking cables.
Check your brake line, make sure there aren't any sharp bends, and keep it oiled too.

on a side note i want to put my messenger hero down as donkey. allways riding fast, allways in a big gear, never smiling whilst working.
remember seeing him walking past the 'hole' in '95ish with a veto with 'donkey' pained on it by sonic, i looked at my mtb and plastic paperboys bag and thought ' things will have to change'.
he has to be up there with other messenger heros.

heh - Tipper.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/muppetleague/96978168/in/set-72057594064320800/

I find bikeless even safer...

"Skidding is dumb. Why waste expensive rubber on uncontrolled slides?" - why waste your rims? it may b fun for someone?
since i've been riding brakeless i've never had a serious injury...
and i dont know why some companies expect u to ride with brakes...
british army.. ?

too many ppl think that they ate too many brains (hmmm.. some controllers haha im not pointing at anyone :P) and they got so many skills bcoz they are in this industry 4 ages so they r "uber menschen"(Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche)....

all this serious advice about wasting rubber and all this crap is silly...

"Concentrate on useful messenger skills, like bunny-hopping a fixie. (Something I still can't do properly!)" - how long have U been riding on your fixie then if u still cant bunnyhop ??

"Or how fast you have to go to get the '30 mph speed limit - slow down!' sign to come on going through the Piccadilly under-pass (I did it once - maybe...) - what does it mean coz even my english friends cannot translate it for me... but i nearly understand U... and i think i did it on my CRAP bike :P:P:P but is it really useful? does a courier really need to spend his time practicing turning the "slow down" sign on in the piccadilly underpass? or is it one of those skills to show the girls or impress new messengers?

"Or how to false-call using a PDA/GPS tracker..."-- if u know anything about computers u would know u only need 2 download one program from a crack site and transfer it to your pda.. then u are able to do it..

can u teach me something new about the courier world? haha
thanks for calling me muppet in my profile hahahaha i hope 1 day after "20 years in this business" ill b good like u "well known expierienced guys" :*

;*:*
dont take me wrong, respect, and i know that im just a small fish in this muppet world haha
ciao

"does a courier really need to spend his time practicing turning the "slow down" sign on in the piccadilly underpass? or is it one of those skills to show the girls or impress new messengers?"

I find that girls are _really_ impressed if you know the names of all the squares in W1!

quote; tomorrow is closed:
have you met anyone in the office at creative?

who me?

The only time I really got chatting to any of the creative crew is when I tried to dodge a ped whilst answering my call and deciding whether to pop into selecta disc at the same time.
The net result was falling off. Nice ice breaker.

I was an anti social/shy b*stard back then.

Now i post on internet forums.

ding-a-ling!

papa44:

thank you :* i c u know me well :P {|}

come winter, hanging out ain't a good idea. The Glans (tip) could get frostbitten, turn black and fall off.

i can't help but think that Ka[x_X]mil is the guy that rides around with the "antisocial" sticker across his forks, is this you?

Is NIK a real person? He seems to chatter lots of rubbish to me. when did he work? what does he look like?

AHHH

Jason Stevenson was one of the best bike handlers I have ever seen - not in MASH, bicycle ballet style, more in a let's get to where we're going really fast style.

Saying that, I rate Josh as one of the best bike handlers in on circuit, and he is f&cking quick too. Oh dear, this is turning to top 5 riders in London.

I already did it here:

http://www.movingtargetzine.com/article/the-quickest-rider

indeed i be reeel!!!!

what is this rubbish i seeeem 2 be chattererererering??????

whenst workin (October 2006- September 2007), i had slightly longish blonde hair, wore a lot of vests, cheap bike (of the white colured variety, with reeeeel wheels and all yuo know).

now my hair has changed to blue still in vests and still on a cheap bike. clear things up a bit 4 ya's.

u never know mmight be back 4 a bit over christmas as i got a break coming up soon then can speak to me 4 reeeeeel (instead of on an interererererernet placiey thingymajigggy whatnot bucket howsyourfatherererer sight).

I doubt it, I think like me he used the lever operated mechanical device on the handlebars to slow down and stop. None of this prime numbered gearing bollocks so as to have X amount of skid wears on a tyre .....

I used to skid, when I was "like" 12.

i'm with winston on this. skidding, wheelies?
whats next? juggling and wearing check trousers?

Also as any decent cycle-courierer knows there's only one road in W1.None in the city.

@tipper- clearly not close enough re: the brake thing, don't think there are actually many people who really believe "no brakes is best". there's great thread about that actually, just ask nik and winston

"Also as any decent cycle-courierer knows there's only one road in W1.None in the city."

except at certain courier companies where deliveries to the south side of marylebone road didn't pay the nw1 rate, though that depends on the cuntroller.

edit: glad to see we can use naughty words again, have seen some terrible things happen with the auto-naughty-word-censor bullshit on some forums such as: sc**thorpe pat on the backs all round.

suck spuzz-fast.. thats strange, i didnt feel a thing, i even looked outta the window to see an old man walking his dog, so i asked him if he was dead or new anything about it...he didnt know anything about it either, therefore your bombimg skills are about as acurate as your pointless comments are funny..........yawn