Single Speed bike – often favoured by bike Couriers.
A friend of mine from Dublin, recently became a cycle courier so I was interested to hear of his experiences.
As somebody who rides a bike for fun, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to cycle full time.
How Much Do You get Paid?
Matthew said he got paid about 300 Euros a week (about £241) This was for a 5 day week of 9-5pm. But, most other people in the firm were earning 400 Euros. JHe said his lower wage was because he has a slow bike, but at the moment can’t afford to buy a new bike. The payment is all piecemeal, which means you get paid per delivery. Some deliveries were ‘specials’ and worth 6 Euros as oppposed to 4 Euros. Matthew said he often had to leave his lunch break to take these better paid jobs.
What are the disadvantages of Being A Cycle Courier?
Matthew said his company was small so sometimes he didn’t have much work. On these days there was a lot of sitting around doing nothing; and this also means not getting paid. However he said in the bigger cycle courier companies there was constant work. The other big disadvantages for cycle couriers include:
- Working whatever the weather – and being in Ireland means rain is a constant companion.
- Fighting through traffic jams.
What are the advantages of Being a Cycle Courier?
- Keeps you fit.
- I Enjoy cycling
- Quite interesting work
Matthew said his boss was good, but, also didn’t hide how difficult the job was. Matthew said his boss was quite blunt saying to him “I know it’s a difficult job, but, you’re quite welcome to quit anytime”. A polite way of saying – like it but lump it. I get the impression staff turnover is quite high, but presumably they are always able to fill the vacancies.
Do You stop at Red Lights?
Matthew smiled and said he goes with his ‘inner feeling’. He said what this means is that in practise, he rides through many red lights. He said if you stopped at all the red lights, you wouldn’t be able to earn anything. When you’re earning 300 Euros a week a 25% cut in wages would really hurt. As a commuter, I’m quite happy to stop at red lights. But, if I was just earning 300 Euros a week, a don’t know whether my principles would stand up to having a 25% wage cut.
Nevertheless, it highlights a difficult dilemma. Whether we like it or not, cycle couriers have contributed towards a negative impression towards cyclists – especially in London, where cycle couriers have became a byword for aggressive cycling.
Cycle Courier Bikes
Matthew is a pretty strong runner (2 mile time of under 12 minutes), but I get the impression his mountain bike is really slowing him down. I gave him some advice for A Cycle Courier Bikes.
- Get a Road Bike
- Choose Thin Tyres
- Buy second hand – you don’t need or don’t want fancy carbon fibre lightweight. Even with a good lock there is always the danger of bike theft. It is more important to just get a road worthy bike which is relatively fast.
- Single speed or gears? – Single speed bikes would work well for cities like London and Dublin where it is mostly flat. I would choose single speed over fixed though. However, single speed bikes are often more expensive than geared bikes, so in that case I said don’t spend more just to get a single speed.
looking for cycle courier work.. Can anybody please HELP in the Manchester area.
Thanks John
im looking for as a cycle courier in the cardiff area can anyone help thankyou
Good article. I know a good few riders who’ve gone from Edinburgh to Dublin to work, and a few who’ve come back.
hi i was wondering if there was any jobs such as this in glasgow, well i know there is cycleing couriers in glasgow but i cant seem to find the company ive tried to find them on the internet but its getting me no where any help anyone can give me would me much appricated.
Ive been trying to get work as a bicycle courier in Glasgow Scotland….its been a no-no for me…do you know of any in that city?
A lot of cyclists who go on to fixed wheel have not got the distance between their toe end and the front tyre. Riding slow in traffic and keeping your balance can have you ending up on the road looking up at an very irate car owner wanting reconpence for his scratched car. So the front end distance between toe and tyre is critical. DHJ
The cycle couriers in Cambridge have special bikes supplied by the firm, with a big metal box on the back (which puts the rear wheel further back). From what I’ve seen, they never lock them while making a delivery. The boxes mean they can handle several shoebox-sized packages, rather than just documents and small packets.
I’m not sure I’d agree with thin tyres necessarily: if you’re seriously traffic-jamming, you need the kind of cornering and braking performance you get from 35mm or so. And don’t forget that really good all-weather tyres are a must.