bike couriers

connie_c

Hi. Im new here. Im interested in becoming a bike courier. I love cycling to and from work but hate my office job. I need to know if financially i could survive doing it. Does anyone here know what a bike courier makes in a typical day/week and if the work is in anyway flexible as sometimes i need to take days off at short notice. Cheers in advance.

Ps any additional info would be great too.

Conor

godfather69er

connie_c wrote:

Hi. Im new here. Im interested in becoming a bike courier. I love cycling to and from work but hate my office job. I need to know if financially i could survive doing it. Does anyone here know what a bike courier makes in a typical day/week and if the work is in anyway flexible as sometimes i need to take days off at short notice. Cheers in advance.

Ps any additional info would be great too.

Conor

or is it because your job doesnt have the same image as a bike courier???;) , if you want to take it seriously full time you will need to spend alot on a bike i am talking e800 plus, coz you want to have as little trouble from it and for it to be fast and manouverable.
they dont make too much, they get commission for every package delivered so i suppose to better you know dublin and shortcuts the more money you will earn, its a fine job in summer coz you can pose on your expensive bike with your 3/4 trousers and sunglasses but as soon as winter hits with rain and gales, do you really want to do it then???;)

connie_c

I used to be bike postman. Did it for summers and winters when I was in college. 3 months summer, 2 weeks at Xmas. Summers are obviously alot more fun then winters and I've never done an extended run over winter so I would have to see. The rain and cold don’t usually annoy me too much. Just make me pedal faster.

You might not believe this but I didn’t know about the whole image thing before I started researching this idea. To be honest alot of the couriers around Dublin don’t look that glamorous or cool to me. A few have this rebel image but it’s all bull**** really. I wanna do it for the chance to cycle around this city for a living.

I also need more flexibility as I'm in a band that’s getting a lot of gigs at the mo some of which are at short notice so I need a flexible non career job.

I have a hybrid bike. It does me for my commute and I reckon I could use that with a few minor modifications. New pedals and smaller handlebars being the main ones. The bike cost me €450 I think. It’s a year ago now. It’s a ridgeback cyclone.

johnnyrotten

Whats the story with some bike courier bikes that have no brakes and one gear. They look like the type that you slow down your pedaling to slow down the bike and stop pedaling to stop the bike????

ciaranr

Anyone know of bike couriers in the smaller towns/cities? It would be a bit less stressful than dealing with dublin traffic and buses if there would be enough work to keep you going

Mucco

johnnyrotten wrote:

Whats the story with some bike courier bikes that have no brakes and one gear. They look like the type that you slow down your pedaling to slow down the bike and stop pedaling to stop the bike????

They're fixed wheel bikes, similar to track bikes. Very little maintainance, and very light. I think you try not to stop as much as possible.
http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html

connie_c

i just realised anyone who can answer my question is most likely cycling around outside.the lucky bastards.

connie_c

anyone?

ciaranr

Well you could always take the initiative to go it alone and call around to a few businesses asking them do they use an existing courier service and if so how much do they pay per package or whatever.

Just get a feel for the demand etc. and whether they would be prepared to give you some business if you were to start out on your own. If that's what you would be interested in doing. I'm sure it would be some hassle with insurance, tax etc. but it would be pretty flexible if you were you're own boss.

connie_c

cheers man. i think i will have to do that. i suppose its understandable people not putting rates of payment up on a forum. it was a bit cheeky of me. i think ill take a day off next week and do the circuit. call into them all and figure out if its viable.

Karma

Any luck with work?

connie_c

been having a hectic time and havent had a chance to look. this week hopefully.