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Couriers Rate the Best in Bikes
Toronto Star, May 10, 1992
By Gary Wise
Toronto’s veteran bike couriers are special breed. Every year they
cycle thousands of kilometres through the city in the heaviest traffic,
often battling the nastiest weather conditions.
They routinely face situations that recreational cyclists experience
only in their worst nightmares. But none of this alarms the “hard-core”
courier. Most of them love their work with a passion.
Beneath their wild appearances and outrageous clothing, they take pride
in their work and exhibit a professional attitude. Peer respect is won
by those can deliver the most pick-ups in the quickest times while
covering the shortest possible distances. Their bike-handling and
traffic-riding skills are evolved to the highest degree.
Leisure and Home decided to tap into the experience of these veteran
couriers, most of whom have been doing the job for at least five years.
Because they make their living on a bike, you can be sure anything
which works for them has withstood the test of time and proven useful.
Twenty couriers were asked to rate selected items on a scale of 1 to 5,
depending on how appropriate each was for city riding. The most points
any item could garner was 100.
Some of the results were to be expected, others might come as a
surprise. The picture to emerge of an ideally equipped city cyclist was
one who was riding a mountain bike equipped with standard straight
handlebars and fat smooth tires. This bicyclist would have a gell cell
light, a hard shell helmet, bells, cycling shoes with toes clips and
would lock his/her bike with a U-lock
A courier’s bike is sacred. “It’s my life, my hobby, my transportation,
and my work. I love it and if someone stole it, it would be absolutely
devastating,” says Stuart Douglas, one of the couriers in the survey.
Laura McMahon another courier in the survey says, “It’s not just a
bike, it’s your way of living. It becomes part of you.”
Like 75 per cent of the couriers, they ride mountain bikes, which got
the highest rating (89) in the frame category. In terms of durability
and safety mountain bikes were clearly preferred.
Douglas says, “I like to make my bike fly, but I also like to make it
dance.” Dancing in this case might mean simply hopping a curb or
bouncing the bike up a flight of stairs in front of an office tower.
Road bikes (56) and hybrids (67) are ridden by the remaining couriers
who prefer them for their lighter weights and in the case of some
riders, higher speeds. “Gord” (who didn’t want to reveal his last name)
says he’ll abandon his road bike as soon as a mountain bike wins the
Tour de France. Another advantage, he says, is that no one wants to
steal road bikes because they’re too hard to sell.
The flat handlebar that is standard on most mountain bikes was an
expected winner, scoring 78 points.
Bar ends, which attach to the side of the flat bar and project forward,
were favored by almost as many couriers (69). Many find the bar ends
allow them to get into a more efficient position for climbing hills.
McMahon says her bar ends also allow for a variety of hand positions,
which makes cycling more comfortable. The only concern of some was the
fact that they stick out and could catch something in a tight squeeze.
Not surprisingly the rating for drop-style handlebars (55) was only one
point less than the rating for road bikes on which they are standard.
Amateur cyclists should note that couriers gave lights quite high
ratings. They recognize the importance of being seen. Motorists won’t
give the right of way if they can’t see you coming.
Courier Colin Slack prefers the gell cell system (80), which is more
powerful and permanently attached to the bike except for the
rechargeable battery.
Clip-on lights (79) have the advantage of being more affordable,
lighter and removable when not in use but Slack says some of them can
bounce off when going over bumps.
Reflectors and reflective apparel received a good rating (68) but
lights were clearly seen as more effective.
Couriers gave the fat knobby tires that are found on the mountain bikes
of most recreational cyclists the lowest rating of all tires (61).
They were the preference of some in winter for snow but how many days
of the year does one ride on snow compared to dry pavement?
The highest rating went to wide smooth ties (84).
They’re wide enough to avoid most trouble with streetcar tracks and on
account their lack of heavy tread, much faster than the knobby tires.
Even the narrower tires standard on road bikes and hybrids got a higher
rating (73) than fat knobby tires.
The fact is smoother and narrower tires lower a bike’s rolling
resistance thereby increasing its speed and efficiency.
If you do most of your cycling on paved surfaces fat and knobby tires
are a liability. They don’t come into their own until you go off-road
or run into snow.
The couriers gave curious scores to helmets. Looking around it’s
obvious not too many are wearing helmets.
As the most skilled group of cyclists in the city many seem to feel
helmets are unnecessary for them. Still they gave helmets ratings of 62
to 77. They must think they’re useful for someone.
Reflecting their profession’s requirement for the most durable of
products, hard shell helmets rated highest (77). They have the thickest
outer shell.
Micro shell helmets (67) and soft shell helmets (62) scored points for
being lighter and more comfortable. The micro shell has a thin outer
shell, the soft shell has none, but most still meet the recognized CSA
Snell and/or ASNI safety standards.
Courier Craig Budd says, “You get used to a helmet like you get used to
anything else. Once people have a bad fall and hit their head or come
close to it, they start to wear helmets religiously.”
In no other category was the couriers’ preference so clear. Heavy duty
“U-locks” (so named because of their shape) scored 88 points.
Cable locks (44) and chains (27) were far behind.
The couriers stressed however that the “U-lock” must be reinforced with
a plumbers “T” or a special weld in order to be secure (for details
talk to your local bike store or check someone else’s lock).
Able locks and chains especially were frowned on because for all their
weight they offer virtually no security against heavy-duty bolt
cutters. If couriers don’t trust them why should you?
Most amateur cyclists wear regular shoes while cycling.
In contrast couriers give regular shoes a very low rating (45) and toe
clips one of the highest (92).
Regular shoes have relatively soft soles, which absorb a lot of a
cyclist’s energy rather than transferring it to the pedals.
Special cycling shoes have ultra-stiff soles to transfer as much energy
as possible and the couriers gave them the survey’s highest rating – 93.
They work especially well with toe clips, which secure the shoe to the
pedal and allow one to also pull up on the pedals instead of just
pushing down. Again this makes pedaling easier and more efficient.
Most amateurs don’t use toe clips for fear of having their feet trapped
on the pedals.
But toe clips mainly hold the foot down on the pedal. Almost always the
foot can still easily be detached by pulling backwards. This is the
easiest of all with cycling shoes, which have a very smooth tread that
doesn’t get caught on the pedal. The rougher treads on ordinary shoes
are often the source of people’s fear of toe clips.
The couriers gave high ratings to fenders (75) and water bottles (77)
but they gave the highest rating in this category to bells (84),
something most ordinary cyclists seem to think they can do without.
Obviously the couriers think otherwise. The fact is people and vehicles
are much more likely to stay out of your way if you can let them know
you’re there.
If you follow the recommendations of the couriers, you’re following the
advice of Toronto’s cycling experts.
They have an expression, which applies to us all and should be easier
to achieve if you listen to what their experience has taught them.
Referring to a bike’s tires and frame they say, “Keep the rubber down
and the metal up!”
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