World of Adventure - Bike Messengers

Profile of 2006 Markus Cook Award winner Squid, with Team Puma and NYC messengers race on World of Adventure Sports. Velo City Series Messenger Track Racing. September 17, 2006

[@ianhillegonds227]

"It's like a chess game... You're gonna use, gonna use got your pawns, you're gonna your rooks.. And.. and try to get that check mate." That was the most awkwardly fucking delivered line I've heard in ages.

[@OlafThorbjorn]

Indeed

[@Nomad_hydro]

PROUD TO BE A MESSENGER

[@rykerlee3026]

its crazy to see squid in this and in the red light go doc

[@Scunyun]

Physical chess, eh? Great profile - expert advice and passionate reason. Thanks for making us all look good, Squid. And many belated thanks for this repository, Joe.

[@corv989]

Gotta give these guys/gals a lot of credit for what they do. It is a very tough and difficult job getting through the big city everyday and risking their lives for what they love doing the most. I think riding is much more fun and getting around is much more enjoyable than sitting inside the vehicle getting stressed out.

[@arturonava9085]

Squids dispatcher came out in a 90's Documentary named "Pedal" he was still a messenger back then.

[@da7nesman]

At the end of the day, the most important thing for a man is providing for himself and/or his family without stretching his hand out to anyone for help. During this economic crisis, educated people with friggin masters degrees lost their jobs. One of my professors was an engineer for Siemens and he got laid off.

[@jhardy66617]

its a fixed gear bicycle you can stop/slow the bike if you stop pedaling or lightly pedal youll slow down if you were to be riding a fixed gear and pull your feet off the pedals, the crank would keep spinning, if u stopped pedaling or tried to back pedal you would lock your rear wheel and skid stop you gotta learn to control it, but fixed gears stop faster then coaster brakes almost all the time and you never have to replace cables or shifters much simpler, loads of fun, fun to race :D

[@dragon85fire]

Mirrors add width to their bikes, which is not good when they want to wind through the traffic between the cars, which can be really narrow. Plus turning their head is easy and leaves no blindspot

[@iishuffle28]

The dispatcher here, Diego Rivera is a messenger in the documentary Pedals. A good docu about an hour long if anyone wants to check it out.

[@reidefined]

they deliver "messages" around the city. packages, mail, etc. companies who want to send things to another place in the city but do not want to wait for snail mail will use a messenger.

[@Fallintotherhyme]

@olihand1 That just doesn't seem reasonable.... When I was a kid I used to ride a fixed gear bike and to stop i would put pressure on the pedal to skid or stop. Is that what they do too?

[@FlyingKaveman]

I think it was to make bikes less appealing to thiefs. Also because you have more control in snow and it's more reliable. Now it's just popular

[@ideasoner]

my brakes worked fine, they wer just a pain in the ass to keep working every rider i know who gone brakeless on there bmx loves it

[@zmogas111]

it is also comfortable. no brakes and so on. you just rush and don't worry about the stuff. the only thing you have to take care of is the chain. : ) futhermore, it is very interesting to roll that fixed wheel. it is different from a bike with freewheel.

[@Aitor]

I saw him in Kyoto back in 2005... what a nice guy!

[@ShadowDensity]

You can stop a fixed gear pretty quickly by locking up the rear wheel and kicking out the back end so that the bike skids sideways. It will not stop quite as quickly as a rim brake, but it gets the job done. You definitely need to be more aware to ride brakeless, and anticipate future events, blind corners and the such - but it pays off. Best to read ahead and just backpedal so you don't burn a $50 rear tire every week. Personally, I think having a brake instills a false sense of confidence when its there as an "oh shit" lever. Because you should never say "oh shit." You've gotta read the road and make a decision. There are plenty of messengers who ride fixed with a brake - and plenty who ride single-speed and geared bikes too. No one gives a shit. You're not any less of a messenger if you ride a CX or MTB. Ride what you love and love what you ride. For me, slithering through dense city traffic on a brakeless track bike is pure freedom (and they pay me to do it).

[@OlafThorbjorn]

Well said.

[@jeffdeathstar4283]

Exactly!

[@VoLCoMzYaDiGG]

I ride fixed geared without brakes in Manhattan, i've even been to that velodrome and i am nowhere near these guy's ranks. Im only 18 im still contemplating whether or not i should do this while i go to school but yea, you guys are the shit.

[@dudleycalloway9508]

If I ever get to NYC got to meet the " 🐙 "

[@concretecubes]

Exactly, the only con would be the price. But riding a bike for fitness is totally fun every now and then. That's what I do.

[@clarkarevalo1240]

August 15, 2022 ❤

[@daFranch1se69]

I love riding my bike, but this is insane, Messenger in NY must be a thrill every day. But the probability of getting hurt or dying is immense, especially if you have a Fixed Gear Bike. All that being said, if it paid well and I lived in NYC I would do it in a heart beat.

[@ChristianF15cher]

I was riding fixed gear for the last 4 months of my job and just recently switched the bike back to freewheel about a week ago. It's definitely a different experience. I find it requires a lot more energy and strain to your knees riding fixed but the trade off on that is you have more control of the bike in tight quarters. But the freewheel is just fun for long coasts and I feel safer skitching with it, turning on it, and lane splitting, something i cut down to nill attempting on fixed gear.

[@thisishere3071]

very cool

[@dalaidahmer]

It's about control. You can change speed more precisely than you can with brakes and a freewheel.

[@xKiwiGamerx]

why do they not have brakes?

[@ChristianF15cher]

Spend some time and watch the actual movie. The scene in the trailer in question is from a stunt scene where blanks were used.

[@xhappyxscreamingx]

@SirJazz why not ride brakeless?

[@Deolphin]

Youve been riding since you were 2?! :p Id like to hear more about this sticky glove routine..is it as effective??

[@liamcreed6344]

tones of respect for these guys

[@numbfoureyes3939]

This is older than me

[@howin79]

anyone who calls squid dumb is just ignorant, shut up, this man is amazing

[@Hayri491]

@delcruncho a steel frame mountain bike is a killer for very long distance on road going up hill lol

[@iliapopovich]

It's a good job. healthy, but pay attention with the vehicles and people.

[@merdoch]

Go SQUID! Messengers baby!

[@Bhousm76]

@movieshop1000 if the bike is moving forward, the pedals move foward, if the tire stops, the pedals stop, if the bike moves backwards, the pedals go backwards. so you control speed with your legs.

[@Merdi425]

messengers don't like mirrors? or is it just easyer for them to turn their head?

[@carlshneebly7136]

He had a small part in premium rush.

[@Kronaphasia]

Fixed gear track bikes didn't become popular for couriers til the late 90's when Alley Cat races started to use veladromes. The most notable is the figure 8 veladrome used in Canadian Alley Cat races in Toronto & Vancouver circa 1998.

[@RyanWilson876]

Real shit man!

[@G230rc]

dam... how many cals do you burn in a days work?

[@rippedandpumped]

whats the advantage of fixed wheel bikes when messaging??? pls reply cheers

[@ChristianF15cher]

I always have brakes on my bike. About a month ago, I busted my left hand during a race and ended up relying on using my rear brakes a lot more since it was difficult to squeeze the front brakes. It's situations like that that make having both sets of brakes a lot more practical.

[@ganjacity1]

"its great feeling when you are the fastest thing going on in NYC"

[@velomanmtl]

Yeah. Hardcore messengers rule, and Squid is one of them!

[@blammblamm]

@23towers23 Having and actually using your brake are two different things. Having a front brake for emergencies won`t increase your pad and rim wear. Skidding (or whatever) is just not as effective as a front brake, no matter how skilled you are.

[@ChristianF15cher]

Just watch it. It'll blow your mind that people can race like that.

[@JHGKFHJK]

and how do they stop? by leg?

[@ColinPatrick312]

@MrKli4d Why are you even comparing track to road? You do realize that they are two different sports right?

[@hallo51490]

Does Yac ride fixed gear?

[@TW0T0NGUE]

wow I live right next to this velidrome. Its in Flushing Queens. Kissina Park

[@Spazum888]

cars are not our enemy, we need to SHARE the road =)

[@KungFuChess]

well Ive been riding for 10 years and I wasnt wearing a helmet when I flew off my bike and landed face first into solid concrete. shattered my cheekbone. You bet ur ass I now wear one every time I ride.

[@Fallintotherhyme]

He said a brakeless track bike. How the hell do you stop them then? I don't get it. Do they mean no brakes as in NO brakes at all or what?

[@soldout1986]

he is still a messenger and he has a youtube channel

[@MagicSwordFilms]

I heard him say Long Beach and i was like AWW COOL THIS GUY IS WHERE IM FROM, til i realized that California isnt the only state with a Long Beach

[@gigijoseph]

respect!

[@EdtheG]

how old do you have to be to be a messenger?

[@Diamondbac]

What about bike trials? I think they have the most control if you don't you'll break your neck riding some of those obstacles.

[@thirteenfingers]

I've got a very strong "do what you like" attitude to helmets, but I do like people to think critically about it. For the record, I do sometimes wear a helmet so this isn't an outright attack... In that same crash, how would a helmet have saved you? You landed face first and shattered your cheekbone. I don't see how anything other than a full-face lid (I assume you wear an open-faced one) could have helped. I tend to wear a lid when off-road but am often bare-headed on the road. Happy riding.

[@troncrete1]

i ride in nyc, i DONT ride fixed gear and i dont see any reason unless you are a messenger or a track racer!! i ride a single speed with the setup of a track bike. i only ride for transportation.

[@Generational_Wealth_Now]

0:54 What frame does that black guy have !?!?!?!!?

[@olihand1]

@Fallintotherhyme yup, no brakes. With a fixed gear how fast you pedal determines how fast you go. You slow down by pedaling slower (which puts ALOT of strain on your legs) it's unbelievable. You can stop pedaling completely to lock the back wheel which slows you down (unless its wet and you don't slow down at all!). Basically these guys are insane, they really do ride on their own level.

[@tankak47]

squid, MAD RESPECT!

[@4TheRecord]

Brake-less bike is used in London

[@jorymil]

Also, maintenance on a fixed-gear bike is about as simple as it comes. Keep your chain clean, your brakes working, and your tires pumped up. No need to worry about mis-shifting at a bad time, either. Hope you get a chance to try it out sometime--tons of fun. If you're in a really hilly area, understandable not to want to ride fixed, though. It can stink, standing up, pedaling at 20 rpm going uphill, then having to spin your legs at 150 rpm on the way down. Good workout, though :-)

[@Wings_of_foam]

Brakes? On a fixed gear ?

[@twilightnekochan]

Less components on the bike = Less maintenance on the bike. Messengers don't make much so spending less on the bike helps pay the bills.

[@mtb416]

While I would agree with you that college is a necessary, that is, if you want to be riding a Madone 5.5, but messengers serve an important purpose and, ironically, those who reap the benefits of the messenger happen to be those with higher-level educations working at your advertising/fashion industries for example. I am quite sure I could enjoy being a bike messenger, but admittedly I enjoy fine things. So making 30K annually seems like change when looking at 180K. To each his own kotapaka.

[@secretsquirrell13]

yes sir and the messengers are still ridin and doin their thang hell i bet they get to do what they want when they want as long as the packages get their in time nobodys gunna fuss ride, eat, smoke, repeat.yeeeaaaahhh!

[@theodoro89]

Understood :) There are a lot of uphills in my area and i will never be able to ride a fixed gear bike. :\ Ride safe man :)

[@unclechipper]

@SirAce2007 It is not the football players fault that the reporter asks unimaginative generic questions.I think most athletes would rather not bother.They do it because they know to keep all the schnooks paying their bills happy.

[@sunndrac]

Must be a pain on rainy - snowy - freezy days (you choose)

[@unclechipper]

There was a time when messengers made decent money.In the 1980's a good messenger with a good company and a good dispatcher could make 400 to 500 per week.Don't know what it is like now. Anyone thinking about being one now might want consider being a process server[fancy name for dropping legal papers on people and companies]. Usually pays better but with probably less riding.

[@coolpatj]

this is actually really funny. I think inadvertently so.

[@ChristianF15cher]

Watch "Line of Sight" and then try to tell me that riding like that is possible on a motorcycle.

[@merk54321]

1:33 irak?

[@Bungle]

A psychic radio!

[@ScanNinViDeo]

@delcruncho ya specialy Sport ,VIP,Trucks&SUV/Army Vehicle

[@evelsteev]

Said the guy who TOTALLY missed the point. Keep it up, "genius."

[@VIBZ72095]

What king of bag is that

[@GilbMLRS]

I am a bike messenger in Germany and I cannot understand people that drive without brakes. It might have a reason when doing tricks but as a messenger I have to stop every few meters and sometimes have to roll down steep hills where my brakes get hot. If I had none I would just crash in a wall or a lorry with 60km/h. It has no practical reason to drive brakeless. Well...in Germany it is not even legal to bike without brakes.

[@kataklystik]

proper ridin bro

[@hasan6052]

I will be starting a new Journey with messaging. I'm ready to take on whatever comes my way! I would like to collaborate with a few people, on this trip to Broad and my sense of awareness.

[@blammblamm]

@23towers23 I`ll guess we`ll just have to miss out on those scene-points. ;) I even ride with back brake, due to legal reasons (from Germany).

[@bluemountaindrivepae]

That is one bad low paying job. Nothing like having no insurance and getting hurt on the job.

[@lopezbc]

@delcruncho no one couldve said it better. kudos.

[@KungFuChess]

A helmet definitly would have helped. I noticed that a helmet would have deflected the impact instead and it probably wouldnt have been as severe an injury.

[@Muhbian]

Proof is at 3:26!

[@ideasoner]

i ride brakeless bmx and i find it easier, i can stop better and faster brakeless

[@kobii1]

I really need a bike!

[@kotapaka]

I'm not going to waste time. I love my life. They could have found somebody smarter but I guess it's hard to find brains in a profession which involves driving a bike. Spending your life to take other peoples orders so that they don't waste their time. You know these years aren't coming back. Once they are gone they are gone.

[@theodoro89]

Isn't it a bit stupid using a fixed grear instead of use a normal gear ?

[@donkeydong75402]

I cannot believe they make such chump change.....50 on a bad day and 200 on a great one

[@LunchtimeLoonies]

I'm the fastest thing in the city (as the slow ass bus is passing by him).......good old squid

[@CSLDF]

@xKiwiGamerx brakes add to much weight, you brake on a fixie by peddling backwards and skidding.

[@Acibeb]

so you don't know what gears are for

[@theodoro89]

Interesting. Riding in the city is dangerous . They could use brakes at least.

[@Shadowboost]

@Tommytank360 you can skid stop with brakes no problem...

[@delacruzkid]

3:30 That chain tension is bothering me. ._."

[@jorymil]

Not really. Granted, if you're riding in the city, you should be running at least a front brake in addition to skid stopping. You need all the help stopping you can get. Also, trying to ride a fixed-gear bike without toe clips or clipless pedals is tough--if your feet slip off the pedals, you're in trouble. That said, riding a fixed-gear bike gives you a sense of connection with the bike that you don't get with a freewheel--you accelerate faster and don't have to keep track of shifting gears.