<< Does anyone know what [if anything] bike messengers in the pre WWII period used? I'm under the impression they were used by newspapers and perhaps others. Were any of these people racers using their day jobs to get in some training? Any info appreciated. >>
That is a great question, Billy...
What about bicycle messengers in our On Topic period? What did they deliver and how organized were their efforts? Obviously they did not become cult fashion figures in their day with young (or young wishing) people mimicking their dress and accessories (!) but they certainly existed. I am remembering Joe E Brown in 6 Day Racer was a bike messenger, wearing a neat uniform and delivering a meal to a hotel...?
This talk about what bag is exactly correct for a "real messenger" strikes me a bit silly; obviously in recent years there has been a consensus toward these heavy duty over built bags, a few actually used by messengers, but also style & marketing ("We are the real messenger bag makers") aimed at college kids or wannabes who carry their ipods and spare hoodies within... Nothing wrong with that but not much for us to talk about here on a vintage bike forum, is it?
Now mussettes, now being referred to by some as "bonk bags" seems to be moving into that same highly marketed fad & fancy world. These have been around for many moons in many forms, ranging from the throwaway and therefore inexpensive light cotton bags to heavy vinyl 'keepers'.. This is why I created last year the http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
Dale Brown Greensboro, North Carolina USA
-----Original Message----- From: billydavid13@comcast.net To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Wed, Sep 23, 2009 10:48 am Subject: [CR] Fwd: What REAL bike messengers use and buy in San Francisco
----- Forwarded Message ----- From: billydavid13@comcast.net To: "John Betmanis" <johnb@oxford.net> Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 9:46:37 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: Re: [CR] What REAL bike messengers use and buy in San Francisco
Hi John, all. I've used my old 2CC [Second City Cyclists club] musette to carry the odd item, lock, tools, etc. It's considerably smaller than the Rapha "bonk bag" but could easily be stuffed into a jersey pocket when not in use. But having worked as a messenger i'd have to say the "bonk bag" is too small for serious use in that benighted trade. To bring this back to OT considerations: Does anyone know what [if anything] bike messengers in the pre WWII period used? I'm under the impression they were used by newspapers and perhaps others. Were any of these people racers using their day jobs to get in some training? Any info appreciated. Billy [former Deadend Express courier] Ketchum; Chicago, IL; USA.
Jon Spangler wrote:
> REAL bike messengers across the bay in San Francisco spend $80 - $200
> on CHROME, Timbuk2, and similar bomb-proof bags, and in daily hard use
> wear them out relatively quickly (2-5 years) despite their being built
> like tanks out of Cordura and Ballistics cloth, among other materials.
> That is probably
> 2-3 days' worth of gross pay (for very hard work) for an average bike
> messenger.
Well, to steer this thread back on topic and away from bike messenger or
Carnaby Street haute couture, the only kind of bag a REAL CYCLIST would
carry is a bonk bag.
This one costs 1/10 of the one from Brooks.
http://www.rapha.cc/
"Back in the day" these were home made from striped deck chair material, patterned after the throw-away musettes handed out at feeding stations in road races.
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John Betmanis Woodstock, Ontario Canada