Tom Bihn, formerly of Santa Cruz CA now up in Seattle, makes great stuff. I've had a number of his bags and day packs, can't say enough good things about them.
Way back when................. at Cycle Craft I remember a lot of Wy'East and Overhill bags and panniers. If anybody happens on some of these in very good condition I be very interested...................
Gene Powell Rad Finishes Portland, Oregon USA
On Sep 23, 2009, at 8:12 AM, <oroboyz@aol.com> wrote:
>
> << 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/
> page. Now Lord help us if chic designer coolios and their copy
> writers come along and pronounce one style or the other as the Real
> Bonk Bags!
>
> 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.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Betmanis" <johnb@oxford.net>
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 9:06:11 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada
> Central
> Subject: Re: [CR] What REAL bike messengers use and buy in San
> Francisco
>
> 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.
>
> --
> John Betmanis Woodstock, Ontario Canada