NYC Bike Messengers are on Crack - VIDEO

lfot · lfot's Garage

Everyone has their own level of dangerous.

rouxroux · 10-01-2007, 06:39 PM

Damn. someone opening a car door to pour out some old coffee at a light would really mess up your day. That was amazing

slodave · slodave's Garage

I understand that they need to get around town quickly, but they should really follow the stop lights as well and not go through red lights.

the · 10-01-2007, 07:14 PM

That didn't seem that dangerous. I'm sure a lot of that was hamming it up for the camera (the unnecessary swerving, etc.) They are mostly going around stationary or very slow moving objects. And they are on wimpy bikes, with freewheels and brakes. real messenger go on track bikes with direct drive and no hand brakes!

Jeff Higgins · 10-01-2007, 08:48 PM

I guess it must take a certain selfish detachment to behave like that. Pretending those aren't real people with real lives in the cross walks, pretending that the folks inside the cars whose doors and fenders you are gouging really don't care because you are so cool, and stuff like that. Wantonly risking harm to others and damage to their property is simply never cool, regardless of the music it is set to.

dd74 · 10-01-2007, 09:09 PM

Beautiful stuff. I love inner-city cycling. I'd jump at the chance to ride with any of those guys. From what I know, in NY, it's all about timing and sprint speed. Same in San Francisco. In L.A., it's just all about speed.

dd74 · 10-01-2007, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the

That didn't seem that dangerous. I'm sure a lot of that was hamming it up for the camera (the unnecessary swerving, etc.) They are mostly going around stationary or very slow moving objects. And they are on wimpy bikes, with freewheels and brakes. real messenger go on track bikes with direct drive and no hand brakes!

It was dangerous enough. The bus wasn't stationary that guy passed toward the end of the video.

As to wimpy bikes - I don't think so. It seemed only one guy was on a freewheel. The others shown were locked.

As is, I'm thinking of buying this:

And building it into a single speed. It's a cool old Swiss frame from about '81 or '82, built with Reynolds 531. Then I'm moving to NY...

Jim Bremner · 10-01-2007, 09:39 PM

check out knog products, I import them

as well as some other cool stuff

dd74 · 10-01-2007, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

check out knog products, I import them

as well as some other cool stuff

La Salsa are cool, particularly because they're steel. Problem is I've heard they're made in Taiwan, and I don't do Taiwan or China with my frames. Italy, France, USA, Japan, but not Taiwan or China. I don't trust their build quality.

Jim Bremner · 10-01-2007, 10:31 PM

yes, salsa & most are asian made, check out soulcraft or vanila for USA

knog is Hong Kong/designed in Austrailia

Jim Bremner · 10-01-2007, 10:33 PM

I couldhave bought a 911 gt3 with as much knog as I have on the water or due @ the end of the year (biting nails)

dd74 · 10-01-2007, 11:12 PM

Well, there are ways for the ship to lose its load and you pick up the insurance check. I'm familiar with a few companies who've done that. Just save me any 11-21 cassettes (Shimano splined) and lightweight wheel sets you might have on order.

svandamme · svandamme's Garage

don't these jokers get tickets for reckless endangerment or something?
they obviously don't care about pedestrian crossings, traffic lights or anything else for that matter

nota · 10-02-2007, 04:49 AM

Taiwan is a lot better then china
they actualy understand metal alloys there unlike china
china is pure crap esp on alloys they have no quality controls
some Taiwan bikes are well built

but sure euro bikes are better and custom USA are the top
I had an old 531 track bike [ english ] with a flip rear wheel [one locked one freewheel]
and rode to work in rush-hour traffic daily [that was insane but I was young]

Jeff Higgins · 10-02-2007, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dd74

Beautiful stuff.

No. Irresponsible, childish, reckless nonsense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dd74

I'd jump at the chance to ride with any of those guys.

I'd jump at the chance to pound one of those ass hats down through a sewer grate.

RoninLB · 10-02-2007, 05:58 AM

great vid. thx

there is a NYC movement to ticket the sender business instead of the biker to stop their antics for $200 each violation.

The Gaijin · 10-02-2007, 06:20 AM

Hipster idiots. The same class of morons who are still carrying skateboards around when they are 30 years old.

Actually, the situation is improved. Years ago MTV had one of those reality shows and one of the cast was a bike messenger. That made it a "hip" job and you had all kind of bumpkins showing up to live the same lifestyle.

These days the business is dominated by African immigrants and is very much a job for them - and they are much smarter. They get a monthly pass and ride the subways!

pwd72s · 10-02-2007, 07:06 AM

A fun video...of NYC culture

JavaBrewer · JavaBrewer's Garage

No big deal. In larger cities the messengers ride motorcycles doing the same thing. Time is $$ and there is little of both to go around. These guys live day to day so avoiding an accident/injury is very important to their livelihood. Video tape of stuff like this makes it look more dangerous than really is. Ride a bike in close quarters for a couple months and it starts becoming second nature. Would have been a fun summer gig when I was young.

dd74 · 10-02-2007, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

No. Irresponsible, childish, reckless nonsense.

I'd jump at the chance to pound one of those ass hats down through a sewer grate.

If you can't deal with this small bit of NYC, think of what the rest of the city may do to you. You'd pound cab drivers who have little regard for pedestrians. You'd probably yell at and pound street vendors for blocking your path along the sidewalk...

Think of it! With all that "ass hat" pounding, you might be too tired to catch a Broadway show. That'd be a shame.