Best Bike for Delivery

If you’re planning on getting into DoorDash, a courier service or Uber Delivery then you may want to understand that picking the best bike for delivery will make or break your deliveries.

There are plenty of options to choose form that will make you very happy, and plenty that you choose that you will know are not the right choice immediately during your first delivery.

In short, your best choice will be an electric bike, or a metal-framed road bike depending on your deliveries.

Now, you also can do a fixed gear bicycle, however, if your route will have any hills, and is not in a downtown location, fixed gear bikes are not recommended for beginners. We will explain why in this post.

In this post you will learn why electric bikes and road bikes are the best bike for delivery options. You will also learn about fixed gear bicycles, why many couriers use them and the difference in riding that they offer to many who use them.

You may be interested in reading about Bicycles great for RAGBRAI. These bikes you would like to be long distance able, and comfortable. Similar aspects to DoorDash bicycles. This post has information on bikes and accessories that make for a great long distance bicycle.

What bike should I get for DoorDash?

For Doordash you want to get either an electric bike or a road bike.

There are reasons why and why you should not get an electric bike and you should think wisely on how to choose between the two options. Below we will give you the pros and cons to each.

Personally, as of writing this, I would choose to do my deliveries with a road bike, however, I simply love cycling. I know this is not the case for all delivery people, and for that reason an electric bike may be a more efficient option.

Is an Electric bike good for DoorDash?

Yes, an electric bike is good for DoorDash. In fact, it’s great. An electric bike will get you around the city in a reasonable amount of time, and it will get you up and down hills easily without forcing you to break too much of a sweat depending on how much assist is powered into the bicycle.

An electric bike will also allow you to ride for longer given the pedal assist and dependent on your level of fitness as well. Here are the pros listed of riding an electric bicycle below:

1. Extended ride time: With an electric bicycle, it is great that you extend less energy while riding which means that you are able to ride all day with your packages. The pedal assist will allow you more efficiency with your riding and help you continue throughout the day without breaking much of a sweat.

2. Larger Delivery Load: With pedal assist electric bicycles, you are able to ride at a faster pace longer, all while having a heavier delivery load. This may be more impactful than having to bear the weight of yourself, the bicycle and the delivery load all on your own when you are riding a normal bicycle.

2. Ease of Hill Riding: Pedal assist bicycles will help you climb hills that you normally would not be able to climb if you are in a hilly city. For cities in the Bay Area, including San Francisco, this is a huge plus.

3. Increased Speed: You are able to ride faster than other cyclists. This means that you will be able to go further and reach your destination at great times.

4: Agility and traffic avoidance: Riding an electric bicycle will allow you to avoid traffic and not get stuck behind cars that are stacked one in front of the other by taking bike lanes. Coupled with the increase in average speed of a typical bicycle is a major addition in value.

5: Large circumference for Delivery: Because you can move faster, more efficient, and not get tired, there is more opportunity for you to deliver to a larger amount of people in a shorter amount of time.

On the other hand there are some reasons why you should consider the downsides of an electric bicycle. Here are some reasons why an electric bicycle may not be the best choice:

1. Economics: Electric bikes can cost a lot more than typical bicycles. The technology is improving fairly quickly over the last couple of years though it is still extremely new. This increase in pricing could take away from the amount that you wish to make off of DoorDash or any other delivery platform.

2. More Difficult Storage: Electric bikes include a battery pack and in some cases a motor attachment. This means that your bicycle will be far heavier than a standard bicycle. This will make it more difficult to store and access easily inside your home.

3. Portability: Electric bikes are not typically allowed in buildings and must be locked outside. It is also more difficult to move an electric bike from inside your home to outdoors.

Is a Road bike good for DoorDash?

A road bike is a great choice for DoorDash if you are in shape and are confident with hill work in cities. The road bike would be my bicycle of choice, however, it should be recognized that in a city like San Francisco, this would not be the choice for beginners.

There are plenty of reasons why the road bike would be a great choice, however, we would recommend that if you have the resources to get an electric bike, that would be the first bicycle for delivery of choice.

You may want to learn more about chain theory and hill riding. Press here for how to understand changing gears while riding and the differences between a 10 and 11 speed bike.

The reasons why you should get a Road Bike for Delivery are:

1. Agility: Road bikes are extremely agile on the road. In most large cities, you will have either bike lanes, or bike routes to get through the city in a very safe manner. It is extremely easy to accelerate off from stops and reach speed and you do not have to focus on if traffic will slow down your route. Typically you will get many places downtown in a large city faster than if you were driving.

2. Ease of Access and Storage: Road Bicycle frames are typically made to be very light. One of our team members lives in a 5 story walkup and carries his bike up the stairs into his home after riding each day. It’s not a problem and is not tiring after a long day of riding.

3. Economics: A second hand road bike can cost as much as an expensive meal at a restaurant. There are also options to build road bicycles. They simply are very easy to come by at a reasonable price. Older vintage bicycles such as Schwinn road bikes before they became a big box brand are able to stand the test of time.

There are some considerations to make as well:

1. Weight of Loads: In contrast to an e-bike which has a pedal assist feature with an electric battery, a road bike you will need to consider an option that makes it easy to carry loads. Typically a messenger back or over the back bag will do, however the amount of weight that can be carried before exhaustion will be lower than when riding an electric bicycle.

2. Endurance of rider: It may be more difficult for a cyclist who is just starting to work through the hills, and endurance needed to ride throughout the day without assistance from a motor.

3. Hill Riding: Hill riding can be difficult if the cyclist does not know routes within their city to be able to avoid hills, and traffic in the area. Speeds are not able to be reached as quickly without the motor assist

4. Average Speed of Cyclist in City: The average speed of a road bike will be lower than the average speed of an electric bicycle. This may make an average cyclist feel more uneasy when riding around larger speeding cars and trucks.

Steel Frame versus Aluminum Frames: Road Bikes

There are plenty of bicycles out there that are road bikes that are steel or aluminum frame. Aluminum is a fine type for a road bike, though it is preferred to ride steel.

There is more strength with the bicycle and steel frames are able to handle higher speeds, not to mention the ability to last far longer than aluminum – even after being dented.

There are plenty of times that we have been working on a poorly made bike where the frame split from force of a screw or simply clamping it in a weak point of the welding position.

What about Fixed Gear Bikes?

Fixed gear bikes are typically for enthusiasts or for cyclists that are more advanced at riding.

Fixed gear bicycles do not spin their wheel when the rider stops pedaling. For this reason it makes the bicycle both easier to maneuver, but also more difficult to learn to ride.

Fixed gear bicycles tend to be easier to fix, very quick with acceleration but lack gears and make it more difficult to climb hills than their road bike cousins.

It is recommended to start with a road bike first before moving to a fixed gear bike and getting comfortable with it.

Conclusion: Best Bike for Delivery

Electric bicycles typically are the best bike for delivery if the price fits for the owner. They climb hills fast, they are very maneuvrable and can avoid traffic within a downtown very easily.

They are known to be more expensive and have higher maintenance costs than road bikes, which are a great second choice.

Your third option is a fixed gear bicycle, though this may be reserved for more advanced riders and hobbyists that enjoy the very particular feel of a fixed gear bicycle.