livedarklions

So not "weight, actually"? Like the other posters have noted, you can put a rear rack on just about every bike by using clamps and/or connecting it to the seat tube/post. If you don't want a rack (rear or front), don't deliver pizza.

indyfabz

Irrelevant. The issue I was addressing is rack weight. If you have used a rack before, you should know what it weighs (very little in the scheme of things), regardless of whether your current bike has rack mounts.

P.S. I have been on to you for a while. Tie to add yet another to my iggy list.

indyfabz

It was intentional. He didn't think anyone would discover that he claims to have used a rack before and thus should know that they are relatively light compared to the rest of the bike, body and load. (My CrMo, nickel-plated, front rack with a top platform is on the heavier side yet still under two pounds. Its companion rear rack is even lighter. The heaviest front rack I have ever heard of is the overbuilt Surly Nice rack that tips the scales at around 3 lbs.) Once his history was revealed, he had to change his story.

wolfchild

A rack doesn't have to be mounted on the rear....There are racks designed to be mounted on the front... or you can get a front Wald basket which mounts to the axle and handlebars.

Darth Lefty 

Real answers.

For actual delivery of actual pizzas you will have an insulated bag and you want a pretty big rack for it. The foot wide things that look cool with a bookbag aren't going to cut it. A large pizza is 16" and can go in a 18" box inside an insulated bag on a 20" rack
Front
https://waldsports.com/store/front-b...it-front-rack/
Front
https://www.dutchdogdesign.com/en/product/takeout
Rear but it uses the Topeak quick release so there's probably a front solution
https://www.pizzabags.com.au/tower-bags.php?product=33

pdlamb

Throw da bum outta heeyah!

livedarklions

How about a backpack: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/22557...07449485%21rec

indyfabz

I see ones like that all the time here in the big city.

Go Phillies!

JehD

The Giant Wald Delivery Basket has entered the chat...

adlai

Thanks for responses. I have thought alot about electric cargo gravel bikes recently. I think at some point I'll build a mid drive bike plus igh rear hub with cargo racks for the purpose of climbing hills and doing deliveries. One guy I talked to recently said that one snowy day he made $700 doing doordash.

I've had experience with a cyclocross bike with a rack and panniers, but that bike wouldn't be any good for my hilly area unless it were electrified. Probably the most serious option would be a cargo tricycle.

Maelochs

Rather than assume sub-bridge residency I would attribute certain posts simply to unclear thinking.

Obviously if you cannot climb hills on your bike you cannot put a rack on your bike .... um ... what? Oh .... not enough wheels ......

O....kay .......

Herzlos

Cargo tricycles are great, if you have large loads (as in more than you could realistically fit on a bike or trailer) and a flat clear distance to travel. There's a bike shop near here that uses one to collect and deliver bikes, but it's based on a cycle route and canal path so has miles of traffic free routes.

For a pizza or a few burgers it's overkill and comes with some pretty major downsides - the width will really restrict where you can take it and park it, it'll cost a lot more, it'll be heavy and it'll ride like crap.

I'm not sure what a cargo gravel bike is; all of the cargo bikes I've seen have been based on flat bar city bikes, because that matches the use case. There's certainly no benefit in having a drop bar cargo bike.

Just buy a hybrid/commuter bike and put a big rack on it then go start making some money. Don't spend too much on it because there's minimal return on investment and a huge risk of getting it stolen. Or look and see what everyone else is using.

Most of the doordash bikes here seem to be the crappy Chinese folding fat E-Bikes. They are pretty small, have an alright range and can be paid off in a matter of days so can almost be treated as disposable. If it makes it to the point that it needs a service or maintenance then it's a bonus.

livedarklions

I can't follow your thought here. If you're able to negotiate these hills with a loaded backpack on your current bike, why wouldn't it be feasible with a rack?

And what the hell is an electric cargo gravel bike? You're over-thinking this.

shelbyfv

The ebike section is getting some of the same love....

veganbikes

I am not advocating on behalf of the OP at all but this would make a pretty sick electric cargo gravel bike with the GX package. Our shop owner at one point had one for touring and I have ridden the model a bunch and really want one but don't need it and already have a Supercharger2 which does what I need it to do:
https://www.r-m.de/en-us/bikes/load-60/

There is a forum member who did some customization to theirs and it looks really nice. I have on "paper" a build for one should I ever get the space and money and need for one and ability to spend an extra thousand or so to upgrade it with new suspension, wheels and such.

livedarklions

I guess where I can't follow this is the notion of a cargo gravel bike. Does that just mean taking a gravel frame and rigging it to carry cargo? Not trying to be snarky here, just finding this a confusing label.

indyfabz

Wow!

Herzlos

Isn't that a cargo mountain bike? For a gravel bike I'd assume no suspension and drop bars. But drop bars won't give you any aero benefit when your bike is based around a literal box.

GhostRider62

I used to take my child to the park in a trailer, it would fit a pizza easily.

I remember one of the last trips, we were at the swingsets and he was 3. I used to push him. He wanted to get off the swings and push it with me. I lost attention and the swing hit him in the head knocking him down. He was wailing, crying uncontrollable. Some of the big kids came over and said, "Look at the baby crying. My child snapped out of it and pointed his finger, advancing towards the bullies, Saying, "I'm not a baby, YOU'RE THE BABY"

Lots of old dads have trailers in the shed.

Cheap.

Consider one of those. They really handle well

veganbikes

Well in this case not a mountain bike and not necessarily a gravel specific bike as defined today by the council of gravel (whomever that may or may not be) but it is capable of going on gravel and carrying cargo. To answer Herzlos yes it is not a drop bar bike and making it one would be silly but there are flat bar gravel bikes and the suspension is just really nice and now you do have dual suspension gravel stuff. I wouldn't want to mountain bike with that, maybe it is semi capable but it is really more for comfort than actual mountain bike practicality but it is a cool bike and does work nicely on gravel but maybe not on super technical stuff for fear of scraping but I guess with a larger front fork it might help?

In terms of what the OP was at I don't know. I mean if I was thinking more capable of handling a lot of cargo but also off road capability I would think a touring bike situation with wider tires. Who knows what they actually meant.

Herzlos

I don't think any or many gravel bikes have actual suspension, though some are building in compliance via rubber polymers.

If you took the cargo section out of that bike, it'd look like a (slightly odd) full suspension mountain bike. I guess the distinction to me is that a gravel bike is a drop bar rigid bike that's designed for rougher paths than a road bike.

veganbikes

This is one that always comes to mind but I am sure there are others I know they exist I just can't remember the names:
https://www.ninerbikes.com/mcr-9-rdo/

Also a bunch of forks that are gravel oriented:
https://www.sram.com/en/rockshox/models/fs-rudy-ult-a1
https://www.ridefox.com/family.php?m=bike&family=32tc
https://mrpbike.com/products/baxter-new
https://www.laufcycling.com/product/lauf-grit-sl

They do make a full sus mountain bike as well but it is still a longer travel on their mountain touring bike. I don't know if their suspension kinematics are actually as good for really technical stuff but I am not a qualified judge of that as I am not really a great mountain biker and not nearly confident enough.
https://www.r-m.de/en-us/bikes/superdelite-mountain/

In terms of drops I guess that is the way the industry has framed it but I think just about any bike with some tire and maybe mud clearance that isn't a full on mountain bike could be a gravel bike or at least gravel bike adjacent. Though the drop bar stuff is certainly the most recognizable. However that whole genre is sort of muddied because it is just a random term, before that you had monster cross or mountain hybrid or trekking bike (in some cases). I think of gravel more as where you are riding rather than wholly what you are riding to a point but in the end if you are having fun that is the key : )

mschwett 

same in san francisco. it’s like a big squared off insulated backpack. not big enough for a large pizza to sit flat though, i always wondered if there was a way for the courier to specify what they were and weren’t able to carry…

XxHaimBondxX

Hey, my first job in US was delivering pizzas AND drinks on a bike like this. First customers definitely got their pizza cold and mangled, but I think I got better.