Cycling For Profit: How to make a living with your bicycle (Cycling Resources Series) [Paperback]

Jim Gregory (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cycling Resources Series | Publication Date: January 1, 2010

You don't need to be a professional racer to succeed at making your living by bike. This book shows the many ways it can be done-and how to go about making your business florish. The author draws upon his own experience as well as that of fellow bike-based businesses around the world. The first part of the book covers the various kinds of bicycle-powered operations that are open to full-time and part-time employment, listing what kind of equipment is needed and the practical aspects of marketing and operations. The second part of the book describes the specific requiements and modes of operation for each particular kind of business.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author Jim Gregory runs Bikes at Work, a commercial delivery service using bicycles only in Ames, Iowa.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Van der Plas/Cycle Publishing (January 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892495120
• ISBN-13: 978-1892495129
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,307,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cycling for Profit review, December 9, 1999

By 

Daniel James "author of Crafting Digital Media" (England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cycling For Profit: How to make a living with your bicycle (Cycling Resources Series) (Paperback)

The delivery of small packages by bicycle - the courier or messenger business - has a continuous history as old as the bicycle itself. In the twentieth century the role played by bicycles in delivering larger cargoes has been eroded by motor vehicles. As motor traffic finally limits its own speed in the city to that of the machines it replaced, the specialist load-carrying bicycle has made a comeback.

This book is the first how-to manual to emerge from the contemporary 'workbike' phenomenon. There are some pamphlets aimed at prospective bicycle delivery operators published by Detour, but this is an attempt to produce a more comprehensive reference.

The author of this book runs a bicycle delivery firm in Iowa, USA. Consequently, much of the advice is US-centric, such as details of tax law and insurance. However, the advice is still useful to people outside the USA because it gives the reader an idea of the kind of things they should be considering before starting in business.

The author covers the obvious areas such as selection of equipment and marketing your prospective service, but also offers the benefit of his experience on keeping a business viable and the recruitment and retention of staff, two areas where most workbike business failures occur.

A large proportion of the book is dedicated to real-life examples of workbikes in use that have proved successful. It begins with the kind of jobs that you can do without much special equipment, such as inner-city pizza, airline ticket and pharmaceutical deliveries, where speed - and therefore the lack of need to find a place to park a motor vehicle - are critical.

The book goes on to detail the ins and outs of grocery, printed matter and furniture delivery. Recyclable material collection is well covered, and mobile bike repair, lawn mowing and window cleaning get a mention too. Ice cream vending, that traditional British use for a workbike, is mentioned in passing - the Canadian operator interviewed for the book has a fleet of twelve hundred trikes.

Pedicabs - bicycle taxis - are covered, including the critical information about local laws that often forbid their use, or make them unviable. There is a view, concurrent with the idea of 'motor vehicle as liberation', that the workbike is backward and a form of exploitation, and must therefore be eliminated. Unfortunately, this aspect of anti-bike legislation is something we've recently exported globally, threatening the literal survival of thousands of becak operators in Indonesia alone. It's especially ironic that pedicabs are now seen every night in London, just as the authorities are clamping down on them in Jakarta.

The author admits to his interest as a manufacturer of trailers in the trike or quad bike versus trailer controversy. Three or four wheel bike advocates point to the greater stability and braking performance of their vehicles, while trailer fans boast how they can quickly detach the extra wheels when a small delivery is called for. It's a debate which is unlikely to be resolved.

The book contains a few typos, but as the only book of its' kind so far, it is required reading for anyone interested in the subject.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you've ever contemplated a bike delivery business..., January 4, 2008

By 

J. Silva (Los Angeles,CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cycling For Profit: How to make a living with your bicycle (Cycling Resources Series) (Paperback)

...then this is the book for you. It's really helpful that his background is actually building various trailers and cargo bikes. Particularly I that he goes through all the different types of businesses - what their problems and opportunities entail - as he has tried to start many of them. Grocery delivery or fast food delivery often come to mind with bike delivery - but there are challenges to starting these kinds of businesses that most people don't think of-challenges that he outlines in the book, as well as legalities around hiring messengers,how to find good help etc.

Worth the investment.Down Low Glow Lighting Kit - Two Tubes-Envy(green)How to Live Well Without Owning a Car: Save Money, Breathe Easier, and Get More Mileage Out of LifeZinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance

4.0 out of 5 stars some good ideas, June 8, 2009

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B. Perkins (flagstaff, az) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cycling For Profit: How to make a living with your bicycle (Cycling Resources Series) (Paperback)

i like this book, and am using it to try to make a little more money on two wheels. some good ideas, now a bit dated. needs to be updated with some added sections regarding the benefits of the internet.