My 48.9 km as messenger in Cologne

APrana with a 250 watt motor from Ecobike, a full battery, two carrying cases, and the first addresses from Bike Syndicat, whose messengers collect any package in minutes and deliver it in the other part of the city in no more time than a fraction of an hour.


At 9 AM I have to be 14 km from my house to pick up a heavy pack. Some posters for an exhibition hall.
 Crossing the city of Cologne with the December cold knocking on the door, in the morning is an experience not exempt of beauty, hardness and some danger.

Some car drivers are late to the office, the rush is drawn on their faces, others are looking for parking unpatiently and might break suddenly without looking who is behind, moms next to schools maneuvering after dropping their children, delivery trucks parked in double file making the traffic flow slow, ... Some streets are bottled up.

If you don´t know the city it can take a long time to get where you want to go. And if you've always been on a car, you don´t really know the city. That's my advantage, I have ridden my bike already for seven years in Cologne, although remembering the names of the streets is not my strongest point. My new teammates have to help me much. How can they know all the street names of the city?

The team of bike couriers from Bike Syndicat impresses me with their quick response, the tranquility they get ready to go and great fitness. Each has a different bike, a different age, but it seems that they all have something in common, their kindness with someone new like me.

Messages arrive by phone, by email or by an internet program used by the clients. The work flow of each messenger is organized by a manager, and before you know it, a messenger is out the door and a few seconds later lost in the streets of the city.
I get my second request. Only about 4.5 km in total. My role with the Prana powered by Ecobike is to transport the heavy and/or bulky items.
I have only one battery with me. I have to use with certain efficiency, because there'll be many orders all day and I still have four hours of work to go. The published autonomy of the battery is between 50-60 kilometers; that is of course with no extra weight on top and under conditions of use in open roads, but not in the middle of the city, full of traffic lights and continuous stops and go which are the situations where more energy is required from the battery.

I have decided to use the engine only when I have a long clear way before me. And the formula has worked brilliantly. At the end of the day and after almost 49 km I still have a quarter of the battery. Enough to make the 10 km back to my house after work.

Ya saben, para enviar sus paquetes a través de la ciudad de Colonia, nada más rápido que Bike Syndicat.
The Prana is a great transport bike. It has a small chainring and several large rear chainrings that makes pedaling easy and comfortable even loaded. The electric motor gives the speed that lacks this model and extra support to transport heavy loads and not dying trying.

It was my first day. I liked it. And it was  a great way to test the Prana again. In fact it is a great way to try bikes in general. Electric or not. Transport, city or any kind of bike.

You know now if you need to send packages or documents through the city of Cologne, nothing faster than Bike Syndicat.

Engelbertstr.41
50674 Köln
Telefon: +49 – (0)221. 951 82 60
Telefax: +49 – (0)221. 951 82 66
E-Mail: info[at]bikesyndikat.de

 

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