Ride a bike enough and you hear all sorts of myths and derisive comments by know it alls who know very little, or nothing at all, most like. Yet most of it becomes modern myth, or at the very least, folk wisdom, repeated by other uninformed souls (poor bastards).
For example, the myth that riding a bike will cause you to be unable to reproduce due to the contact between the bike seat and your private parts. If the bike fits you properly and you have it set up right, no problem. Yet this "urban legend" has been repeated on newscasts, in newspapers, by talking heads and media moguls, in addition to the office know-it-all. As a cyclist, I've actually been asked if I am sterile, and I always get a kick out of people's reactions when I respond by saying no, last time I checked, everything works.
The other big myth is about cycling gear. Specifically, messenger bags. Common among bike messengers, the more basic designs are fast growing a following among cycling Americans, not only because they are "Cool" but because they keep your stuff dry in the rain, they are more comfortable than a regular backpack when on a road bike, and they are durable. Basically, the regular cyclist find the same virtues in them as the cycle messenger.
The media, however, has begun another urban legend. The following is from one of the earlier articles about the "dangers" of messenger bags, from http://daily.stanford.edu/:
"Messenger bags: The newest trend in bookbags may be bad news for your back November 11, 2004 By Jessica Lin" "Messenger bags are sold at the Stanford Bookstore, and many people can be found wearing them on campus. Yet despite their popularity, they could be actually worse for your shoulders and spine than traditional backpacks. Alina Liberman, a freshman, has been using a messenger bag since the first day of classes this year. “I really regret buying my messenger bag,” Liberman said. “It’s annoying and hurts my back a lot.” Liberman and other ailing students have a valid reason for complaining of back and shoulder pain. David Edell, a sports medicine specialist at Stanford Interventional Spine Center explained how this new trend could be harmful..." "Despite the potentially harmful effects of the messenger bag proposed by these experts, some students at Stanford reported that they have no problem with their messenger packs."
Gee, maybe this is cause they were wearing them correctly?
The article continues, DUH!
"If they are used the proper way" (This goes for most everything, genius) "messenger bags can be very useful and cause few health side effects. But perhaps, to be on the safe side, one could always stick with the traditional backpack." You think?
Still, as the focus of the article is to label the bags as dangerous, harmful, or just plain bad, one must ask: What isn't, when used incorrectly?
My response is typical cycling wisdom:
I have used one for several years cycling and it is now my "regular" pack as well. They are designed for cycle messengers. You don't have to be a messenger to use one, but for pete's sake they aren't designed for walking around per se anymore than mountainbike shoes are designed for ballroom dancing. You don't see people trying to do the tango in bike shoes and complaining the cleats hurt their feet.
Folks gotta stop co-opting what's functional and making it a fashion statement. I'm all for messenger bags -- tho was a time when if you saw someone with it you knew they are or were a rider, which kinda helped. Now it could just be some dude taking the train, ok, it's a free country but it amazes me how people misuse products and then get some doctor to say oh, yeh, they are unsafe, avoid them. If worn improperly anything is unsafe.
Also different bags fit differently; upon trying a different messenger bag with a different thickness strap I got neck pain. Adjusted it for the difference. No more pain.
Of course, part of the fit issue is the bags the students and other non-riders use: They aren't "real" messenger bags, they are more like a tote bag or somethign you'd take as carry-on luggage to the airport. Most have more in common with a briefcase or laptop carryign case than a bike messenger's bag, despite being called "messenger" bags. REload, Chrome, Push, BaileyWorks, Courierware, Manhattan Portage (copy of the origninal Globe Canvas lineman's bags used by old-school bike messengers over 20 years ago in New York) Timbuk2, PAC designs... and even companies like Crumpler which, though they are now known as a sundry manufacturer that also makes messenger bags, still makes some bags suited for riding -- these are the sort of names you'd get on a real messenger bag. You'd have to order them from the company or go to a bike shop or, sometimes, outdoor sports goods store to get them. Sometimes you cans core a good one for 50 or 60 dollars. The sort a paid bike messenger would use day in and out could run between a hundred and two hundred dollars, but will likely last as long as the average rider would ever own it, and probably outlast the average nonrider. Of course you can go full on custom; because messenger bags for actual riders are a small market a lot of stuff is hand made; REload allows you to select features for your bag. Some companies such as PAC or Chicago Wig will design a messenger bag for you from scratch to your own specifications. but of course it'll cost a lot. Oh, and sorry to tell ya, but you are not going to find a "real" messenger bag at a school bookstore (unless your school bookstore is a LOT cooler than mine was and has way more space to devote to specialized inventory). If that were the case you'd see bicyclists lined up outside the door of your college shop like fratboys during RUSH week.
While most features of real messenger bags -- water resistance, reinforced bottoms or seams, durable liners -- might not be needed by students or other people who don't ride, the fact is that these bags do fit better. So, even if you don't need a bag that will keep your stuff dry for a 20 mile ride in a raging downpour or shrug off getting bumped by car mirrors when a Wallmart backpack would rip, you non-riders out there are still better off buying a real messenger bag. Naturally you don't need a pro courier model or some sort of deluxe thing. A basic bag will do. You can probably get one for around a hundred bucks or less and it will last your lifetime -- and fit properly.
But just like most bikes are sold at department stores, not bike shops, meaning many people are riding aroudn on ill-fitting bikes with shoddy parts that are often not worth replacing, most messenger bags are not sold to bike messengers -- or by people who bike. Example: That infamous college store that sells "messenger bags". The result? With most people using fake messenger bags, this means that most people (predominantly non-riders) using messenger bags are using bags that do not fit, and are soem cases can't fit the way they should, even when worn correctly, since they are more like a briefcase with a shoulder strap than a courier or messenger bag.
Common sense folks. Wear it properly it'll work better. If that means buying the right stuff to begin with, well what do you expect? A free lunch? That, and get a bike if you're going to get a messenger bag.
One good point in the article:
"In addition, a problem arises also because a messenger bag is situated so low on a student’s waist that it’s usually against the butt.” Edell said. "
Correct. Go to NYC or some other big city and watch the bike messengers. They don't have them hanging on their butts. They fit right on the bike. Because that's what they are designed for.
I use mine riding in traffic on streets alongside cars, in the rain, and in the sleet and sometimes snow. I'm more concerned about my right leg which is a half inch shorter and my rebuilt shoulder from being hit by reckless drivers. A bent back from my messenger bag? I should be so lucky if that was my main concern. But the good doctor in the article hits the key point: The reason that's a worry for some is they wear the bags wrong. I guess being a bike rider wearing it properly comes naturally to me, because if I wore it wrong (bouncing off my posterior as he said) the darn thing would cause me to crash.
Like I said, get on a bike, even if you don't wanna take up riding, just try it once and you'll get an appreciation for proper messenger bag fit.
And that, of course, is the crux of the issue: There is no problem with the product, just it's misuse. You don't have to be a cyclist to use a messenger bag, but once you get on a bike any fit issues correct themselves quite quickly or the road takes care of the problem for you. And that, ultimately, may the the solution...
Go...
