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I have a rear rack.

However, I don't really have a good way to carry pizza.

Cables? Any big enough bags? I can avoid leaning too much, I'll slow on the turns if I have to..

Edit: Delivery? Not in this town. I just want a pizza...

user1833028
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  • Are you a pizza delivery boy or just carrying a pie? – Batman Jul 25 '14 at 02:58
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    Put it on the seat and sit on it? (I would think that a medium sized pizza could be carried on the rear rack, though you'd probably want to add some sort of platform.) – Daniel R Hicks Jul 25 '14 at 03:00
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    I love this question! On my bullhorn-equipped bike, I just perch the pizza on the stem and hold the sides of the box with the insides of my wrists. – linguamachina Jul 25 '14 at 09:27
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    The pizza service a few floors below me are delivering by bicycle. They have special bags exactly in the shape of their pizza boxes. – Philipp Jul 25 '14 at 09:52
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    The good news is, you don't have to care about not leaning too much when cornering. When cornering you always lean such that the sum of gravity and the centrifugal force is pointing from your center of gravity towards the tires – i.e. your body-bike-system is parallel to the forces caused by the turn. Therefore your pizza will always "feel" a force perpendicular to its supporting box bottom which will just press its topping onto the dough as gravity would do in a steady state. You just have to care about not accelerating and braking too hard as there the topping will have tendency to slip. – Benedikt Bauer Jul 25 '14 at 10:52
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    How about a stomach? They seem to be well adapted for the job. – BPugh Aug 01 '14 at 13:49
  • Like this, obviously. – David Richerby Mar 25 '17 at 10:19
  • I've successfully carried a pizza-shaped box on top of some aerobars, while using the normal grips/brakes. – Criggie Sep 28 '20 at 01:16

4 Answers4

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For the ultimate in pizza carrying, you want a pneumatic air suspension, pendulum-based anti-sway bar equipped carrier. This are/were used by ramen delivery bicylists in Japan, although they are getting rarer (people don't order delivery ramen noodles like they used to) and mostly on motorcycles now:

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With one of these babies, your pizza (or ramen) will not sway from side to side, bump around, and end up all mashed into one big congealed mess.

Of course, it costs around $400 and you can only get it in Japan. But if you're serious about your pizza carrying, it's the only way to go.

RoboKaren
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I normally just bungee cord in pizzas to my rear rack and go slowly over bumps and don't corner aggressively. Works fine for one pie. You could attach some plywood or something to the rack to provide a platform if you want it.

For multiple pies though (delivery), I think a motorcycle-style carrier may be a good idea (for one, you'll want a heat retaining bag at the least).

Batman
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  • I've done this successfully (2 boxes stacked) but you do need a fairly wide flat rack (Topeak Super Tourist worked for me), but I wouldn't like to try it on my current Tortec velocity hybrid until I make some mods). I always carry a metre of 3mm shock cord in my tool kit, with loops tied in the ends - perfect for pizza boxes which are crushed by anything stronger. – Chris H Jul 25 '14 at 10:45
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    Is pie a synonym for pizza? – James Bradbury Jul 25 '14 at 11:24
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    In the USA, a "pie" refers to a whole pizza (as opposed to a slice). US Americans are not always aware of how localized the term is. – E. P. Jul 25 '14 at 13:16
  • I use flat bungee cords on my rack. Though there is a good point here - some pizza places use paper thin boxes, which would be crushed by a bungee cord. In those cases, some twine and careful riding (or taking a more ridgid box) to the pizza place is a better idea. Though most of those places are pretty bad, so I'd say a better solution is to go to a different pizza place. – Batman Jul 25 '14 at 17:33
  • @EmilioPisanty I live in the USA and I've never heard pie used to refer to pizza (that seems to be to be a European thing) - to me pie is always a dessert. – Michael Jul 26 '14 at 04:12
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    You must live in a pizza wasteland then. I've heard it in the north east as well as in the chicagoland area. – Batman Jul 26 '14 at 07:20
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    We call them pies in places where we take our pizza seriously (mostly New York / New Haven) and Chicago where they have that abomination that they call "pizza" but which us True Believers® refuse to acknowledge. – RoboKaren Jul 27 '14 at 14:07
  • The problem is significantly easier with a chicago style pie than a new york style pie, since chicago style pies are essentially rounds of (hot) cheese put into heavy boxes so you just need to attach the box to the rack and go - no risk of crushing the box or damaging the pizza. – Batman Jul 27 '14 at 16:18
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    I regularly transport a pizza on my back rack with a bungee net. The pizza box is 11 inches on the side. This setup is super secure. I don't feel any need to go slow. [ Photo.] – dan-gph Jun 09 '17 at 12:05
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I attached a waterproof spruce square (42x43 cm²) permanently with 8 cable zips to my luggage carrier. Corners rounded, holes for bungee cords drilled, bungee cords with cable zips permanently attached on the front sied (so they are not stolen).

This is dirt cheap, a great help in everyday transport of any goods and lasts for over one year now.

(Instiration taken from there: http://borumat.de/fahrrad-gepaecktraeger-platte (german) and http://borumat.de/bilder/rad/hochstapelei.jpg )

Peter
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For drop bars it's as trivial as this:

(as long as pizza box is smaller than your handlebars).

Plastic bag with pizza box is hanged on hoods, and the bottom is supported by shifter cables. If you don't have a plastic bag around your pizza you can hold it with your hands.

You may somehow adapt the method for bullhorns and time trial bars. For flat bars you can hang the plastic bag straps on bars and put the rest on the stem.

EDIT: Yes, this method isn't the safest for you and pizza if you want to employ it on regular basis. But it makes perfect sense for me as an ad hoc way to carry a pie from the nearest pizzeria. I only tested it on 5-minute ride with cheap thick-crust pizza, and it was in perfect condition when I opened the box.

modular
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    Looks like a terrible idea. – Darth Egregious Aug 02 '14 at 18:59
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    Doesn't seem very safe when you have something near your brakes like that (though I guess I have carried groceries on my bar ends on my MTB before), or in front where it could affect your steering or if you dont have fenders, get caught in the wheel if something goes wrong. Also, think of your poor toppings! – Batman Aug 02 '14 at 19:47
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    This is perfect if you want to eat a pizza all scrunched up on one side of the box while you wait for the ambulance because your front brakes jammed. – Goodbye Stack Exchange Aug 06 '14 at 01:58
  • @NeilFein ... while you were trying to avoid the car that turned into your path because your front light was hidden behind your pizza. – David Richerby Mar 25 '17 at 10:12