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A bicycle, and what it replaces
Courier work here starts with a vehicle, and the vehicle is the expensive part. This sets a used bicycle against the rented moped documented on the courier earnings page: what each costs, what papers each needs, and where a bicycle stops making sense. The prices were gathered in Craiova on 22 September 2026 and are dated throughout.
The paperwork point
A bicycle needs no registration document, no plates, no roadworthiness test and no insurance. That matters more than it sounds: fleet sign-up forms ask for the vehicle’s registration document, and a scooter registered in somebody else’s name stops the application dead at that question. On a bicycle the question does not arise. Bolt’s courier profile carries “Bike” as a delivery method, and switching the method took 23 minutes with no documents when it was done on 9 September 2026.
What to ask before you travel to see one
What does the frame actually say — many listings invent a model name. What size is the frame, in centimetres. Do both brakes work, does anything need repair, can you ride it before paying, what is the last price for cash, and what is the frame number.
What to check on the spot
Straddle the frame: you want two to three centimetres of clearance over the top tube, and the wrong size cannot be fixed. Spin each wheel and watch the gap at the brake pad for a wobble. Run a fingernail across the braking surface of the rim — a deep groove means the rim is finished. Lift the chain off the front ring; heavy play means it is stretched. Push hard on the bars: a cheap suspension fork must compress and come back. Rock the wheels sideways and spin the cranks for play in the bearings. On an e-bike, no battery key means no bike, and ask for the charger, the remaining range and the motor brand.
Where it stops making sense
Craiova summers are hard work on a bicycle, and so is rain and winter. Range and speed are the other limit: a bike covers a small radius slowly, so the same number of deliveries takes longer. And whether the delivery fleets here take bicycle couriers at all is not established — ask the fleet before buying anything.
Before you hand over cash
A batch of Dutch or German city bikes sold cheap by one private seller is worth a second look: ask for the frame number before travelling and check the bike matches it. Local workshops will look a bike over for a small fee, which is money well spent on anything above about 400 lei.
Bicycle against a rented moped
| Bicycle, to buy | 400–500 lei once, for a used trekking bike |
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| Moped, to rent | 250 lei a week, for as long as you ride |
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| Fuel | none / about 265 lei a month, measured |
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| Papers needed | none / registration document, roadworthiness test, insurance, and the owner’s rental contract |
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| Pays for itself | under two weeks against the moped rent |
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| Speed and range | slow, small radius / 45 km/h |
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| Craiova in summer | brutal on a bike |
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Moped figures are the measured ones from the courier earnings page. Bicycle figures are from OLX listings in Dolj on 22 September 2026.
What used bikes were being asked for, 22 September 2026
| Supermarket-grade mountain bike, no real brand | 400–450 lei asked; 200–300 lei is what it is worth |
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| German trekking bike, full Shimano, hub dynamo, rack, mudguards | 550–600 lei asked; 400–500 lei paid. The segment worth buying |
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| Used city e-bike | often advertised without a price. Battery condition decides everything |
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A sample of three listings on OLX Dolj on one day — indicative, not a market survey. Re-check before you rely on it.
Repairs, Craiova prices, September 2026
| Wheel rebuild | 100–150 lei |
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| Chain and cassette | 150–200 lei |
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| E-bike battery replacement | 1,500–3,000 lei |
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Which is why a 450-lei bike with a worn drivetrain is not a 450-lei bike.
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