Say goodbye to bike shops. Minneapolis's Bike Fixtation will sell you the parts you need to get your bike back on the road, and give you the tools to make your repairs right there.
It's happened to every biker. A flat tire in an inconvenient place on your commute, and the nearest bike shop is a long walk away. Most casual bikers don't carry extra tubes or tools with them; and so any repair work on the road can mean an end to a bike ride, and potentially leaving your bike locked up somewhere slowly rusting as you forget about it in your frustration. That's why the idea of the Bike Fixtation is so brilliant: a place for you to buy new parts and then install them yourself.
The Fixtation is really just a vending machine, but with bike parts instead of snacks (though there are some snacks in case you're getting hungry on your ride). What makes it most convenient is the bike mount and tools--attached with aircraft cables to prevent theft--alongside the vending machine. You can replace that flat or adjust your brakes yourself without dealing with the characters who usually are employed at bike shops. Of course, you may not know how to replace a popped tube yourself; now is certainly the time to learn, so you can take full advantage of the Fixtation when it moves into your city.
Sadly, right now, only one Fixtation exists in the world, and it's in the bike-friendly Minneapolis (though a second one is also in the works in the city, and Times Up! operates one in--where else--Brooklyn). You can contact Fixtation to buy a unit, but until the company expands more broadly, bikers everywhere else will have to wait jealously for the company to take off enough to expand and give them their own Fixtations.
COMMENTARY: I used to cycle a lot, but knee issues have made biking very painful for me. I can't tell you how many times I had bike repair problems, most of them flats, but it would've been nice to just replace the inner tube instead of trying to find the hole and patch it, out in the middle of nowhere or in 90 degree heat. Having a Bike Fixtation vending machine closeby is a great convenience, but it will have to be strategically located on or close to bike trails or where there are a lot of bike riders. Lakes, state and national parks, major bike trails and so forth. I can definitely see a Bike Fixtation in Portland, Oregon, one of the bike riding Mecca's of America. San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, New York's Central Park, all the great parks where there are lots of bike riders. Or how about mass transit terminals. Lots of riders take their bikes on board trains like BART. If you live up there or ever cycled there, you know what I mean.
Kory Northrop, a grad student at the University of Oregon, produced this map that shows the Top 10 Major US Cities for bicycle communiting. Minneapolis, MN and Portland are both on the map.
There is also a Top 50 US Biking Cities. All of them would be great opportunities for Bike Fixtation.
2010 was a recovery year for the U.S. bicycle industry, with direct effect sales growing nearly 15% from 2009.
The U.S. bicycle industry generated $6 billion in sales in 2010, including retail sales of bicycles, related parts and accessories, through all channels of distribution.
The size of the industry has remained remarkably stable since 2003, with sales between $5.8 billion and $6.1 billion each year (the exception being 2009). For comparison purposes, we project the industry at $5.3 billion in 2002, $5.4 billion in 2003, $5.8 billion in 2004, $6.1 billion in 2005 (an all-time high), $5.8 billion in 2006, $6.0 billion in 2007, $6.0 billion in 2008, $5.6 billion in 2009, and $6 billion in 2010.
The approximately 4,200 specialty bicycle retailers commanded approximately 14% of the bicycle market in terms of unit sales in 2010, but 44% of the dollars, a dominant dollar share. Dealer price points generally start at around $200, with the average at $524, though prices can range into the thousands. While the number of specialty bicycle stores has declined in recent years due to consolidation, they are responsible for approximately the same amount of business through these fewer (but larger) stores today. This is the only distribution channel that maintained or increased average retail bicycle selling price in recent years. This channel's overall share was slightly down in 2010 compared to 2009 in new bicycle sales. It should be noted that new bicycle sales represent about 40% of the revenue for the average specialty bicycle retailer, with parts, accessories, service/repair, rentals and fitness equipment sales comprising the rest. Specialty bicycle retailers as a group feature quality merchandise, and add value through services such as bike fitting, assembly, repair, and community involvement.
Bicycle unit sales (for all bicycles, and for those with 20-in. wheels and above) for the U.S., including both the dealer and mass merchant channels are as follows. Please note that these figures reflect market consumption based on import statistics and estimates of domestic production. They do not account for inventory at the retail and wholesale levels.
I just visited the Bike Fixtation website, and they now have two locations in Minneapolis, MN. This has the potential to become a great franchise idea. Here's their contact information.
Mailing address:
5413 Nicollet Ave. S. #124
Minneapolis, MN 55419
Phone: 612-568-3498 (or 612-568-FIXT)
E-mail: [email protected]
Returns and Refunds
If you buy a bicycle component from us and it does not work, please contact us within 30 days of purchase for a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. After you get an RMA number, you can mail the item to us and we will either replace it with the same or a similar item of the same value, or refund the cost to you.
Courtesy of an article dated July 22, 2011 appearing in Fast Company
This is a very cool vending machine. Tank you for sharing this blog. Keep on posting.
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Posted by: Michael Ross | 09/08/2011 at 05:25 AM
This is a good business strategy. Anyway, this one makes bikers find the things they need conveniently. This will be much appreciated by bikers.
Posted by: Nitrogen Tyre Inflation | 08/20/2011 at 10:26 PM
I had the same idea and as soon as start to search in internet I found Bike Fixtation . This is a great idea and I already sent email to this company to be their franchise in West Coast .
thanks for extra information which you added to your article regarding Bicycle industry .
from the picture i couldn't understand if cyclist must pay to enter to this room or the service is free of charge and they pay only if they want to buy something from Vending machine ?
Posted by: Rob | 08/10/2011 at 12:52 PM