Public bike repair stations are a welcome sight for bicyclists
There's nothing more irritating than riding your bicycle to work and breaking down away from home. A chain derails. Quick release brakes need adjustment. Tires lose air.
But now there's a solution for those situations. A popular trend taking place around the country in cities, universities and apartments is to now offer bicyclists a way to fix or maintain their bikes with public bike repair stations.
With advances in manufacturing, these tamper-resistant bike repair stations can now be installed at high-volume bicycle hubs or bike rooms and give bicyclists access to a complete array of handy bike tools and bike air pumps.
They are sturdily-built out of steel to withstand harsh elements, heavy use by the public and to prevent damage by vandals.
For example, here's all the features available on a top-of-the-line public bike repair station:
Deluxe bike repair statio
- Standard screwdrivers
- Phillips head screwdrivers
- Tire levers
- Wrenches
- Torx tools
- Hex keys
- Air pump
- Tire gauge
- Wheel chocks to hold the bike steady
To prevent someone from walking away with these tools, they are attached to tough, aircraft-grade metal cables. Some stations have retractable cables so the tools don't become tangled.
Well-designed bike repair stations will also have a way to position a bicycle on a stand, so the rider can easily make repairs or tune it up while standing up.
Even better, some public bike repair stations include signage with a link or a QR code that takes the user to a website. There they can view instructional videos on all types of bike repairs.
Public outdoor bicycle air pum
In essence, a town, college or other facility can create a mini-bike repair shop right on their premises.
This in turn, alleviates congestion, parking problems and pollution. In the overall scheme of things, a bicycling community is in better shape physically which can result in overall lower health care costs for communities.
Cities in Europe already get it. Bicycling has so many benefits in crowded metro areas. That's why you will see bicycle ridership as high as 50%.
It's certainly much cheaper to add bike lanes, bicycle parking racks and a few bike repair stations than it is to build highways, parking garages and bridges. Bike riders will tell you, one of the key barriers they encounter is lack of adequate infrastructure. That's why cities, like our nation's capital, just added a bunch of public bike repair stations.
Bike repair stations are a necessity on college campuses. What better way to encourage students to ride than drive. For businesses, what a great way to attract customers. Place a bike repair station or air pump station in front of your business along with commercial bike racks. Add this station along with bike lockers to make an apartment building or multi-family community to create a complete bike room.
A bike repair stand will make your location the go-to place for bicyclists and send a MAJOR message that this establishment is bicycle-friendly. Promote it on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. Tell bicycle advocates and let them share the news and promote your business or apartments for free. As bike usage continues to grow, especially with Millenials, this can be a very effective marketing strategy.
Bottom line - adding public bike repair stations empowers bicyclists. It gives them more reasons to use alternative means of transportation and another reason to visit an area.