HELP! Quick Survey for a Public Bicycle Repair Station!

[soyboy]

Not really getting the Marxist vibe from, uh, bike stations. Care to explain?

sure, where are they going? who will use them? i'm not against public works, just think they should benefit everyone, not just college kids, not just suburban people, and like everyone is saying the pumps will get broken quickly and i imagine everything else would fall victims to thieves and vandals. when you factor in maintenance and everything else needed it would much better benefit any town or college to find some spare room to set up a coop in, probably cheaper in the long run too

i think the bicycle is one of the greatest machines in the world, simple, affordable, able to travel great distances and when needed can even carry heavy loads but i don't think this does anything for the spread of that gospel, this is simply a distraction at the local community/college board meeting so there's less attention on whatever shady things they're doing(and they're all doing shady things)

[ScottRock]

Don't know what universities are like your side of the water, over here anywhere that has a large concentration of casual riders also has a large concentration of thieves and vandals.

...which is one reason why casual riders don't generally carry tools with them, which is one reason why bike stations might make a contribution. I understand that the risk of vandalism is a legitimate fiscal concern, if that's the point you're trying to make, but the idea that one should deny services to 'crime-ridden' areas pretty much sums up the history behind North American urban decay since the 60's. Priorities are what counts. I hate to be that guy who gets all starry-eyed about Amsterdam, but they have a HUGE bike theft problem, and that hasn't stopped their development of cycling infrastructure.

sure, where are they going? who will use them? i'm not against public works, just think they should benefit everyone, not just college kids, not just suburban people, and like everyone is saying the pumps will get broken quickly and i imagine everything else would fall victims to thieves and vandals. when you factor in maintenance and everything else needed it would much better benefit any town or college to find some spare room to set up a coop in, probably cheaper in the long run too

i think the bicycle is one of the greatest machines in the world, simple, affordable, able to travel great distances and when needed can even carry heavy loads but i don't think this does anything for the spread of that gospel, this is simply a distraction at the local community/college board meeting so there's less attention on whatever shady things they're doing(and they're all doing shady things)

Thanks, that clears it up a bit. I don't think we have enough information to assume anything about the target population. Besides, of the OP's examples, one was installed by MIT (i.e. not strictly public works) and the other, by the city of Cambridge. I'm with you on the idea that public works should benefit everyone, but if a city is both suburban and full of college kids, i don't see how it's inappropriate for them to install facilities that benefit these groups.

Also, these things cost $1,000/each to install. Even assuming a tax-free space and a single employee working part time while paid slave wages, you'd need to push a lot of parts for a very long time for a co-op to break even with a good number of these stations, even if you have to replace the entire thing every year. There are a lot of great reasons why co-ops would be better suited for promoting cycling, but economics is certainly not one of them.

[adriano]

public pumps would be cool.

[contango]

...which is one reason why casual riders don't generally carry tools with them, which is one reason why bike stations might make a contribution. I understand that the risk of vandalism is a legitimate fiscal concern, if that's the point you're trying to make, but the idea that one should deny services to 'crime-ridden' areas pretty much sums up the history behind North American urban decay since the 60's. Priorities are what counts. I hate to be that guy who gets all starry-eyed about Amsterdam, but they have a HUGE bike theft problem, and that hasn't stopped their development of cycling infrastructure.

I carry tools with me, I just don't leave the bike unattended with anything readily detachable left on it. I don't want to rely on some unknown third party's provision of tools if I need them, nor do I want my own tools to be stolen if I leave my bike.

Denying services to crime ridden areas sounds pretty socially exclusive on the face of it, but at some point the question has to be asked why the public should fund endless replacements for things that are stolen or vandalised. By all means try putting a few out in crime ridden areas but if they get vandalised sooner or later they need to be withdrawn and maybe put somewhere that will show them a little respect.

Most of the bikes I saw during my time in Amsterdam were pretty much identikit bikes. If bikes get stolen a lot then people ride cheaper bikes which are not only less desirable to thieves but less of a financial blow if (when?) they are stolen. And there's a big difference between cycling infrastructure in the form of cycling lanes and locking posts concreted into the ground (which cannot realistically be stolen) and bases carrying tools that can be stolen far more easily.

In run down areas it might make more sense to put stations like this inside existing facilities - as people have already said if anything serious breaks a cyclist is more likely to need spare parts than tools so why not encourage a few local stores to carry a bike pump and sell inner tubes? At a push you could charge people a couple of bucks to use the pump or include it in the price of an inner tube. If I had the choice between $2 to pump my tyres or a 15 mile walk home it wouldn't take me long to hand over the $2.

[masiman]

1. Experienced
2. 3-4x /week
3. Pump, patches, tire levers, tubes, chain tool, section of chain, allen wrenches, cone wrenches, sometimes a bottom bracket tool if I've just done an overhaul, cash, credit card, phone
4. Almost every ride
5. I think these are a pretty slick idea. The pump would be the most useful to me. No matter how good the quality of the bike pump, you just can't beat an ok floor pump.

[ScottRock]

I carry tools with me, I just don't leave the bike unattended with anything readily detachable left on it. I don't want to rely on some unknown third party's provision of tools if I need them, nor do I want my own tools to be stolen if I leave my bike.

Denying services to crime ridden areas sounds pretty socially exclusive on the face of it, but at some point the question has to be asked why the public should fund endless replacements for things that are stolen or vandalised. By all means try putting a few out in crime ridden areas but if they get vandalised sooner or later they need to be withdrawn and maybe put somewhere that will show them a little respect.

Most of the bikes I saw during my time in Amsterdam were pretty much identikit bikes. If bikes get stolen a lot then people ride cheaper bikes which are not only less desirable to thieves but less of a financial blow if (when?) they are stolen. And there's a big difference between cycling infrastructure in the form of cycling lanes and locking posts concreted into the ground (which cannot realistically be stolen) and bases carrying tools that can be stolen far more easily.

In run down areas it might make more sense to put stations like this inside existing facilities - as people have already said if anything serious breaks a cyclist is more likely to need spare parts than tools so why not encourage a few local stores to carry a bike pump and sell inner tubes? At a push you could charge people a couple of bucks to use the pump or include it in the price of an inner tube. If I had the choice between $2 to pump my tyres or a 15 mile walk home it wouldn't take me long to hand over the $2.

These are good points. My only considerations are the likelihood of theft and the cost of replacement. For one, i don't see theft of allen keys et al. to be a huge problem. You'd turn a better profit off scrap then individual finger tools. That leaves vandalism and the cost of replacement; i'm willing to bet that these are cheap ass tools, and replacing them several times per year wouldn't run the city more than $200 US. But this is all rampant speculation on my part. Guess i'll have to wait and see how the ones in MA turn out.

At a certain point i think the logical evolution of this turns out to be an LBS, which is more or less what we have as the status quo (one near me even has a free air hose outside their shop).

[contango]

These are good points. My only considerations are the likelihood of theft and the cost of replacement. For one, i don't see theft of allen keys et al. to be a huge problem. You'd turn a better profit off scrap then individual finger tools. That leaves vandalism and the cost of replacement; i'm willing to bet that these are cheap ass tools, and replacing them several times per year wouldn't run the city more than $200 US. But this is all rampant speculation on my part. Guess i'll have to wait and see how the ones in MA turn out.

If all it has is a bunch of allen keys it raises questions relating to the value of having it at all. Admittedly it means that a bunch of people can share the same collection of very basic tools but at a stroke they lose the convenience of having those basic tools on hand when they need them. Given how cheap something like a Topeak Alien tool can be the whole thing seems to lack benefits. It rather reminds me of a time during my university days when someone tabled a motion at a Students Union General Meeting requesting more clocks be provided, only to be asked why he didn't buy himself a watch like everyone else apparently did.

At a certain point i think the logical evolution of this turns out to be an LBS, which is more or less what we have as the status quo (one near me even has a free air hose outside their shop).

Agreed. Even if there were some kind of bike cooperative going where people could take their bikes for help with basic repairs that would seem to be better than a stand and a bunch of tools, which still doesn't help someone who doesn't know what to do with the tools in the first place.

A few bike shops around my way leave pumps outside their door, suitably secured so people can pump their tyres without having to go inside but can't steal the pump.

[MarMek]

Hi all,

My name is Adam and I'm a student at Wentworth in Boston studying Industrial Design. My thesis is to build a public bicycle repair station and I need your help in some of my research. All I need is for answers to the following questions as honestly as possible and if you have any feelings about public bicycle repair stations good or bad feel free to comment. The more the merrier!

1. Beginner, Intermediate, or Experienced rider?
2. How often do you ride?
3. What TOOLS do you bring with you when you go for a ride, if any? (Its ok if you don't)
4. How often do you need to perform a minor MAINTENANCE tasks on your bicycle? (ie pump tires, tighten chain, adjust brakes)=its ok if you don't check anything
5. Do you feel that Public Bicycle Repair Stations are necessary in major cycling communities? Like this one http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/...ee_bike_m.html

Thank you to whoever takes the time to both read this and answer the questions.

-Adam

1. Intermediate
2. six days a week
3. A patch kit, multitool, duct tape. On longer rides I carry a spare tube, map, and spare batteries (for lights) as well. I'm currently without a frame pump because my previous one broke. This along with my usual day to day pocket/bag whatnot - wallet, phone, pens, pencils, scissors, notebook, etc.
4. About once per week
5. Public repair stations sound very useful to me. Having access to a floor pump (and hopefully a pressure gauge) would be grand. Cheaper frame pumps are rather unreliable (as I've come to learn), and even fancier frame pumps still take forever compared to a standard floor pump. Also wrenches that are large enough to be easily usable would be handy because of how heavy/cumbersome they are to carry (especially for folks without quick release levers on both tires).

[themothman421]

Hi all,

My name is Adam and I'm a student at Wentworth in Boston studying Industrial Design. My thesis is to build a public bicycle repair station and I need your help in some of my research. All I need is for answers to the following questions and if you have any feelings about public bicycle repair stations good or bad feel free to comment. The more the merrier!

1. Beginner, Intermediate, or Experienced rider?
2. How often do you ride?
3. What TOOLS do you bring with you when you go for a ride, if any?
4. How often do you need to perform a minor MAINTENANCE tasks on your bicycle? (ie pump tires, tighten chain, adjust brakes)
5. Do you feel that Public Bicycle Repair Stations are necessary in major cycling communities? Like this one http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/...ee_bike_m.html

Thank you to whoever takes the time to both read this and answer the questions.

-Adam

1. Intermediate
2. 5-6 times/week
3. Multitool, pump, small wrench (don't have quick-release, heh)
4. Pump tires every time I ride, so I guess daily minor maintenance.
5. No

[wphamilton]

1. Beginner, Intermediate, or Experienced rider?

I say intermediate but that's subjective. I've been a cyclist for 3 years, and ride about 5K miles per year.

2. How often do you ride?

Daily commute plus errands and weekend recreation.

3. What TOOLS do you bring with you when you go for a ride, if any?

multi screw driver, adjustable pliers, set of allen wrenches, several open-end wrenches, multi-tool, chain tool, co2 cartridge, knife.

4. How often do you need to perform a minor MAINTENANCE tasks on your bicycle? (ie pump tires, tighten chain, adjust brakes)

every 2-3 days, weekly at a minimum. I've never tightened a chain btw.

5. Do you feel that Public Bicycle Repair Stations are necessary in major cycling communities? Like this one http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/...ee_bike_m.html

No.