There's one at the WholeFoods on Kingsbury just below North Ave, too. I would really like to see one or two along the lake.
The pump at that station doesn't work. I don't think it ever worked. I just go to the REI around the corner to fix flats.
Tricolor said:
There's one at the WholeFoods on Kingsbury just below North Ave, too. I would really like to see one or two along the lake.
Pumps at FixIt stations don't work all too often.
The valve on most pumps these days work opposite of so many old pumps (e.g. the old red pump with the braided cloth hose) that many people are familiar with. What happens is people flip the lever up on new pumps, force onto the valve, and flip down to inflate. This opposite approach ruins the rubber gasket pretty quickly leaving the most important tool at the FixIt station useless.
Cold and exposure to rain/snow/elements is pretty hard on pumps as well. Water getting in them is not good. That combined with lots of use kills the air seal inside of the pump as well. It's best if FixIt stations are under shelter, but that's not always available (like in the above picture, or outside WTB/Ciclo Urbano)
What many designers fail to consider when designing products is that people will use them in all sorts of ways never imagined, and many of those ways will be wrong and damaging. So how to design for people who break your product in ways you haven't thought of? One way is to include regular scheduled maintenance. I'm not sure if this is considered by institutions purchasing and installing FixIt stations, or even offered by those who are selling them. The reason the pump on the FixIt station outside of WTB/Ciclo Urbano works is because of regular maintenance and replacement when necessary.
crista lopez said:
The pump at that station doesn't work. I don't think it ever worked. I just go to the REI around the corner to fix flats.
Tricolor said:There's one at the WholeFoods on Kingsbury just below North Ave, too. I would really like to see one or two along the lake.
203 members
1 member
270 members
1 member
261 members