Hello Chainlink!

Hello Chainlink community!  

Our names are Sachin and Sid; we are two students at the University of Chicago who love to ride our bikes.  Between the two of us, we've worked in 4 bike shops in Pasadena, CA and Boulder, CO, and we continue to stay close to the cycling community.  We are currently in the process of performing some market research around how cyclists in our community get their bikes serviced.  We are developing a survey and will be launching it shortly; we would be very grateful for your participation (will take 3-5 minutes to complete)!  

Thank you!

Sachin & Sid

Contact: skashya0@chicagobooth.edu

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on October 29, 2014 at 7:56am

I took it too. I like the idea, although I'm not sure I'd be willing to pay for it.   Agreed with Kevin survey assumes we have one bike.   Many of us have several.

Permalink Reply by Sachin Kashyap on October 29, 2014 at 8:12am

Anne Alt, 

Very good point - thank you for the feedback!

Anne Alt said:

+1   Many of us have multiple bikes, some with cargo trailers.

Kevin C said:

The most glaring survey bias error seems to be that most people only have one bike. 
 

Permalink Reply by Sachin Kashyap on October 29, 2014 at 8:14am

Very good point - thank you for your feedback!

Anne Alt said:

+1   Many of us have multiple bikes, some with cargo trailers.

Kevin C said:

The most glaring survey bias error seems to be that most people only have one bike. 
 

Permalink Reply by Sachin Kashyap on October 29, 2014 at 8:17am

Lisa, 

Understood; this is a very good point - peoples willingness to pay will definitely be influenced by the ability Divvy / Uber to the shop of their choice rather than consider a service...thank you for your feedback!


Lisa Curcio 4.1mi said:

Another issue is what is "service"  A tune-up? Something breaks that I cannot fix and I need to get the bike to a shop?  Just two examples that immediately come to mind.

Permalink Reply by David Barish on October 29, 2014 at 8:27am

I filled it out.  It looks like a New York mentality to  me. You can have anything delivered anytime. With a Type A life and unlimited resources this works for food and entertainment in ye olde Apple. I am not so sure about here and not so sure about it working with an audience of cyclists.  By nature we tend to be a little DIY even if we are trusting our machines to the professionals in our favorite shops. I would not want to have pick up and delivery if I had a pair of pants altered as I want to make sure they fit. The same with bike service. We have all picked up our bike and noticed that there was a shifting or some other problem that required a quick tweak from the mechanic.  If the service they seem to be obtaining information really takes root that means cycling has really grown beyond the hardcore that frequent this board. I guess that's good news for the growth of cycling. With that in mind, I hope they succeed. But then again, I don't see myself as a customer.  I like picking up my bike and talking with the folks at the shop. I prefer to take the train there, or get dropped off there so I can ride it home and make sure it works the way I want it to work. 

Permalink Reply by Rich S on October 29, 2014 at 8:51am

I agree with Lisa here especially since this is in regards to a valet bike repair service. For instance, I don't see myself using a valet service for a regular tune up. But right now the cable is slipping on my front derailleur so I can only use the small chainring. I'm busy the next few weekends so won't be able to have that fixed until mid November at the earliest. I might be willing to pay say $20 for the pickup/delivery to get that fixed during a work day. But I would probably not pay much more than that in this instance since my bike is still ride-able. However it would depend on which shop it was going to for the actual repair. I would want to be able to follow back up with the shop directly if something isn't fixed correctly or if another issue surfaces. 

Many bike shops are closed by 7 or 8 and not open before 10 so you may have a business opportunity here. Your survey however will probably not accurately reflect that opportunity based on its questions. Most of us are loyal to the shops we like as well. 

Lisa Curcio 4.1mi said:

Another issue is what is "service"  A tune-up? Something breaks that I cannot fix and I need to get the bike to a shop?  Just two examples that immediately come to mind.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on October 29, 2014 at 8:54am

So, basically you have no idea what the market here is and are not aware of the fact that there are already shops that offer that service and/or are planning to offer that service.

Don't apologize for how little you know, it's no skin off my nose.


Sachin Kashyap said:


Hello DUG,

We're actually pooling our resources for a start-up which would partner with local shops here in Chicago; we think we would be able to drive additional volumes (especially during the winter months) and we are trying to better understand the market.  My apologies for any misunderstandings.

Thank you for your help!


notoriousDUG said:

Hello free market research!

I am willing to bet that this project has to do with market research for a large bike shop or bike shop chain looking at the viability of a pick up service.

FYI, your results are now skewed by at least one.

Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on October 29, 2014 at 9:11am

In follow-up to Lisa's comments, there appears to be a disconnect between your question about the number of times a bike is serviced in a year, and whether I would be interested in a pick-up and drop off service for my regular bike maintenance.  Would such a service only be provided for regular maintenance needs (e.g., a tuneup) and not for other service needs?  FWIW, I don't use a bike shop for regular bike maintenance, as I perform that myself.  I need service from a bikeshop when things have gone seriously wrong.  That is when I might be interested in a service like this.

Permalink Reply by Thomas Bruzan on October 29, 2014 at 9:14am

I've never had a bike serviced, but when I buy parts it's always a delight to visit with the cool mechanics. Seems like you'd be taking away the best part.

Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on October 29, 2014 at 9:14am

Another issue to address is the convenience of the pick-up and drop off.  Scheduling the pick-up and drop off are going to be big issues.  If I am having trouble getting to a bike shop during normal working hours, I am going to have similar issues with using a valet service.

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on October 29, 2014 at 9:18am

No problem there. You just enter the location, make, and model of your bike, and they will cheerfully angle grind your u-lock off. 

Joe Studer 8.0 mi said:

Another issue to address is the convenience of the pick-up and drop off.  Scheduling the pick-up and drop off are going to be big issues.  If I am having trouble getting to a bike shop during normal working hours, I am going to have similar issues with using a valet service.

Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on October 29, 2014 at 9:20am

:-)  What should I do after than happens?  If only there were a resource to handle that situation...

Kevin C said:

No problem there. You just enter the location, make, and model of your bike, and they will cheerfully angle grind your u-lock off. 

Joe Studer 8.0 mi said:

Another issue to address is the convenience of the pick-up and drop off.  Scheduling the pick-up and drop off are going to be big issues.  If I am having trouble getting to a bike shop during normal working hours, I am going to have similar issues with using a valet service.

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