A new small business model for bicycles
This is an experiment to explore variations on the business model of ye olde local bicycle shop (LBS). Strip it all down to the core and what is left nowadays is a mechanic turning wrenches. OK, now what? How does one make money opeating such a local business in this day and age?
In a world of Uber and DoorDash, a bike mechanic could solopreneur it in a garage. Pack bicycles in single bike sized (trackable) shipping containers from customers home to bike mechanics shop and back. Supply parts with bike. Put work log videos on YouTube for free and bill by the hour worked, on video.
Think Uber for bikes and remote bike repair. Gig economy for folks who want to wrench on bikes at home but not at a bike shop. Still get to know the mechanic who does the wrenching. But the bike it brought to the mechanic; you don’t go to the bike shop. A phone-on-tripod video of the hours billed is part of the service.
and can schedule directly with that if you want to have a certain person do the work. and keep the video of work as proof of what was done.
And that same transport system can get parts to mechanics fast. Or DIY with parts purchased off the web on Amazon or Jensons.
everything else is extra weight, like retail leasing year round for a seasonal business.
Also, retail mark-up of old does not work in an interwebz world. So, just let retail mark-up go. The modern retail supply chain can get simple bike parts to your house in less than three days, cheap. Just bill for hours worked and taxes.
were retreaded for the modern day of global internet parts supply and folks thinking it’s normal to eat a la DoorDash. What if the hero of the story is the solo bike mechanic? Pizza gets doordashed in special containers. Do the same for bicycles.
What if the business model is just about a mechanic (or a few o
The bike industry is a joke, and the butt of that joke is the bike mechanics in a local bike shop (LBS) making somewhere between $20/h and $30/h. Fuck that noise.
Good mechanics are not unskilled drivers and compensation for time should reflect that. That’s right, I said it: fuck that LBS employee nonsense.
The new model: uber for bike repair
Many mechanics figured this out during the Covid lock-downs and they didn’t go back to being disrespected, close to minimum wage slaves at some LBS.
The old-school LBS business model just does not work anymore. Rents are ridiculous and bike are an extremely seasonal business. Why is the mechanic getting less than a quarter of the hourly labor cost? Mobile and remote is part of the solution.
Prices of bikes have split with the K-shaped economy: manufactures have retreated to outrageous luxury pricing (nice bikes though) or they battle it out on commodity pricing, leading to junky bikes.
Bicyclious is about simple bikes with quality mechanicals. And there’s tons of quality used bike just waiting around to go to a good loving home. Simple bike technology is pretty mature at this time. The question now is the business model, not the bike tech.
A major broken aspect of the LBS business model is the retail mark-up game. In the internet age, that does not align the interests of the small business and the customer. Bicycle part suppliers are also playing an outdated wholesale pricing business model. And they want loyalty and geo fencing. Shut the fuck up. If I’m buying in bulk, discount! Otherwise, order it off Amazon, Ebay, Alibaba, etc. I don’t mark up anything, except my time.
The only thing Bicyclious is selling is the mechanic’s time, not an outdated retail mark-up game. Pre-built is the fixed price option, or custom builds are flat hourly. I’m either wrenching or talking to the customer or acquiring parts to pass on without mark-up (yes, taxes still have to be paid). Let’s get to the wrenching part as fast as possible because if I’m working on solving what you want, I’m on the clock.
Of course, the clock doesn’t start until we agree on it, but that’s why we start with email or text. But I’m certainly happy to voice talk to serious sounding customers.