Surly Bikes
By Andy Lambert
Five years ago on a Saturday night in Minneapolis, a small group of friends were out riding their bikes on a bachelor party pub crawl when someone got a flat. No one had a patch kit or the right size tube to fix it. There they were; flat tire, no repair options, in one of the most bicycle friendly cities in the world on a Saturday night and they didn’t have access to basic bicycle repair equipment. Fortunately, the first modern vending machine had been invented about a hundred years prior, so they thought to themselves, “why aren’t there vending machines that sell emergency need bicycle repair parts and accessories?”
A year later, two guys from that original group got the first DIY bicycle repair kiosks installed on opposite ends of the Midtown Greenway, Minneapolis’s bicycle highway that sees thousands of riders every day year round. Both kiosks are open nearly 24 hours a day and equipped with one high security vending machine that vends 50 different P&A items (including snacks and beverages), one public work stand, an electric pump and a tube recycling collection box. The idea had legs and pretty soon people were calling them for information on how to get some of this equipment installed in other cities. Thus, Bike Fixtation was born.
Based in south Minneapolis, Bike Fixtation designs and manufactures freestanding, publically accessible bicycle repair equipment and services. The company has 5 full-time employees, 7 domestic distributors (including Quality Bicycle Products) and 6 international distributors. Providing 24/7 access to basic tools and products required for the most common bicycle maintenance needs is something that resonates with municipalities, state parks, universities, property managers and independent bicycle dealers who want to enhance existing bicycle infrastructure or encourage more people to ride bikes for transportation. Empowering people who ride bikes with access to the tools necessary to keep tires properly inflated, brakes adjusted, saddles at just the right height and to make bicycle infrastructure safer and more convenient; these are the reasons why Bike Fixtation exists.
Bike Fixtation’s office and manufacturing facility are within a few miles of both kiosks on the Midtown Greenway, so naturally they use a Surly Bill trailer to restock the vending machines.
- Lake St. station reloading
- Junk Straps keep bins on lock down
- Stupid Sexy Bill
They also provide free installation services to local customers and use Bill for those outings as well.
- Andy rides to a install at Velo City Apts.
- Chad rides to a install at River Flats
So there you have it folks; Surly trailers are keeping local businesses sustainable and mobile by helping our friends at Bike Fixtation get to their vending machines and kiosks by bike. It's not only easier but clearly way more enjoyable than getting a van into the parts of the city where they operate. Check out their website here: http://www.bikefixtation.com/
About $Trevor From Where Ever
T$ was born and raised in MPLS, MN. He does not own a car, opting instead for bikes and motorcycles to get around. He has a wide and varied taste in music, and once when he was young he filled a Super Soaker squirt gun with hot coffee and sprayed strangers on the street just for fun. Trevor manages our demo fleet, implements sales initiatives (acting as special concierge to many of our fine dealers) and tours the western reaches of the states in search of high adventure and intrigue.