Are there bike shops that offer same-day service (or loaner bikes) for cargo bikes in your area?

[martinlj]

One barrier, in my opinion, to widespread adoption of cargo bikes is that most bike shops still use a service model where people expect to be without their bike for a week or two while it's being repaired. But if you use your cargo bike as your primary mode of transportation, having it in the shop for so long isn't viable, particularly if your bike is a car replacement.

I live in a small-ish town (Chapel Hill, NC), but suspect this is a challenge most places. Do we think we'll ever get to a model where cargo bike maintenance is treated more like car maintenance (same-day service, loaner vehicles, pleasant waiting rooms)? Or is there something about bike maintenance that makes this difficult?

 

[holzwurm]

This seems to be a worldwide problem. Here in Germany, maintenance and/or repairs often take weeks.

 

[laney]

Sometimes if the repairs will take more than a few days, the local Trek store will give me a loaner bike. It's not a cargo bike, but it's better than no bike for a week.
I think this used to be company policy but is hit or miss at different stores now.

 

[Shaun Moulds]

Same here in Sheffield UK, we have thousands of daily cyclists and it still takes a week minimum. A friend of mine was without her bike for 4months recently as the chainring spider on her HiBike was back ordered... So it's not just a shop thing.
I used to work in the motor trade and of you wanted to be a dealer you had to provide a decent loner for customers.