Bicycle-Friendly Retail - Part I - Basic research

[Carsten Diekmann]

Hello dear cargo bike community,


I’m currently working on a certification for "Bicycle-Friendly Retail".

What do you think should define a bicycle-friendly retailer? Feel free to go into the smallest details, such as how long a bike rack needs to be for your bike or how annoying it is to put your bags on the muddy ground while loading because you have to remove the bike from the rack to access the panniers or loading bay.

What services do you expect to make shopping easier for you? How do you organize your shopping when you need to visit multiple locations? Do you need a charging station, an air pump, or a repair station? Share your thoughts in the comments!


Thank you for your inspiration!

Carsten

 

[chelseydc]

Hello dear cargo bike community,


I’m currently working on a certification for "Bicycle-Friendly Retail".

What do you think should define a bicycle-friendly retailer? Feel free to go into the smallest details, such as how long a bike rack needs to be for your bike or how annoying it is to put your bags on the muddy ground while loading because you have to remove the bike from the rack to access the panniers or loading bay.

What services do you expect to make shopping easier for you? How do you organize your shopping when you need to visit multiple locations? Do you need a charging station, an air pump, or a repair station? Share your thoughts in the comments!


Thank you for your inspiration!

Carsten

Need to have: Safe, Easily Accessible, Easy to Use Bike Parking.

Nice to have: Air pump, repair station, charging station, bike-knowledgeable employees.

 

[Carsten Diekmann]

Need to have: Safe, Easily Accessible, Easy to Use Bike Parking.

Nice to have: Air pump, repair station, charging station, bike-knowledgeable employees.

Thank you for your answers.

I would like to ask a follow-up question on an interesting and new point. What do you mean by "bike-knowledgeable employees"? Should they be able to help you with problems with your bike or should they just be sensitive to the needs of cyclists?

 

[chelseydc]

Thank you for your answers.

I would like to ask a follow-up question on an interesting and new point. What do you mean by "bike-knowledgeable employees"? Should they be able to help you with problems with your bike or should they just be sensitive to the needs of cyclists?

Either! Both!

I definitely don't think this is a requirement by any means.

As someone who is relatively new to biking I would love knowing there's someone who could assist/be helpful, if needed.

I also recognize I need to continue learning/becoming more self sufficient when it comes to my bike.

 

[Carsten Diekmann]

Good point to! People who have only recently started cycling.


We have a farmers' market in Snabrück where a stand offers bicycle repairs.

I actually think this idea would be great for any downtown, Shopping Center or once a week at any grocery store!

You ride to the market (or push the bike if it's really bad), drop it off at the repair shop, go to the market and do some shopping, meet up with friends for a coffee and then ride back with a repaired bike. Brilliant, right?

Spread the idea to your local groceries. It is a great opportunity to get in touch with new customers.


You can see it in the video below at minute 1:07
1:07 - Repair service at the farmers market in Osnabrück
and at

Schaltzentrale Fahrrad Service - 49078 - Osnabrück | Fahrräder | E-Bikes | Zubehör

Schaltzentrale Fahrrad Service - 49078 - Osnabrück - Ihr professioneller Ansprechpartner in Sachen Fahrrad, Fahrradbekleidung und Fahrradzubehör!

www.schaltzentrale.net

Feel free to write to me about any new ideas that come to mind. Especially if you haven't driven that much, your eyes are still open. I would be very happy.

Have fun on every km with your bike

Carsten

 

[chelseydc]

Good point to! People who have only recently started cycling.


We have a farmers' market in Snabrück where a stand offers bicycle repairs.

I actually think this idea would be great for any downtown, Shopping Center or once a week at any grocery store!

You ride to the market (or push the bike if it's really bad), drop it off at the repair shop, go to the market and do some shopping, meet up with friends for a coffee and then ride back with a repaired bike. Brilliant, right?

Spread the idea to your local groceries. It is a great opportunity to get in touch with new customers.


You can see it in the video below at minute 1:07
1:07 - Repair service at the farmers market in Osnabrück
and at

Schaltzentrale Fahrrad Service - 49078 - Osnabrück | Fahrräder | E-Bikes | Zubehör

Schaltzentrale Fahrrad Service - 49078 - Osnabrück - Ihr professioneller Ansprechpartner in Sachen Fahrrad, Fahrradbekleidung und Fahrradzubehör!

www.schaltzentrale.net

Feel free to write to me about any new ideas that come to mind. Especially if you haven't driven that much, your eyes are still open. I would be very happy.

Have fun on every km with your bike

Carsten

That sounds incredible! I believe there was something similar in my neighborhood (however it volunteer run and set up to teach you how to do simple repairs yourself vs drop-off repair situation).

This: https://www.thebikehouse.org/

I have found that the community bike rides are full of helpful bike people and have had my tires filled by new bike friends at the last few family bike rides I've attended. I always feel less anxiety knowing there will be people who can help if I run into any issues (and knowing that we will have a safe, marshalled route).

Ward 5 Family Biking: https://www.ward5familybiking.org/

 

[kieran]

Hi Carsten,

This isn't cargo bike-specific, but we did a survey about supermarket cycle parking in Dublin a few years ago, with a summary of the results posted here:

https://www.dublincycling.com/cycling/dublin-supermarket-bike-parking-survey-results-are

The standard of retail cycle parking was quite low at that time.

 

[Carsten Diekmann]

Hi Carsten,

This isn't cargo bike-specific, but we did a survey about supermarket cycle parking in Dublin a few years ago, with a summary of the results posted here:

https://www.dublincycling.com/cycling/dublin-supermarket-bike-parking-survey-results-are

The standard of retail cycle parking was quite low at that time.

Cool. Thank you!

 

[Transportation Historian]

Hello dear cargo bike community,


I’m currently working on a certification for "Bicycle-Friendly Retail".

What do you think should define a bicycle-friendly retailer? Feel free to go into the smallest details, such as how long a bike rack needs to be for your bike or how annoying it is to put your bags on the muddy ground while loading because you have to remove the bike from the rack to access the panniers or loading bay.

What services do you expect to make shopping easier for you? How do you organize your shopping when you need to visit multiple locations? Do you need a charging station, an air pump, or a repair station? Share your thoughts in the comments!


Thank you for your inspiration!

Carsten

My biggest problem is often that even if there is bike parking available, the type of bike parking is not very usable with a cargo bike. A lot of my destinations have at most a cheap bicycle rack they threw in a corner, but for a larger cargo bike, the only real way to secure the bike is to try to place a U-lock on the end of the rack, which is often either occupied or blocked by something. I think businesses really need to switch to something like a U rack for parking for accessibility, or at least add some U racks and use traditional racks for those with standard bikes or overflow. Additionally, at least some bike insurance companies only cover when the bike is securely locked to a bolted rack, which is an another concern for people trying to use the bike parking.

 

[laney]

"I changed one/some locations for my errands because they are more accessible by bike."

I think this is the most important part of your survey so far. I now factor bike parking and distance into all of my decisions to shop or visit somewhere. If it's too far or there's no where safe or secure to leave my bike, I'm probably not going. For context, I have a car, but don't like driving and try to only use it when locations are 5+ miles away.

To follow how @chelseydc explained it,

Need to have:

• Secure bike parking. Ideally under cover and within line of sight of the shop front. It should be closer to the store entrance than car parking.
• Safe route to the location. Varies by rider for where everyone is traveling from, but I'd call it safe if a kid can ride there alone from about a mile away. Most places I visit don't have this 100% but are probably 70% safe by my standards.

Nice to have:

• Loaner bike locks
• Covered bike parking
• Space between bike racks to allow for easier loading/unloading

Bougie to have:

• Bike valet (Shifter made a great video about somewhere this helped solve a bike theft problem)
• Charging station

 

[cargodad]

My experience as a cycling consumer:


#1 most important thing is location. Is it on the way to where I am biking? Generally this means it has to be a shop or business that somehow is able to zone in or very close to residential. I will stop there often, and even pay a premium for the things I am buying, for the convenience of getting to buy it on my bike. I was very sad when the overpriced mom & pop natural grocery store in my neighborhood shut down. Although, I am probably saving a decent chunk of money on groceries now by not going there, it was definitely more convenient and we stopped regularly, especially for mid-week "need a few things" trips.


Bike rack of any kind needs to be present. I'm not picky about the type, it just needs to be as close to the front door as possible, because I didn't ride my bike so that I could then walk across the parking lot.