Puncture? New York bike repair stations offer 24-hour help

Bikestock is helping broken down cyclists in New York with bike repair vending machines and public equipment.

Almost all cyclists know the pain of experiencing a puncture on the road without the equipment needed to fix it. While Minnesotans enjoyed the roving GPS Tune-Up Bike — which assisted riders with tools and advice last summer — Bikestock is a more permanent solution, offering bike repair vending machines and public equipment in New York.

Each station features a bicycle pump and tools such as spanners, wrenches and tire levers, alongside a vending machine that sells equipment and foods such as inner-tubes, locks, other bike parts, energy bars and bottled water. The machines take cash and cards, meaning that riders aren’t left stranded if they don’t have any change. The first station is currently located at the Brooklyn’s Natural foodstore, although Bikestock aims to make the stations a common feature of the city’s streets, with six more planned to open before the end of summer. At the same time, it is encouraging shop owners of all kinds to stock its Toolkit, which features much of the same equipment available from its vending machines. Those taking up the kits take a share in the revenue as well as positioning themselves as a cyclist-friendly store.

Bikestock makes cycling a less frustrating experience by bringing repair tools to the street for round-the-clock usage, which could encourage more commuters to take up the environmentally-friendly mode of transport. Could this idea take off in your city?

Spotted by Tracy Chong, written by Springwise