Each morning, helmets and knee pads are strapped on as several professionals in the city get set to mount their bikes and cycle to work. Weekends invariably have cycling groups gather for long rides, and then there are long-distance cycling tours organised ever so often as well. While the cycling culture has caught on amongst the fitness and environmentally conscious in the city, the one glaring gap that remained was getting the bikes serviced. Often, the number one challenge was finding a decent bike technician. Second, was transporting the bike to the technician. And that is where Fix My Cycle steps in.
Launched in April this year by Sricharen Sridhar, Fix My Cycle brings cycle repair services to one’s doorstep. “We’re a one-of-a-kind digital company in the country, where one can book an appointment for doorstep cycle services. All one needs to do is log on to our website and book a slot {we have four time slots each day}, once they enter details of their cycle, its make and model number,” says Sridhar, founder and CEO of the company.
Given the penchant for online shopping among people today, a lot of bicycles are delivered in a dismantled state. Fix My Cycle also offers assembling services for such bikes. The company primarily operates through a website (including a mobile responsive version) and has clocked in close to 100 services since inception. “One of our biggest challenges was being able to hire bike technicians who’d be willing to commute across the city to service cycles. Often, it is the client who goes to the technician, but we wanted to offer people a more convenient option,” he says.
The idea for Fix My Cycle, says Sridhar, came about from personal experience. “I had a tough time getting my child’s cycle repaired each time it needed fixing. Each time, I had to physically carry it to the technician and then bring it back the next day. I figured, we needed a better solution to this, and that’s how Fix My Cycle came about,” says Sridhar, whose family is into the automotive business. “But setting up this company was a completely different experience for me. I’d even done a survey before launching the company, to see where the loopholes were and what the need of the hour is.”
Sridhar now hires two qualified technicians, who take care of most of the cycle services for the company. “They’re both certified technicians through the NITI Aayog Bicycle Technician Course. I didn’t know there was such a course, till I entered the fray,” he smiles.
With the city taking up cycling in a huge way, and a boom in the bicycle market, Sridhar is convinced he’s in the right place at the right time. “We are already an official service partner for a leading online bicycle seller in the country, and are in the final round of talks with a few top brands, apart from having corporate and institutional tie-ups for Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC),” he says. “Next, we plan to expand to Bengaluru and Pune soon.”
Published - May 24, 2017 04:45 pm IST
