A Vending Machine—for Bikes

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Photos courtesy of Chad DeBaker

It’s easy to see why Bicycling magazine named Minneapolis “Best Bicycling City” last year. The City of Lakes is also a bike-friendly urban landscape.

The most popular route for cyclists and pedestrians is the Midtown Greenway, which now has a handy self-service bike repair kiosk thanks to local inventors Chad DeBaker and Alex Anderson.

The Bike Fixtation kiosk at the Greenway transit shelter, open from 6 a.m. to midnight, offers an elevated repair stand equipped with eight essential tools, a free air compressor, and a vending machine stocked with energy drinks, snacks, bike accessories, patch kits, and even hand warmers for chilly rides. The kiosk also has tutorials for the novice mechanic on how to use the tools to fix a flat.

The inventors plan to open a second kiosk, and eventually hope to sell Bike Fixtation kiosks in other cities, keeping cyclists across the country cruising after a breakdown.

Jennifer Kaye wrote this article for The YES! Breakthrough 15, the Winter 2012 issue of YES! Magazine. Jennifer is an intern at YES!

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YES! Magazine encourages you to make free use of this article by taking these easy steps. Kaye, J. (2011, November 18). A Vending Machine—for Bikes. Retrieved May 22, 2012, from YES! Magazine Web site: http://cms.yesmagazine.org/issues/the-yes-breakthrough-15/self-service-bike-repair-on-the-road. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License