Photo by Ingrid Schnader.
John Karrasch works on a Trek bicycle in the new Cahaba Cycles mobile service van in Homewood.
There’s a new way to get a tune up for your bike.
Beginning this summer, Cahaba Cycles is unveiling its new mobile service van. Customers will be able to schedule a tune up through an app on their phone, and a team member from Cahaba Cycles will come to that person’s location to service the bicycle.
Bookings will be done through an app on the customer’s phone. The van is outfitted with a bike stand and tools so that a Cahaba Cycles team member can work inside the van, meaning work can be done in any weather condition.
Josh Karrasch at Cahaba Cycles said many cyclists put off getting a tune up because they don’t have a bike rack and don’t want to scratch the inside of their vehicle putting in a bike.
“It can be a whole production for people just to get the bikes to the shop,” he said. “People are short on resources as far as transporting big awkward stuff like this. So to have the ease of calling someone and saying come on out and fix my stuff, that’s worth it for a lot of people.”
People are also short on time, he said. With the mobile van, people can leave their bike outside and come home to a serviced bicycle.
The idea to have a mobile service van has been on Karrasch’s mind for years, he said. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and people were scared to leave their homes, Cahaba Cycles began picking up customers’ bikes for them and bringing the bikes to the store to be serviced. That was fine, Karrasch said, but it was cumbersome. The mobile service van is much more convenient not only for the customers, but for the Cahaba Cycles staff, too.
He bought the van as an “empty shell” in early 2021 and has spent time building shelves, bike stands and more to customize the van to his needs.
The plan for the service van is to do simple bike fixes, and those who need a more complicated bike repair will still need to have their bike serviced at one of the Cahaba Cycles brick-and-mortar locations.
“Primarily, what I’ll be focused on with this is quicker stuff: flat fixes, tune ups, safety tune-ups for kids’ bikes, new handlebar tape and stuff like that,” he said. “The plan is to go ahead and start with that stuff and see what demand looks like before we finish building the inside of it.”
The cost for parts will be the same whether a customer needs something in-store or through the van. Labor costs will go up 20% if a bike is serviced through the van.
“The goal for the pricing structure is no surprises,” Karrasch said.
Karrasch also plans to bring the van to local bike races, he said, and can service any “quick fixes” that racers need before or after their race.
Cahaba Cycles is a Birmingham-based bike shop with a location in Trussville at 183 Main Street. For more information, visit cahabacycles.com.
