Students often indeed have the ability to perform quite a few repairs, but many don’t have the extra scratch to afford fancy multi-tools, frame-mounted pumps, and the like. No-one I know has near the amount of spare coin to be able to afford to even look at the kinds of “maintenance free” bikes you’ve listed, forget actually buying one.

tl;dr: It’s nice to live in a world where you don’t have to fear roadside maintenance, but for the rest of us who can’t afford that rarefied air, these stands are pretty keen.

The goal of cycle advocates should be to advocate for infrastructure and other facilities that benefit everyone else – not just the enthusiast. To create a world where almost all cyclists are NOT enthusiasts and a large number of them don’t even really like cycling. They cycle because it is the fastest, easiest and most convenient way of getting from A to B. And driving cars is the slowest, hardest and most inconvenient way of getting around, so only the tiniest of hard-core die-hard car enthusiasts would ever drive one.

The slip-the-seatpost-between-two-sticks setup looks like a winner to me.

Maybe a few handy cyclists can make something like that for their own use at home.

I mean, you leave the Fixit unattended, overnight on a couple of the MUP’s I ride to work in the morning, and not only will the gang-bangers — just for grins — cut every tool and cable off of it, but they’ll break out the rattle cans and TAG it to boot!

The sort of people who comment here fall into the category of “enthusiast” who have no problem with DIY bike repairs.

However, the 99% of the population who just want to get from A to B as fast as possible don’t want to do bike repairs. They don’t want to learn how to do bike repairs, don’t want to be late to work because their bike broke down and DEFINATELY do not want to get their nice work clothes dirty by having to do roadside repairs to their bike.

I didn’t intend to offend and I’m sure that the stands are useful. I mean, hand me a bike stand and a wrench and I’ll find a bike to fix.

My point was more geared towards a confusion about the market. Those who don’t know how to fix their bikes won’t use the stand because they don’t know how to fix their bikes! Those who can fix their bikes tend to keep them in working order… which means there is no need for a stand outside since they do their repairs at home.

I can understand a ‘rainy-day’ fix. ie, for some reason a chain jams in a derailleur, throwing it out of adjustment and requiring a stand to elevate the rear wheel so that adjustments can be made. I get that s**t happens. But how many people need to ride by a stand in order to make it economically feasible? What is the market logic? Is it just assumed to be a sunk cost that just adds to the overall aura of a neighborhood, like repainting parking meters? Or is it valued like an art installation, bringing unknown value to an unknown crowd? What makes it pay?

I’m not trying to be cynical, but I live in a bigger city (DC). Here, if you forget to lock up a part of your bike chances are it will be gone when you come back to retrieve your bike. And anything secured with cables gets stolen. It seems like all thieves in this city carry a pair of dikes with them at all times.

Again, if you have found a positive and beneficial market for these stands, awesome! I’m all for promoting cycling! But if you wouldn’t mind elaborating on your market, it would help to understand the application.

A-The air pump alone, since our stands are conveniently spaced around town, has saved myself and many others that sporadic squishy ride home from a neglected tire running low on air.

B-The tools are not theft-proof, but they’re secured with nice thick braided steel cables and I have yet to have a single one stolen off a rack. Is it possible? You betcha. Are people stealing all the tools and pawning them for a living? Hardly.

C-People keep referring to this false sense of confidence it might give novice mechanics. If you’re not sure what the majority of the tools do, the chance that you’ll actual attempt to use one of them is also pretty rare.

Quite the contrary to all this huffing and puffing, I’ve also had numerous random citizens take the time to email me and thank me for the racks, saying it saved them when they needed air or a quick allen wrench. Is is perfect? No. Is it a massive convenience and positive step in the right direction for many local governments and businesses? You better believe it.