While many types of transportation can fill in the blank in the statement, “Have ________ Will Travel,” typically when traveling a bike can be a pain to bring along. But renting a bike can have problems as many shops don’t always have high-end bikes available and you’re often subject to a first come, first served.
Now there is another way; where you can browse online, find the bike of the level you desire, book and be ready to ride when you arrive at your destination. Velolet is an online bike rental platform, dubbed the Orbitz of bike rental, designed specifically for the bike industry and the needs of brands, bike shops, and cyclists in that industry. Dan Clearly of Velolet tells us how the service works.
KineticShift.com: How many markets are you currently providing this service at present?
Dan Clerly: We serve the United States and Canada with future plans to make this a truly global platform. The Lister base (bike shops) is small currently but continues to grow. The recent work with Tern Bicycles/SXSW has provided us some great exposure and the result is signing on a few new shops out of Austin, New Orleans, and Tampa in the past week.
KS: Are you finding that people are renting bicycles that they might not have at home as way to expose themselves to something new?
DC: Yes. People like a “real” test ride before they purchase. Normally, they are stuck with a brief “parking lot” ride before making a significant investment, however, using a rental platform provides users a real “test” period for trying out new models. We see this happen quite a bit where guys from a particular city are renting in that city to try out a new brand/model before they purchase. Recently in Minneapolis, Fat bikes like the Salsa Mukluk and Surly Pugsley have been of particular interest to Renters wanting to try them out through a rental.
KS: And are companies finding this a good way to bring new consumers to their brands?
DC: From my discussions with bike brands, they are beginning to “get” the idea of using a rental platform as a way to expose the brand to the end-consumer. Most of their demo programs currently revolve around providing test rides or “demo days.” That limits exposure of a brand to a market on just a few days of the year.
In contrast, our Velolet bike rental platform does a few things for them that are unique and more end-customer engaging. It exposes the brand to the end-consumer on more than a few days a year with a real test ride. The rental income can also offset the brand’s demo program costs (which sometimes are significant), and with the data we collect on a rental (brands rented, location of rental, etc.) offers brands immediate feedback for customer engagement. Imagine a brand being able to engage a Renter who just completed a ride on one of their bikes immediately. “How did you like the [brand/model]? Here are shops in your area that can help you…. Here is a $XX discount”
KS: Is this primarily individuals or are you seeing couples involved as well?
DC: We see a lot of rentals where the Renter is renting multiple bikes as part of their itinerary. So, that’s groups, couples, families. We’ve had people rent for big groups and it’s nice or the Renter to be able to pick the bikes for each person and make a reservation knowing all the Renters will have a bike in their size available when they arrive at their destination. The bike shops can “add-on” delivery services too as part of the reservation so it makes the delivery of a fleet of rental bikes for a group just part of the normal rental process.
KS: Do you think you would ever expand to other fitness products, such as skis or snowboards or do you find those areas already covered?
DC: I think the natural add-ons, especially for triathletes (wetsuits, wheels, etc.) are the logical additions and we’re working with partners there. We think our platform obviously can expand to other fitness products but our goal when we set out was to be specific and focus on the details of bike rental and a cyclist’s needs. We’re a platform for the bike industry and focusing on the particulars of the industry (brands, bike shops, and cyclists) matters.
With regards to skis and snowboards rentals, I think they are heading in the right direction but their needs too are very unique and specific to their markets (ski resorts) and the resort management companies that exist at the resorts are well established for their particular areas and needs. That said, we’ll always continue to look at opportunities to partner up if it makes sense down the road.
Thank you to Dan Clearly for talking to us.