Since I remember I’ve been always cycling and bikes are part of my daily life. On the other hand, I’m also an entrepreneur and I like starting new businesses. I think it is pretty easy to start a bike-related business because it doesn’t require a big investment. I did some research and I would like to share with you a list of 21 bicycle-related businesses.
Here is a list of 21 bike-related business ideas:
1. Bike Ice Cream Shop
This business idea isn’t a new one. People were selling food with a little help from their bikes from the very beginning of bicycle history. The first bike was invented in 1817, exactly 200 years ago.
If you would like to be an ice cream bicycle owner it might be a pretty good idea. First of all, it doesn’t require a big investment.
Of course, it would be nice to have a beautiful electric bike with a freezing machine, but at the beginning, you can try building a cargo bike out of old scrap. Than using reusable ice packs you can maintain a low temperature for a few hours. It’s good enough for the beginning.
When you make some money you can start investing. In fact, in high season you can make more money selling ice creams than you can imagine. I know what I am saying because I used to do it as my highschool summertime job.
2. Bike Vending Machine
This is the first time in my life I’ve seen something like this. I haven’t even thought before about a bike repair station. I have already seen a book and beer vending machine but this one is such an innovative idea.
How many of you always have an emergency fix kit and basic tools with you? That’s right. Not many. Because of that, it may be very profitable, especially in places such as Amsterdam. Everything depends on where you live, but if your area has a lot of bike traffic it may be bull’s eye. The producer of this particular vending machine says that the average payback on the equipment is between 6 and 24 months, which to me is a good investment.
In this set, there is a vending machine where you can buy basic bike products. Tools needed for repair are available there as well and you don’t have to pay for them. There is also a post that allows you to hang your bike while you repair it so you can do it in a comfortable position.
Is that a good business model? It can be because most of the basic repairs are easy and quick. Of course only, if you have the necessary tools. The vending machine can also sell other bike-related products like city maps, drinks, chocolate bars, etc.
3. Restaurant food delivery
Getting more and more popular bike food delivery hit the big city market. Bike food delivery is a solution to insane traffic during rush hours. It’s a great job for students and young people who would like to earn some extra money.
You earn here around €5 per delivery + tips. I always tip delivery guy as they have to work hard, doesn’t matter sun or rain. If you don’t live in a pancake-flat area this kind of business might involve some obstacles. Then it is better to think about Scooter food delivery, but you need to keep in mind extra costs. On the other hand, maybe electric bikes are going to take over the market in the near future.
4. Mobile Bike Repair
Bike repair shop on wheels. I like this solution because when your bike is damaged you may have a problem with transporting it to the repair shop.
If someone comes to your place and repairs it on the spot it’s a great service. I wouldn’t mind paying a little extra for it.
From the entrepreneur’s point of view, it’s also easy to start and doesn’t require a big investment. Of course, you need a bus, tools and parts, but it isn’t unreachable. It’s always good to begin small so you don’t end up with a whole bunch of tools and bus you don’t need. Mobile bike repair may also be a service run simultaneously with a bike store or any other bike-related business.
On the photo, you can see Edwin from http://fietsmobiele.nl/ , a Dutch mobile bike repair company!
5. Bike Taxi
A bike taxi is an electric cargo bike that works as a taxi. You need to pedal a few times and then an electric engine does hard work for you. To learn how to ride a tricycle bike you will need a little bit of training, as it may be difficult at the beginning.
I don’t know if I would like to be a bicycle taxi driver, but owning several of them might generate a reasonable income. How does this business work? As taxi owner, you hire out your bikes to taxi drivers. They pay you for one week of use and you provide taxi, service, and license. It seems to be quite a good deal. Do you have any experience with that kind of business? Leave a comment below.
6. Bicycle Tour Guide
Do you like cycling and you live in a touristy area? This may be a business for you. Bicycle tours are getting more and more popular. A bicycle tour is a great idea for sightseeing and discovering new places.
You can say that the weather might be an obstacle because if it’s rainy people aren’t eager to ride a bike. I disagree because in the place I live – in the Netherlands there are a lot of bike tour companies and bike rentals, but as you can imagine it’s not sunny all year long. If you focus on marketing you may get some good results.
7. Beer bike
I don’t know if this still can be called a bike. I would like to introduce you to a Beer Bike:) Each passenger has to pedal to ride. This vehicle has no engine, so if your team gets drunk it may be a challenge to finish this ride. It looks like an outdoor bar on wheels and to me, it’s a cool idea.
There should be some competitions organized in Beer Biking – Beer Olympics 😉
These bikes are suitable for up to 17 people. 1.5-hour ride costs around 350 Euros. Beer bikes provide 20 liters of beer and a sober driver!
8. De Café Racer
This vehicle is similar to a beer bike but it has a slightly different function. It’s designated for a group that isn’t allowed to drink yet. This bicycle is created for kids. I love the idea of children doing sports and learning how to do something together. Exercise is something that children need more than ever before.
If you would like to learn something more about this funny vehicle you should definitely look on the website of Dutch company De Cafe Racer. You can rent this one for a few hours. It’s used on a daily basis as a transportation for kids to and from kindergarten. I am jealous because I used to walk to my kindergarten 😉
9. Bicycle rental service
A bicycle rental service is a low-cost business idea. In the beginning, you can even get some used bikes. Most important is to have a good location. You need access to people that are willing to rent a bicycle. It’s a great idea in tourist towns.
You can also set an affiliate program so people rent out your bikes and get a little commission from it. This business needs some investment but I am sure you can start with less than $5000 and it includes bikes, promotion, theft insurance and spare parts. It’s definitely worth a try. In fact, a bike rental service was the first business of Bob Adams, a serial entrepreneur.
10. adBikes
Marketers today do their best to reach a client and because of the high competition, it’s getting more and more difficult. Promo Bikes sound like a pretty good idea because they can reach areas which marketers can’t in any other way, for example, crowded parks on a sunny day. That kind of guerrilla marketing may be very effective for some specific businesses. I am one hundred percent sure it is a great idea for a profitable business.
It would be even better to pay people to put advertisements on their private bikes. They can get paid just for riding their bikes which they do anyway. I would even stick something on my bike if you pay me for that 😉
11. GoldFish Cart
I am not really sure if you can scale your sales on a goldfish cart but maybe if you can ask for 3 wishes 🙂 For me funny but for someone else, it probably makes a living. I am very happy when I see any kind of entrepreneurship and I will always support it.
Although I wouldn’t invest in a goldfish business it makes me smile to see somebody really put in effort to do it. Good luck!
12. Coffee Bike
If you can make a fresh coffee and bring it to me, you are my best man! 😀 I love coffee and a good one makes me feel very relaxed. If coffee disappears tomorrow, I am sure our world would become very slow in minutes.
Can you feel the energizing aroma of a fresh coffee? That’s it! Probably Coffee bike is coming! Bikes have this advantage that they come to the client and don’t wait for a client to come. There are times where you are hungry or thirsty but there is no restaurant or store anywhere. That’s the place for food bikes to be. There are in fact areas where it’s not allowed to run a stationary food business and you can make good money on food delivered by bikes.
You can buy a coffee bike, rent it or do it yourself. Actually doing that yourself is much easier than you think. On YouTube, you can find a lot of videos of people making their own bikes. Everything depends on the size of your wallet and the time you can invest. It can be a great business for students, but I am sure you can also scale on this, by renting bikes and hiring employees.
13. Post Delivery
More and more often I see bike post-delivery in our town, but you have to be aware it’s a heavy and not so well paid job. It may be fun during a summer but I would never like to do that during the wintertime, so big respect to people doing this.
Bike post-delivery may be a good idea for a small local business. There is a possibility to organize a small delivery point and receive letters for a specific part of the town in your garage. The post can bring letters to your garage and then you are responsible for delivery in your neighborhood. You will get some commission for every letter delivered.
You can hire a few people and get some comfortable bikes to make their job easier. It might be a profitable small business but I am sure it’s not an easy way to live. But don’t look for easy solutions, because everybody does. If you go for something more difficult than others it will most likely be a good choice.
14. Poleriders
Something more interesting than post-delivery and definitely not that easy. Have you ever seen anyone pole dancing on the back of a riding bike? If not then you should take a closer look at Poleriders. If you type “bike pole riders” into youtube there is a video. Actually, I have no idea what else I can say about bike pole-dancing ^^ It’s something interesting.
15. Beer Bike
You can get into the center of the party and deliver beer to thirsty people. Beer lovers always find a way and they did this time as well by making a beer bicycle out of an old ice cream bike.
I am sure it is a great idea and if you have a good location you’ll be out of beer in minutes. Again, it is a great advantage to bring a product to people instead of waiting for them to come and buy. But I see a few difficulties on the way to becoming a beer bike entrepreneur.
First of all, it is not easy to get a license to sell alcohol for a mobile vehicle and second of all you need permission to sell in a specific area. There may be a headache along the way but if you feel you can do it, go for it.
If you can weld you can build it on your own out of an old scrap bike and used beer draft. By doing this yourself you will build a unique vehicle and people love special things they see for the first time.
16. Wedding Bicycle
If your fiance is in love with bicycles this wedding rickshaw may be for you. Anne-Katrin Schmülling, a German wedding planner knows how to make a charming wedding and this bike is one of her winning choices.
In this case, we can see that the bicycle can be a cool and innovative thing that brings extra value to our business.
I love this tricycle and I am sure there are people who would like to get that kind of service. If you would like to get some more information you should contact Anne. Here you can find her website.
17. Sunglasses Shop on bike
If you’re still not sure that a bike can help you in your business you should definitely look at this Polaroid stand. With a little help from your bicycle, you can improve almost any kind of business. The thing is that sometimes it is difficult to get a license for a stationary stand and bicycle mobile business is perceived as an innovation, so this may actually help you in reaching places that normally are unachievable.
Getting a license for a mobile business ain’t easy, but that kind of sales give you a great advantage over yours competition. A bicycle often allows you to take one step in front of your competition.
18. Manufacturer Unique Bicycles
If you are a handyman with imagination you can also manufacture custom bikes. It’s getting more and more popular nowadays. There are stores which provide separate custom parts for bikes and you can build an extraordinary bike on your own, even in your garage and then sell it at a good price.
Bernt Holmkvist is the creator of this electric bike from the photo. You can read how he did it here and see some more photos of “Poker”, as Bernt called his project.
19. Local Repair Shop
There is a small repair shop near my house. Every day, on my way to work, I see the old man repairing bikes, and he has plenty of work. He also has high prices. Once I had to straighten my wheel and it was quite expensive. Because of that, I think it is a profitable business, but of course, you need to know what you are doing.
But if you think for a moment – we live in an internet age. If there is something you don’t know you can quickly google it. You just need to buy a few old, damaged bikes and repair them. That’s it – you have experience, you can sell these bikes and open a local repair shop!
Furthermore, if you have a garage you can do it as a side job, which brings you an extra income.
20. Knitted Bike Seat Cover
I need to show this to my grandma! It looks great but I don’t know if anybody wants to buy a knitted bike seat cover. Probably someone buys that if they sell it. If I had a knitted saddle cover my ass would be wet each and every day ^^ That is not a product for the Netherlands.
Sometimes I have a feeling that I overthink business and I need to have the very best product, but probably it’s much easier then I think 🙂
There is a place for everybody in the market. I have seen a company that sells knit kits similar to this one. I believe it is NPW company.
21. MyHotelBike
In Amsterdam, there is this company called MyHotelBike. Thanks to them, hotels have a whole army of bikes that are ready to rent anytime. How does it work? MyHotelBike owns bikes and delivers all the service, insurance, and paperwork. The only thing the hotel is responsible for is bike rental.
MyHotelBike delivers bikes that are parked in front of the hotel. For hotels, it is a great advantage, because they provide an additional service to their customers and make extra money at the same time.
If you would like to learn more about MyHotelBike follow this link to find their site. They also provide franchise opportunities worldwide, so if you are looking for a business idea and you need support, know-how and an already known brand that may be an option for you.
MyHotelBike – big applause, great idea. By the way, this company is run by two incredibly kind guys and you can be sure we will hear about them again.
If you have any experience with bike-related businesses please let me know and write a comment in the section below. Maybe you would like to share your wisdom with our community by writing an article. If yes, do not hesitate to contact me for any further information.
