Transforming Empty Space for Bike Repairs

Who is Handlebars (Fettle) for?

We see the Handlebars (Fettle) mission as enormously valuable on many fronts...

For cyclists, we’re providing convenience. ‘Customers want convenience’ is a mantra we’re drilling into ourselves and it’s something we’re building in to every part of our customer journey - starting from choosing locations where cyclists need repairs the most, all the way through to giving Brompton loan bikes so people can get on with their day, providing same-day services & offering a simple online booking experience.

For landowners, we’re helping to create value from space that is either empty or under-used and providing a differentiating service for existing tenants. This idea of making use of ‘meanwhile space’ is one which is catching on with property developers, helped by some successful examples abroad like Les Grands Voisins in Paris which took a former hospital site and transformed it into a makeshift football pitch, boules court, housing allotments, a hostel providing 600 beds for the homeless, artisan studios, pop-up shops and startups. Whilst we are much smaller than that - we’re still excited to be able to demonstrate to landowners that the space they thought would sit empty or too costly to redevelop can be repurposed into something useful.

This also explains why we see our efforts as extremely important for cities. In one study, it was found that 24,400 commercial properties in London are currently empty, with around half having been unused for more than two years! We love the idea that whilst that space is in between its next use, it can be repurposed to support cycling and sustainable travel.

So - we’ve started unlocking all kinds of different spaces. Take a peak at what we’ve done at our first two sites…