Ian Oestreich, founder of Curbside Bicycles, is out change the way people think about bike repairs. When he was laid off from his job at the start of the pandemic, he founded a mobile bike maintenance company offering several pop-up bike tune-up events across town every week. In each neighborhood he visits, he teams up with residents, who publicize the events through neighborhood social media. For $75, he’ll do a full tune-up and safety check, including tightening bolts, pumping tires and tuning the gear, and he’ll replace things like inner tubes and chains for an extra cost.
About 15 months after launching the company, he estimates he’s personally done well over a 1,000 tune-ups. Now he’s hired a second mechanic and enjoying just a bit more free time.
“Last year I was very busy getting other people on their bikes but not so much myself,” Ostreich said. “Now I can practice what I preach.”
