[Closed] Bike Tool Rental company after feedback

mmmm RentaWench
done

done-
good name!

Wrench? Are you an American? 😉

Rentaspanner doesn't exactly inspire confidence though does it?

Done

Rentaspanner doesn't exactly inspire confidence though does it?

No, but I'm highly qualified

Are you hoping to steel traffic from [url= http://www.beerbitches.co.uk ]www.rentawench.co.uk[/url]?

Done.

TBH the only tools I'd consider renting would be facing tools and headset removal fitting press. I can't justify buying those considering how often I would use them.

done
daft new bb tools would prob be popular, I reckon

Be interesting to see once postage is taken care of how this differs from the Bike Shop pricing for things like headset fitting etc. most other tools are not that expensive these days.
as above the only things I don't have is Headset press and facing/thread chasing tools.
(would be disappointed if the headset fitting kit was 2 blocks of wood and a hammer 🙂 )

OP - I really think that there are a lot of things stacked against this sort of a business. I'm not trying to ruin your plans, but have you considered these things?

- Rental cost + 2 way shipping will have to be low compared to the price for a bike shop to do the work or the price of the tool. If not, people will just have the LBS do the work or buy the tool. Nobody is going to rent a spoke wrench!

- As people said above, BB, headse, and brake mount facing and pressing tools might be popular. But having the tool in hand is one thing; knowing how to use it properly is another. People won't treat a rental as kindly as one of their own. For instance, how will you deal with someone returning a damaged cutter? The cutters alone are darn expensive, and all that it takes is to drop one on a concrete floor and hit the cutting edge. And then there is intentional abuse, who hasn't thrown something out of frustration? And its not real hard to mangle a cone wrench, especially if you're using it on something other than a cone!

- How long will the rental be for? Most tools would only need to be used for minutes, but finding a free evening to work on the bike will be the issue for some customers. And how will you ensure timely delivery? Not everyone can accept shipments at work, so what do you do when they say that it never arrived? Or the delivery firm left it out in the rain and it is all rusty! Your cash flow will depend on high turnover of your rentals, no doubt so you need a quick turnaround.

- What will you do to make sure that customers get the right tool for the job? The multitude of headset and BB standards probably mean that there would be a pretty high % of screw-ups. Though not your fault, your company will bear the brunt of the rage. "I rented a BB facing tool and they sent the wrong one" will be what they say to their friends, even if they ordered the PF30 one instead of English threaded one that they needed. There is no way possible for you to know what they need, either.

- What about calibration? Torque wrenches, spoke tension gauges, and other measuring tools will need maintenance and calibration regularly. You'll either need the know how and instruments to do this, or pay an outside firm.

Unfortunately, I'm in the US so even if your idea works out fine, it won't be of any use to me...

Whenever I've needed an expensive or unusual tool I buy 2nd hand from eBay , use it then put it back on eBay.
Sometimes it costs me few quite and sometime I make a few quid too.

Thanks for all the feedback,

JoeG all valid points which need to be covered before I get this up and running

Currently the plan is to rent out kits to get the whole job done from start to finish or the more specialists tools individually, I'll be the first one to admit I'm not going to rent a spoke wrench or chain whip from someone I'd just buy one, but including one in a kit not only means you've got one (incase you hadn't) and also keeps delivery costs down. At the moment we're looking at a couple of delivery methods either couriered direct to your door or too your local corner shop and pick it up after work or whenever, 2 way door to door delivery is looking to equate to 30mins labour charge at my LBS, mine might be pricey tho.

Damage and misuse is one of those things that has to be covered in the rental agreement, I wouldn't sting anyone for wear and tear but if a tool is returned and can't be sent out due to damage then a 'retooling' fee would have to be agreed

For rental periods we're looking at Weekdays (Delivered Tuesday - return by Friday) Weekends (Delivered Friday - return by Tuesday) or a Full Week (Delivered Tuesday - return by Tuesday), hopefully it'll give people the option to do the work at a time that suits them.

Selecting the right tool and knowing how to use is something we'd be happy to advise on but will ultimately be down to the renter.

Recalibration is a good point I haven't really looked into yet (puts on massive list)

All good points that got me thinking,

Also definitely going to book rentawench for any sort of opening party.....

Cheers,

Rob
@rentawrenchuk

I can't see there's enough demand for this to make a business out of it. Whilst plenty of tools borrowing goes on it's generally free/for biscuits/for beer between friends/clubmates. If you need something sorted in a hurry and can't borrow a tool then the LBS is your only choice anyway really, rather than waiting on delivery of a rented tool. Also the pricier tools (facing/reaming) are pretty specialist to use so you're better off going to an LBS rather than DIY anyhow (plus it's their liability if it goes wrong), I'm guessing sending out £300 tools probably doesn't fit into your model anyway.

If you do start it then good luck (I guess if you already have a lot of tools your start-up costs won't be too bad and worst-case you might just end up with a load of nice tools you've claimed back tax on).

like to have my own tools tbh

I reckon youd make a better business out of sourcing and selling less expensive facing/pressing tools. Also spoke tension meters. Bleed kits (syringes, tubing etc).

Most people can get the basic tools (whips, BB tools etc) from CRC etc. It's the more advanced tools that are hard/too expensive to get hold of.

I will give you £50 quid for 30%of the buissness.or im OUT.

Probklem is delivery times, if stuff doesnt get returned on time due to carrier failures, thn it cant go out, and will be late.

JoeG sums it up perfectly. Most DIY mechanics have their own tools, the tools they don't have are generally more expensive and subsequently more complex to issue e.g. facing tools. Most people will then go to the LBS for this, I know I would rather than hiring a tool.
Whilst I wish every new business venture luck, I think this is no-goer and personally wouldn't waste any further time pursuing the idea.

Done the Q. What i'd like to hire is stuff like bearing puller kits where you only need them once every couple of years.