Few things beat the pleasure of riding through scenic Luxembourg on a bicycle. Having cycled to work every day in his previous job as network planning analyst for Cargolux, startup founder Emmanuel Plattard knows this only too well.
Yet compulsory trips to the bike shop for maintenance and repairs would often burst the happy cyclist bubble.
“It was really traditional: you have to bring the bicycle yourself; you wouldn’t know how much you would pay; it would take forever, and the communication was quite poor between the consumer and repair shop.”
Plattard’s experience set the wheels in motion for The Happy Cyclist, a business in which the bike mechanic comes to the consumer.
Plattard, who has a business background, did the research and convinced there was a market, he quit his job in 2021 to launch the business in April 2022.
“You cycle to work, how about I give you free repairs for your bicycle?”
Emmanuel Plattard, Founder of The Happy Cyclist
“Maybe it’s because I grew up in Canada and the US, but here I feel it is not the consumer setting the tone. It’s more the service provider who decides how things are gonna get done,” says Plattard, who is determined to challenge the status quo and offer consumers choice, flexibility and transparency.
Using The Happy Cyclist platform, customers can upload videos or photos of the bike, outline the problem and book a slot for the mobile workshop to come to them. Plattard says that 97% of the problems are fixed on the spot.
“Demand has been ramping up in the last month-and-a-half. The schedule is fully booked every day and it is really just through word of mouth,” says Plattard.
One of the biggest drivers has been the B2B market. The Happy Cyclist has signed on large employers, including the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and Banque de Luxembourg, who offer the service as a perk to staff.
Plattard says: “It’s a way for employers to reward this kind of behavior and saying: ‘you cycle to work, how about I give you free repairs for your bicycle?’ Just like companies would offer free dry cleaning services or gym memberships.”
On the B2C side, Plattard offers a number of different monthly subscription models as well as the one-shot call-out.
“The ministry wants to switch the teenage mentality […] maybe having partnerships with schools could change this culture.”
Emmanuel Plattard, Founder of The Happy Cyclist
Starting in September, the company will launch a web application and in the medium-term, it will establish an aggregation model, with an Uber-style platform connecting consumers and freelance mechanics.
“The aim is really to expand abroad across borders. When you look at cities like the Netherlands or even Germany, you have Dusseldorf, Cologne, and Bon where there are plenty of cyclists,” the founder explains.
Once the business achieves this level of growth, Plattard says he would like to hang up the tool kit and manage operations from an office. However, he says that he enjoys the interaction with customers and working in the field helps him to adapt the business to customer needs.
Looking to the future, The Happy Cyclist is in talks with the mobility ministry about working with schools. Plattard says: “The ministry wants to switch the teenage mentality that you get your driver’s licence and your first car when you’re 18. They want to encourage a long-lasting cycling habit. So, maybe having partnerships with schools could change this culture.”
