As cycling has grown in popularity, so has that of bike maintenance. And in order to ensure the safety and availability of its bike fleets, Vélogik equips its bike mechanics with all the latest technology.
What is smart maintenance?
All of a bike’s information can be collected via an open-source black box or recorded using the Vélocare® maintenance software.
The open-source black box is fitted to the bike either by the manufacturer or an operator, and automatically gathers all sorts of data regarding the condition of the bike and how it is being used. This information can serve to identify common types of faults or incidents, or even to fine tune the bike. For example, a user can adjust their use of the battery based on their daily commute.
Vélocare®, the bike maintenance software developed by Vélogik, logs the medical history of each bike, providing information on the:
- Number of bikes available for rental, the rental duration & the percentage of bikes inoperational;
- Characteristics of each bike;
- Maintenance operations (requests, duration, type)
These smart solutions not only optimise how bike fleets are operated and managed, but also how they are maintained.
A major benefit for fleet managers: predictive maintenance
Using this data, Vélogik can unlock the potential of ‘predictive maintenance’, which allows for maintenance operations to be planned and scheduled ahead of time.
In addition to a more efficient schedule, smart maintenance helps lower costs by making it possible to pre-order spare parts. With Vélocare®, managers have direct access to their fleet’s data, enabling to them take decisions based on real-time, actionable information.
Thanks to the smart black box, they can locate their bikes via GPS and monitor how they are used and consequently adapt their service to precisely fit their customers’ needs.
Facilitating maintenance and the work of mechanics: optimised bike tracking and immediate curative maintenance
Vélocare® makes it easy to create a digital schedule for maintenance operations, allowing our mechanics to optimise their work by providing a simplified and improved overview of the tasks at hand. Each bike is assigned an ID number (via a QR code) that is used to trace its maintenance history, improving both maintenance tracking and quality. For example, if the mechanic looks at the data and notices a recurring manufacturing fault, they will be able to act before the problem occurs again and notify the manufacturer.
With smart bikes, some operations could even be performed remotely, such as disabling the electric battery when a bike is stolen.
These digital tools are revolutionising bicycle maintenance and make the life of both mechanics and fleet managers infinitely easier. Smart bikes will inevitably change our riding habits too. Smart technology is only in its infancy and Vélogik plans on keeping a close eye on its evolution.
