Pure Fix has made a name for itself with fixed-gear and faux-fixie bikes in flashy styles at reasonable prices. Now the brand is expanding its direct-sale model with the ability to get the bike built up for you.
The first of the three delivery options is the original, free method that has allowed Pure Fix to offer low prices compared to a traditional brand. The 'DIY' option is what it sounds like: you buy a bike and Pure Fix ships you a partially assembled bike in a box.
The second option is 'Bike Shop Pickup', also fairly self-explanatory. You order online, and the bike gets built up at a local shop for $49.
The third option, 'BYLT Delivery', means a completely built bike gets dropped off at your place for an extra $99.
The delivery option is dependent on the availability of partner shops in a customer's region. "The mechanic to your door is a bit of magic and unfortunately, not all areas are covered just yet," said Pure Fix co-founder Jordan Schau. "We try and get somebody there but there will be cases where the the customer might have to get the bike at the shop or do home assembly."
For now, the program is US-only, but Schau said the company plans to have it up and running in the UK and Europe "within the year".
Does this look like an intimidating project? Pure Fix now offers two others ways to receive its bikes
The three-pronged delivery system is interesting in light of major brands like Trek moving into order-online/pick-up-at-shop models. While Canyon sells direct in the UK and Europe, the German brand does not sell direct in the US, yet.
Steve Frothingham, web editor at Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, said the Pure Fix deal shows that bike shops still can have a place in internet sales.
"A lot of high-end niche brands who don't have a lot of dealers will ship to friendly local dealers when it makes sense," Frothingham said. "The Pure Fix news and the Guerrilla Bikes announcement earlier this week could be seen as encouraging to IBDs [independent bicycle dealers]. You have two developing brands in very different niches, one of which has previously been 100% consumer direct, and the other has a very large consumer direct component, and both are moving toward programs that include bike shops, instead of moving away from shops. Both brands are apparently discovering that it makes sense to work with shops for a lot of reasons."
