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looked at buying options over the hire, which benefits the Family Bike Club because of its relatively small but growing fleet. “One family came in and hired one literally for a group ride for one day, then the next week they bought one,” said Balnave. “Now they’re just loving their journeys much more than they were before.” The Family Bike Club is made up of a small team of four
directors who work as volunteers, including Balnave, and the organisation is looking to expand its bank of other volunteers, which currently consists of three people. Balnave, whose background is in education, is also keen
to utilise the enterprise to help employment prospects for young people in the area, by offering a workshop apprenticeship for a young aspiring bike mechanic. He said: “One of the reasons for Enfield struggling to
have cycle shops is the lack of local mechanics. “The council has to recruit mechanics from other areas if they ever hold an event or anything like that - it just seems to be a bit of a skills shortage for us.”
Bikes for all Balnave has spent plenty of time speaking with families,
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and learning the best ways to encourage non-cyclists to hop on the bike. On advice he would give to retailers, he said: “My approach so far has been advising for the first three or four interactions. Just being approachable, giving them as much information as possible, and not trying to sell anything initially, just building that community, so they feel they can come in and have a chat.
“Hopefully that builds their confidence, and then hopefully they find that entry point, whether it’s joining us on a ride or whatever, and that starts them on their journey.
“What I’ve learned is that if you just go straight in from a sales pitch, they’re going to question your motives, which is fair enough. We’re not set up like that anyway, we’re not for profit, so we’re just trying to encourage and give as much information and advice.
“That’s something I’ve found that builds relationships and hopefully builds confidence.” Next up for the Family Bike Club are plans to expand the fleet as much as possible, especially by increasing the electric bikes on offer, and of course increase trade throughout the summer, in the hopes of converting more families into cycling families.
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