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"We knew subscriptions would increase sales, but working with Rob has shown us how much more we can be doing with our small footprint. Thanks to Free Flow, we're actually making more on each sale and our turnover is as high as it has ever been."
-Max, Overhaul Bikes-

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What is a bike subscription?
It's exactly what it sounds like: it's a bike from a local bike shop and everything customers need to ride it, priced out in monthly increments. This includes a bike, security hardware provided by Free Flow, a thick lock, regular maintenance and a team working 24/7 to deter thieves and reduce theft.How do shops enroll?
After filling out an Interest Form, we'll reach out to learn more about your situation, help you choose rates and features, and give you access to start listing bikes. Starting with as little as one bike model, you just need to upload some clean photos and basic details about the bike for us to pull more details on our own and start marketing it on our site.
You don't pay anything upfront, and you don't sign anything until a customer requests a subscription from your shop.How does this convert to sales?
Directly and quickly.
In all seriousness, the best way for shops to view subscriptions is that customers want to pay to test-ride your products. Not every single customer will convert right away, but they'll build a relationship with your shop as they get more and more comfortable with biking and more and more invested in your shop's brand. We also give little nudges like our monthly emails that give customers an option to cancel their subscription and buy the bike outright.What's the difference between your Bike Library and Bike Sales sections?
The Bike Library and Bike Sales sections are two sides of the same coin and bike models can be simultaneously listed in each or only listed in one or the other.
The Bike Library shows inventory available for customers to subscribe and Bike Sales shows inventory available for customers to purchase. In some cases, a bike that a customer is currently riding can actually be bought by another customer. How do we do this? We'd love for you to ask.How do you decide how to bring the price of the bike down each month?
This is based on a number of factors that we track, but simplified it's: your payout per month less your profit and what's budgeted for labor. Basically, the wear-and-tear borne by the bike that makes it 'used'.
This is what we recommend shops using in their bookkeeping systems as the inventory write-down each month as these bikes depreciate before being sold.What is your Theft Protection Plan?
The plan consists of our agreement with customers, the lock they use, and the collateral we provide for shops to attach to their bikes in the program. From the shop's perspective, it means that if a bike is stolen and we cannot recover it within 72 hours, we purchase the bike as we continue looking for it.From the customer's perspective, it means that if their bike is stolen, they trust Free Flow and their shop to have their back. Shops whose customers have bikes stolen are equally compensated for the replacement bikes they put into service.All of Free Flow's security, protections, and theft deterrents are just that: deterrents. While the likelihood of us recovering a stolen bike is infinitely higher than the average bike, it's much easier if it's never stolen in the first place and our customers actively help us in this effort.

What kind of return can we expect?
This is different for every shop, but on average we increase retail revenue per bike by 15-40%. We also decrease inventory turnover by an average of 30-90 days, helping to generate higher total cashflow and more consistent payments. Use our Revenue Calculator to see an example on a $500 bike.How are subscriptions priced?
The basic subscription we offer is priced at a flat rate of $50 for customers, and we limit the retail bike value of these bikes to the $400-600 range. We also offer the ability to set your own price and use higher-valued bikes as you wish.How do shops get paid?
All payments to shops come from Free Flow LLC as either an ACH payment or PayPal transfer. These payments are scheduled monthly, but you can also change the frequency to happen biweekly, weekly, or immediately as payments clear. You never touch a customer's card information. Please get in touch with us if you'd like to accept cash.
These payouts also come with itemized invoices that break down what has been withheld by Free Flow for our services.What happens if a bike is damaged beyond what you budget for wear-and-tear?
In the event that a bike receives more damage, broken parts, or unexpected repairs than are covered by maintenance payments—you submit documentation of the damage and cost so you can be reimbursed by us on your next payout. Customers are liable and we will collect payment from them, but shops only need to rely on us for payouts.
If the damage exceeds the fair value of the bike, we purchase the bike and will collect it to be recycled.What kind of insurance do shops need to be a part of this program? Do you sell insurance?
This depends on your insurance company and policies on your store, but most business owner policies for bike shops cover rentals. As a general rule: if rentals are covered, so are subscriptions (again, double-check with your agent). Liability is the same as for all labor and repairs.No, we do not sell insurance.Is our private information safe?
Your privacy and the security of your data is important to us, and we encourage you to read our Privacy Policy. We use secure encryption at all levels of our website to protect your shop, your operations data, and to keep customers' information safe.We've put a lot of thought and consideration into the technology we use to protect bikes against theft. We don't track routes, where customers go, or what they do with their bikes—that's their business. Our hardware provides us limited information that helps us prevent theft, and helps us track down thieves and push for felony-level charges when thefts occur.So, what is Free Flow's business exactly?
Free Flow Bike is a bike subscription service. For bike shops, this means we bring together all the elements required to profitably sell bike subscriptions through your shop, and we then help you fulfill those orders.Everything we do is based on trust, but it is also shaped by our Vision and Mission which are the long-term compass for our organization.

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