This design project was conducted to explore the potential of Design-for-DIY to support product retention of city bikes in the Netherlands. The current situation poses an unsustainable relationship with bicycles, where they are left to decay until they hold no functional value anymore.

Bicycle owners don’t care for their bikes because they are valued purely for their functionality and because it is easy to get cheap replacements.

In order to increase retention, it is essential to keep the value of the bike high before repair is needed. We could focus on repair, but people don’t feel motivated to repair things that they don’t care about.

Therefore, we should design for emotional value through product attachment. Within the field of Design-for-DIY, this can be achieved through maintenance and making. I propose that in both cases, the pleasure of the process is a determining factor. Maintenance and making only lead to product attachment when it is pleasurable. Repair was found to be inherently unpleasurable for laymen because of its unpredictability, while the making process can be controlled by the designer to adjust to the skill level of the maker.

This project combines the benefits of making with those of maintenance by providing a way to replace broken bike parts with DIY alternatives. In this way, the self-made parts will make the bike more unique and lead to emotional value in the form of product attachment. Maintenance can simultaneously lead to social value, because the result becomes visible. And finally, the concept shows the potential to increase repair confidence for future repairs.

The concept: UpKeep bicycles
The final concept is an open source family of eight bicycle parts focused on reducing the feeling of degradation of the bike. Contrary to DIY project this concept highlights the importance of making together to build confidence and to create a pleasurable experience.

Therefore, the concept should be hosted in bike stores, makerspaces and bicycle kitchens around the Netherlands. To create awareness, a website was made with all the relevant resources. Customers can use it to find a workshop nearby, and it also provides a platform for workshop hosts and the rest of the community to share ideas and continue development of the bicycle parts after this project.

The project creates a starting point for future development by providing insights about creating pleasure in the making process, summarised in a set of guidelines for the community.

Three parts were prototyped (fender, bell and chain guard) during this project, showing the feasibility of making bicycle parts that are of similar quality to industrially produced ones. A workshop was designed around making a chain guard that was tested with 7 participants. The workshop was found to be highly pleasurable and led to an increase in bicycle attachment, and repair confidence. Showing the potential for this concept to increase bicycle retention.