Easy As Building A Bike – UX/UI Case Study

Easy As
Building A Bike

Problem

The bicycle builder app solves the problem of cyclists feeling restricted when trying to personalize their bikes. Normally, when people buy bikes, they’re limited to pre-made options and can’t customize much. This can be frustrating, especially for those who have specific preferences for their bikes. This app lets users customize different parts of their bikes, like the frame, color, and accessories, so they can create a bike that fits their style and needs perfectly.

Objective

Create an app tailored to both novice and experienced bike riders, offering comprehensive assistance in managing bicycle repairs and solutions.
This app aims to help cyclists by giving them detailed info about bike parts, making it easier to understand and maintain their bikes. New riders can learn about different parts and what they do, while experienced ones can use it to pick the right parts or fix problems. Overall, it makes biking better by boosting confidence and making repairs and upgrades simpler.

Process

Challenges

Ensuring accurate and up-to-date information about bike parts.
Addressing the wide range of bicycle models and brands.
Designing a user-friendly interface suitable for both novice and experienced cyclists.
Managing the technical complexities of integrating various specifications and maintenance tips into the app.
Maintaining engagement and relevance over time as the cycling industry evolves.

User Needs

Comprehensive information not only about customizable parts but also for repair and maintenance purposes.

Ability to create and save multiple bike builds within the app for future reference and modification.

Users require guidance throughout the customization process, especially if they are not experienced cyclists or bike builders.

The app could incorporate features such as user forums, social media integration, or a gallery of user-submitted bike designs to create inspiration, and sharing of experiences among users.

Research

Users are dissatisfied with current apps available.

0 %

Users stated there are features missing from currently available apps

0 %

Users have encountered technical issues such as glitches or crashes while using other building apps.

0 %

Users say existing apps lack clear and detailed information about different bike parts.

0 %

Product User Challenges

Users of bike customization apps may face several challenges during their experiences and it is important to solve these challenges.

Issues that the user may face are:

The lack of easy access to complete information about bike parts in one place can make it hard for users to make smart decisions about their custom builds.

Having trouble reliably saving bike designs can annoy users who want to come back to their designs later or make changes.

Not knowing which parts need special tools for installation or maintenance might leave users feeling unprepared and unsure about how to proceed.

Apps not having enough helpful resources, like tutorials or FAQs, could leave users feeling stuck and without support when they need it.

Technical problems, like crashes or parts of the app not working properly, can disrupt users’ experiences and make them feel annoyed.

Competitor Analysis

A custom bicycle shop based out of Bellingham Washington.

Features:

Visual Part Catalogue

The website provides a visual catalogue of customizable bike parts, allowing users to browse and select components with clear, detailed visuals.

Compatibility Checks

Users receive compatibility checks for selected parts to ensure that all components will fit together properly and function optimally.

Price Estimation

The website offers price estimation for custom bike builds, providing users with transparency and clarity on the total cost of their designs.

Ordering & Purchasing

Once users finalize their custom bike designs, they can seamlessly place orders within the app, with options for secure payment and transparent shipping policies.

Fanatik Bike Company is a mountain bike shop that specializes in custom mountain bike builds

Features:

Tutorial Videos

The app provides tutorial videos or step-by-step guides for assembling and maintaining custom bikes, helping users with the assembly process and providing maintenance tips.

Pricing Updates

Users receive real-time pricing updates for customizable parts, ensuring that they have accurate and up-to-date information on component costs as they build their bikes.

Essential Gear

The website provides detailed product descriptions for each item of bike gear, including specifications, features, sizing charts, and customer reviews.

Simulation Builder

The website offers a virtual build feature that allows users to visualize their custom bike as they select different components.

Unique Features

Unique
Features

The app allows users to view a live build of their customized bicycle in real-time, providing an interactive preview of their design choices.

The app ensures users can access crucial repair information offline, enabling them to handle emergency repairs even without an internet connection, enhancing safety and peace of mind while cycling.

The app enables users to save their custom bike builds ensuring they can revisit and modify their designs at their convenience, creating the ability for future customization and purchases.

The app provides visual identification of bike parts, enabling users to easily recognize and understand each component.

User Persona

Michael Seanders

Michael is an avid cyclist who recently has found an interest in possibly building his own bike for full customizability and choice of his parts to better his ride. Michael spends his free time planning different mountain bike routes and does lots of biking in whistler in the summer season.

Searching for

Michael would like to build a bike himself and is looking at a route to find parts so that he can eventually do just that. He has no prior knowledge and will be in contact with his local bike shop for learning resources but would prefer to learn in his spare time.

Through the app Michael is looking for parts that suit his riding style, preference, price point, as well as dimensions as he encountered an issue in the past where he purchased a bike that turned out to be the wrong size for him.

Michael wants a solution that can help him efficiently choose parts for a personal build a bike project he is wanting to build.
 

Struggling with

Through different experiences he is frustrated with the information regarding what tools might be needed for certain parts as well as compatibility among parts and descriptions of what he will need for his own personal experience.

Michael enjoys biking as a hobby but wants to spend more time riding and less time dealing with figuring out what parts he will need and returning parts that he doesn’t or even worse, parts that aren’t compatible
 Michael has ordered parts in the past where upon being excited to get them on his bike he learns that they are incorrectly fitting or he needs a specific tool to put them on properly.

Michael would like to learn more about building a bike but the resources available are very sparse or are for specific bike models