Find the nearest bike shop
For when a spoke goes or the gears won’t shift. It finds the nearest bike shops and repair places from where you are, or along the route you’re riding, and says which are open.
Open now, and how to get there
Each shop shows how far away it is, whether it’s open now and when it closes, as long as someone has put the hours on the map. There are buttons to ring them, open their website or get directions in your phone’s maps app.
Ringing first is worth it. A shop with its mechanic off for the week won’t fix much.
What it looks for first
Pick how you’re travelling and it puts what you’re likely to need first. On a bike that’s bike shops, then outdoor shops for stove gas and a new tent pole, then chemists. On a boat it starts with chandleries, in a van with garages.
Repair stands count too. They’re a post with tools and a pump on it, often outside stations and cafés. There’s nobody to help, but they’ve rescued plenty of rides.
Along your route
Load the GPX of the ride and it looks for bike shops near the line, in the order you’ll reach them, so you can decide whether to get that new chain in the next town or wait for a bigger one.
A simplified copy of the line goes to Pebbls’ server to find the shops (or to OpenStreetMap’s, if ours isn’t answering). It’s only used for that search and isn’t saved.
Where the shops come from
Everything here comes from OpenStreetMap, the map that volunteers draw and keep up to date. Pebbls keeps its own copy and refreshes it every week. It’s very good for bike shops in towns and thinner in the countryside.
If a shop has closed or one is missing, the link under the list lets you add a note on OpenStreetMap. A local mapper reads it and fixes the map, and the change shows here within a week or so.
Questions people ask
How does it find bike shops near me?
It looks in Pebbls’ copy of OpenStreetMap for bike shops, other shops that say they do bike repairs, and public repair stands, within 5 km of you. If there are fewer than five it looks further, up to 15 km and then 40 km.
Can it find other things too?
Yes. Tap More above the results to add drinking water, food shops, toilets, showers, cash machines, campsites and the rest. It’s one tool, called Places you’ll need.
Does it show bike repair places that aren’t bike shops?
Yes. Some sports shops, hire places and workshops do repairs and say so on the map, and they’re listed with the shops. Repair stands, with tools and a pump but no staff, are listed too.
How do I know if a shop is open?
When the shop’s hours are on OpenStreetMap it says whether it’s open now and when it next closes or opens, in the shop’s own time zone. Hours aren’t always there or up to date, so ring if you’re going out of your way.
Can I find bike shops along a route?
Yes. Choose a GPX, KML or FIT file of the route and pick how far off it you’d go, from 1 to 10 km. The shops are listed in the order you’ll pass them, with how far along the route each one is.
How up to date is it?
Pebbls keeps its own copy of OpenStreetMap and refreshes it every week, which is why answers come back quickly. Anything added to the map today shows here within a week or so.
Does it use my location?
Only if you press Use my location and say yes when your browser asks. A rounded version of it, to about 100 metres, goes to Pebbls’ server to find the shops. It’s only used for that search.
A shop on the list has closed. How do I fix it?
Press Wrong or closed? under it. That opens OpenStreetMap at the shop, where you can leave a note saying what’s changed. Local mappers read the notes and update the map.
These places come from OpenStreetMap, a map that volunteers keep up to date. Our copy of it is refreshed every week. Some will be out of date, so ring before you go out of your way.