We Don't Know How Many Bike Mechanics Are in Canada. That's a Problem.

As a new bike mechanic (since June), albeit in the US, this is really interesting, especially the part about it being seasonal.

I love doing it. But there's just not enough work to have me full time or even half time. They have me coming in one day a week, and I'm pretty sure they'll keep doing that even if the work isn't there, but I think they (and me) were hoping the work would support more hours for me. They did tell me that they didn't want to lose me.

It's what I call a "high end" shop - we have less expensive bikes, but we also regularly sell the high end models that go for 5 figures. So, they want people they can trust to handle bikes like that without a problem. I will admit being nervous while test riding a $12k road bike I'd just assembled... "Don't wreck. Don't wreck." I was also asked to clean a set of $8k Mielenstein Lightweight wheels (mostly famous as the wheels you can win on Zwift on the Alpe d'Zwift). I had to ride someone's high end tri-bike to test the shifting, which was the first time I'd ridden one, and that was a stressful experience, too.

I'm working on a second job to cover when the mechanic work is slow. I do hope it picks up.

Comments

limelight79 @lemmy.world 4d ago
As a new bike mechanic (since June), albeit in the US, this is really interesting, especially the part about it being seasonal.
I love doing it. But there's just not enough work to have me full time or even half time. They have me coming in one day a week, and I'm pretty sure they'll keep doing that even if the work isn't there, but I think they (and me) were hoping the work would support more hours for me. They did tell me that they didn't want to lose me.
It's what I call a "high end" shop - we have less expensive bikes, but we also regularly sell the high end models that go for 5 figures. So, they want people they can trust to handle bikes like that without a problem. I will admit being nervous while test riding a $12k road bike I'd just assembled... "Don't wreck. Don't wreck." I was also asked to clean a set of $8k Mielenstein Lightweight wheels (mostly famous as the wheels you can win on Zwift on the Alpe d'Zwift). I had to ride someone's high end tri-bike to test the shifting, which was the first time I'd ridden one, and that was a stressful experience, too.
I'm working on a second job to cover when the mechanic work is slow. I do hope it picks up.