Help me become a bike mechanic!!!

[Leigh73]

This is my first foray into forums so please be gentle!
My name's Leigh, I've been cycling my whole life and have a real passion for 2 wheels. I've recently just lost my job in the music "industry" and have decided that I really need a career change, and one for the better, in something I really enjoy as I'll be reaching that big 4-oh! next year and really need to make this decision count. I want to get my foot in the door of bike maintenance and would love to become a qualified bike mechanic. I've been researching this for weeks and time and time again keep coming across the same problem - To get up the qualifications ladder you already need to be in a bike mechanic job and to get a bike mechanic's job you need to have the experience and to get the experience you need to have done the qualifications. Yet another vicious circle in life! I know you can fork out money to do Cytech training and the likes on your own, but funds are tight right now as I've nothing coming in and living off an overdraft! I've already got the basic knowledge needed in most maintenance issues and have been swapping components on my bikes for years so does anyone out there have any ideas or tips I could use or maybe something I have missed to help me on my crusade?! Would it be worth my while approaching local bike shops and offering my time for a few hours a day (unpaid) to get more knowledge and training? I've looked into apprenticeships but they all seem to be geared towards people between the age of 16 - 25. Would anyone be willing to take on a 39 year old apprentice?!! Hmmm...
BTW, I live in the Essex area and would be happy to commute to London if need be, should anyone know of anything in the South-East area. All comments are welcome and very much appreciated.
Thanks for letting me ramble on and letting me into your community, I look forward to hearing from some of you as and when.

 

[Banjo]

I know some companies offer courses in Bike Mechanics.

If you are unemployed you may qualify for financial help to pay for the course.

Try asking at the job center or contact one of the schools directly tell them your position and they may point you in the right direction. Good Luck

PS tyhis site may be usefull http://cytech.uk.com/

 

[Pale Rider]

Some local authorities/charitable or other bodies run bike recycling schemes in which stolen recovered but unclaimed bikes and bikes from other sources are recycled as either complete bikes or stripped and sold for parts.

Such schemes are run by a mixture of paid staff and volunteers.

Volunteering would enable you to put your tinkering skills to good use, and could lead to other things.

At the very least, it would be a first entry for your bike mechanic's CV.

 

[sidevalve]

Banjo is right about the job centre, thay can be very helpful in finding training and any available benefits etc. Also try to find if there are any bicycle recycling schemes in your area. They are often run by volunteers are usually happy to have any help available and may be able to find you some possible usefull "contacts".

 

[Big boy]

as above really the job centre is a good place to ask about funding / courses.
Depending on how confident you are try advertising in the local paper , theres plenty of people about who cant do the most basic of repairs.
Ask for all the relevant paperwork at the tax office and go for it.
A lot of bike shops employ spotty kids to do the basics, im sure that you will be fine.
Oh and welcome to the forum

 

[Leigh73]

Thanks guys, this is all really useful information. I'll be looking into all of it. I also found a 2 day course for "level 2" bike maintenance run by Hammersmith council for adult learners which covers wheel truing, hub adjustments, gear tuning and the like for £5 so the ball is beginning to roll.
S'all good =)

 

[hoopdriver]

Try The Bike Inn in Spalding. They offer a City & Guilds course in bicycle mechanics. I took it a few years ago and it was excellent. Two weeks of intensive instruction and the qualification afterwards.

 

[Graham]

as above really the job centre is a good place to ask about funding / courses.
Depending on how confident you are try advertising in the local paper , theres plenty of people about who cant do the most basic of repairs.
Ask for all the relevant paperwork at the tax office and go for it.
A lot of bike shops employ spotty kids to do the basics, im sure that you will be fine.
Oh and welcome to the forum

I've thought about this myself. Bicycles are not complicated, you just need a few specialist tools. Just go for it and see what happens - I can't see that you would need too much start up cash. Advertise in the local posh magazine to richer people who have the cash to spend on getting their bikes repaired but don't have time to do it themselves. buy stuff in bulk off ebay e.g. bearings / grease / cleaner etc. Sorry if I'm suggesting things you haven't got cash for, but if you can muster £500.......

 

[Cyclopathic]

It's something I'm thinking about so let me know how things go. I was very much thinking of doing it for myself because as people say a lot of the jobs are fairly straight forward and a lot of people don't have the time or the tools. I have both (need a few more tools but who doesn't) so am going to give it a try. I'm just clearing out the shed and looking to get some insurance and I'm going to give it a whirl.
It would be interesting to know someone else having a go at this. I looked at the cytec course but it looked hugely expensive so am thinking about the city and guilds.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Would you consider working for yourself as a mobile mechanic? Could be a good way in. I was an IT consultant for many years and there's no shame in hiring the services of others; you're not expected to have all the answers all the time, but you are expected to get things fixed.

 

[Leigh73]

City and Guilds is again another option I'd like to pursue but it's still pretty costly, unless funding was available... I'd rather be spending what little money I have in extending the necessary toolkit!! You can never have enough tools!

 

[Leigh73]

Banjo is right about the job centre, thay can be very helpful in finding training and any available benefits etc. Also try to find if there are any bicycle recycling schemes in your area. They are often run by volunteers are usually happy to have any help available and may be able to find you some possible usefull "contacts".

Indeed there is a local bike recycling scheme and I have just emailed them to offer them my services and to gain further experience. *fingers crossed*
Top banana.

 

[Graham]

Indeed there is a local bike recycling scheme and I have just emailed them to offer them my services and to gain further experience. *fingers crossed*
Top banana.

Last time I went to the local tip, there was a container open (you know, one of the big ones that goes on ships) and it was full of bikes in various states of repair. There was also a guy fixing them but he definitely could have used a bit of help. Maybe you could do something like that? Ideal for learning a few things I expect.

 

[Cyclopathic]

Indeed there is a local bike recycling scheme and I have just emailed them to offer them my services and to gain further experience. *fingers crossed*
Top banana.

It is exactly what I did. I have been volunteering my services at Cyclemagic in Leicester (Unfortunately now closing down but that's a whole other story) and I've learned a lot, not least that it's something I could conceivably do. Cyclemagic have themselves been really useful to me and are helping me out with some of the finer points of fixing bikes for other people for money. I recommend volunteering like this as it give you a good insight into what is involved. Cyclemagic were especially good from this point of view as they operated as a bike shop open to the public as well as being a recycling enterprise not to mention the core of their work which was about adapting bikes for people with specific needs to very exacting specifications as well as events and promotions. In the couple of years I've been working with them I've learned a lot so good luck with finding something similar. I don't think you'll regret it.

 

[Leigh73]

It is exactly what I did. I have been volunteering my services at Cyclemagic in Leicester (Unfortunately now closing down but that's a whole other story) and I've learned a lot, not least that it's something I could conceivably do. Cyclemagic have themselves been really useful to me and are helping me out with some of the finer points of fixing bikes for other people for money. I recommend volunteering like this as it give you a good insight into what is involved. Cyclemagic were especially good from this point of view as they operated as a bike shop open to the public as well as being a recycling enterprise not to mention the core of their work which was about adapting bikes for people with specific needs to very exacting specifications as well as events and promotions. In the couple of years I've been working with them I've learned a lot so good luck with finding something similar. I don't think you'll regret it.

That's great, and very encouraging, thanks! I'm looking forward to hearing from them to see what they say.