Sheldon Brown's experience in bicycle repair goes back to his childhood.
"I hung out at a local bike shop and also used to hang out at the town dump.
I'd notice nearly complete bicycles that had been thrown away, and I'd piece
together complete ones to sell for pocket money as a teenager," he says.
Now, he works at bicycle shop, where he makes the hiring decisions. What
does he look for in a bike mechanic?
"Experience in a shop is very desirable, though we occasionally hire trainees,"
Brown says. "Ingenuity and a can-do spirit are important, but not to the extent
that it gets in the way of doing the job right. Good work habits are important,
too."
To anyone considering this career, Brown offers some advice. "Do it only
if you love bicycles. Nobody gets rich in this business."
Bernie Jacques is a volunteer with a bike commuters' society, which is
far from a typical bicycle shop. "We repair rather than replace, and we make
things work using whatever means are available," he says. "Our clients are
usually low-income persons, and we help them with their transportation problems
by rebuilding or helping them to rebuild old bikes."
Jacques began to repair bicycles in order to provide his children with
good bikes through the years. "I am also a tinkerer by nature, and [this job]
is the ultimate tinkering of 'creating' new bikes from old ones. You gotta
love junk to do this!"
But he warns that you need certain skills to go along with your love of
bikes. "If you're doing it for the love of cycling alone, don't," he cautions.
"You need mechanical aptitude, a moderate passion for cycling and a head
for business, because the average bike shop sees you as a revenue producer,
not a bicycle guy."
For years, Jenny Skorcz didn't realize that she had mechanical aptitude.
She went to college on a music scholarship, then dropped out of school and
eventually became a bicycle messenger. Her parents were a little concerned
about her career choice.
"I had to make them understand it was what I had to do. I found learning
about mechanics very satisfying," she explains. "Becoming involved with cycling
has given me a great deal of personal confidence and inner strength. I think
that's why I took to it and stuck with it."
Skorcz now teaches at the Barnett Bicycle Institute and is a licensed race
mechanic who has worked such events as the junior national championships.
She also writes technical columns and essays for a women's cycling club newsletter.
Skorcz adds that she loves her career. "Being part of the cycling world
is liberating. Bikes can be treated like toys, but they can also become the
vehicles for change in people's lives."
Dana Bandy is an instructor and the administrator of a training institute
for bicycle mechanics and frame builders.
Bandy feels that certification is becomming more important in the industry.
"The bicycle industry is getting to be like the ski industry was a few years
ago. Certification is becoming more important as liability concerns escalate."
What skills do students need in order to become a bike mechanic?
"Mechanical aptitude is more important than a high school diploma," says Bandy.
"We have had some students enter class having barely held a wrench before.
All students are teachable, but those who are more mechanically inclined definiitely
excel more easily."