Mountain Biking - Working in a bike shop

Well, being low on cash sucks, so I've decided to get a job, something that I can do after school and no more than one day on the weekend. I'm pretty sure I could get a job at a supermarket or something, but I would really like to work in a bike shop. Thing is, im 17 and I've never worked in a bike shop before. Fixing bikes is nothing new to me though, I've been doing the routine stuff (spokes, flats, cranks, BB, all that good stuff) on my bikes since I was 10, and I've pretty much rebuilt my rockhopper from all the stuff that keeps breaking. What I was wondering was if I could do a sort of internship/part-time sort of thing for minimum wage (or less since minium wage in San Francisco is 8.82 now), so I can get some experience and maybe move to full time during the summer, when I'll be 18. What do you guys think?

Working at a lbs and making money? Depends on where you live I guess.

I don't even want to make that much money really, 80 a week would be perfectly fine.

Oh, and I've also been working since I was 14 pretty much. Sports camp in the summer, crappy little visitor center during the school year, but I'm too old to do that now.

I started out with little or no experience as well when I was 17. Most shops don't mind. As I was told it's "less to break down". That's why Marines are so young, right? Anyway, most shops are glad to have a part timer to take out the trash, grab coffee and assemble comfort bikes. It's fun and you really get a good feel for the business. I met a lot of cool people this way...unfortunately I had to quit in search of more money, but since then I've worked at several other shops and worked myself up the ranks to a mechanic. Have you applied anywhere?

I haven't, I will this saturday though. Should I get a formal resume or something, or just show up and inquire with the manager?

Go with the formal resume. It might be overkill for the bike shop but it gives you practice for later on in life when it really will matter. Dress decent and keep eye contact with the manager. Good Luck!

Working in a shop is pretty cool. Best part? Discounts. Worst parts? Discounts.