merziac

Maybe if your home shop is world class and includes the capability to repair, fully design and build from scratch, most any type, style of bike, component and frame, any material, including Ti.

Old, new, cutting edge, fantastic retro, old school and everything in between.

There is very little Dave cannot do in house. He also fabricates and produces auto and motorcycle parts that many cannot.

A frame like this is not produced start to finish including paint in "basically a home shop".

mountaindave 

The components of name brand kids bikes isn’t awful per se, but they can be challenging to set up compared to high end bikes. (Although modern Shimano road FDs are a perfect example of engineering something new just for the sake of it being new - I see zero benefit and only increased time to install and adjust.)

I can’t recall exactly what all I did wrong, but likely the seat was too high (I’m 6’2”, what can I say?), but he definitely grabbed the bars and spun them with the font wheel immobile and ended with, “Do it again.” He’s a tough love kind of guy, but he kept asking me to come back, so that says something, too.

He’s the kind of guy that, in the midst of a labor shortage, will fire a kid who is a no-show one day and is late and hung over the next. Unlike many shops, his lead mechanics are all as old as me. There are no guarantees in life, but I don’t worry about my LBS as much as I worry about others with kids wrenching and running the floor.

Oh, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a must read classic - I own two copies so I can give one away if needed.

RustyJames 

A more recent iteration of “Zen” is “Shop Class as Soulcraft”. I HIGHLY recommend it for those that get satisfaction working on stuff.

mechanicmatt

I was a bike mechanic in the 90's in high school and early college. Loved it, I am still a decent mechanic and fixer of bikes with decent speed, but I have never been fast at building bikes or doing major overhauls. Or at least shop speed, I like to take my time and romance a bike when it is new. Get to know her a bit.

Senior Ryder 00 

Hi folks,

Well, late to the party as usual.

I’ve been wrenching on bikes for a long, long time and consider myself a competent mechanic. Could I work in a bike shop environment? Maybe? Would I want to work there? At my age, no way! As other have said, I work at a leisurly pace, plus, get distracted easily.

In preparation for retirement, we became fulltime RVers in 2005. The bikes vintage bikes I kept went into storage at our home base and we took two all-rounders with us. In this mode I learned the value of co-ops since I no longer had a work place. Sometimes I volunteered, others just used their available work space.

After 11 years of the vagabond lifestyle & 5 years of full retirement, we settled back into a permanent residence. For the last 5 years, I’ve been volunteering at our local co-op doing primarily refurbs. Started with one 5 hour shift the 1st year & added a second one the second year. When the Covid restrictions were enacted, I took a short sabbatical. For the last 20 months I’ve been working from home doing about a bike a week. Alternating between road/city bikes and MTBs/ hybrids. During my on-site time, I mainly did department store “redos”. We got a lot of barely used donations that people had ridden for a short time & than parked because they were not assembled or adjusted properly. I could turn two of these per shift into safe, reliable, functioning bikes with minimum investment.

My volunteer time provides me with parts for my projects at a discount.

Several years ago, we were having a custom home built. I asked the contractor if there was anything I could help with? His reply was that it depended on my skill set and tools. He also commented that a hobbyist could often do as well as a professional, but took more time.

Cheers,

Van

jdawginsc 

All I know is that NO mechanic can remove the front derailleur/bottom bracket mount without hurting their hands...

Ask how I know.

noglider 

I have been a shop mechanic many times over many years. Most of the build posts I see here indicate to me that most of here in C&V are competent. I'm no longer fast at most bike jobs but there are a few that I'm super fast at. For instance, I can change a tube and put a bike back on the road before you can blink. I'm still fast at building and truing wheels as long as the components are old-school standard. One reason I'm slow is that my stuff isn't organized or neatly laid out, and my workshop is too small for the job. There are other reasons I probably don't need to list. (That's a straightman line. Have at me.)

52telecaster

I'm fairly fast at wheel building and I used to work in a shop. Several actually but my skills are definitely for older bikes. When doing initial builds, which I did a lot, I got extremely fast but it greatly depends on the manufacturer.

Ronsonic 

A gruntling outlook.

dedhed

I recently picked it up on someone's recommendation but haven't read it yet.

Ronsonic 

I'm a technician doing mostly music electronics and mechanics. Rebuild Rhodes pianos, guitar amps, pro audio and high end home audio gear. Most of the skill set transfers over. So, mostly ept. A pro bike mechanic has experience and feel I won't. I'm pretty good, but my LBSs are extraordinary.

bamboobike4

I can do in 8 hours what a good shop wrench can do in 2. It’s a gift.

Actually, when I was wrenching every day, I was better.

That’s how you get your bike to Carnegie Hall.

I currently wrench to lantern light. 8 D batteries last about 3 hours brightly, then, not.
I also have 2 X-Torches from Shark Tank. They are great.
I can sometimes clip them to the bike for direct light at a specific spot.

Not bad until you drop something.


This is with 2 lanterns and using a flash. It’s never this light.

Glennfordx4

If I was younger yeah I could do it and do it now when I'm needed. My first Bicycle Mechanics job started in 2008 when I turned 40yrs old and wasn't bad. I got to learn stuff almost everyday, show me once and I'm good. I now mostly rebuild used bikes and sell them out of the shop I was working at which I like doing. Our shop is in a tourist town full of Beach Cruisers & everything in between, we get lots of vintage low end bikes that we do work on! We don't get the latest & greatest bikes in great numbers but are equipped to work on them. I was a Small Engine/Power Equipment mechanic & had my own shop 12 yrs so I know how to move and work at a fast pace.

Glenn

ascherer 

My epitutde ranking is fine in the C&V realm, plus indexed drivetrains. Zero experience with frame building, carbon anything, discs, hydraulics, e-shifting. I feel like I'd figure it out. Not shop fast by any stretch but I always surprise myself how quickly I can do a full stripdown and rebuild, or lace up and true a wheel set. Wrenching is a happy place for me and I learned very early on to keep those things for myself and not try to make a living from them, lest they lose all their joy. Photography was another.

bamboobike4

I just brought donuts to work.
I looked in the bag and found a new cable end cap.
The first thing that came to mind was not "what is it doing there?" but: "it looks like a shifter cable cap, not a brake cable cap. I need to hang onto this."

I also found a dongle for a wireless mouse.
No idea how either got in there, or even what mouse the dongle works with.
I'm a bit ept at computers, too.
Except Bitlocker.
I hate Bitlocker.

BTinNYC

in·ept
/iˈnept/
adjective

1. having or showing no skill; clumsy.
2. BT's failure to troubleshoot ghost shifting

bikamper

I'm a heavy equipment mechanic by trade, at least until the end of June. Not many M5 screws to deal with during my workday. Bike wrenching is therapy.

A couple years ago, I did work weekends in a local shop because the owner knew of my experience on older bikes, especially SA hubs. I also have a background in modern IG hubs. Don't like them, but I can work on them. Could I keep up with the shop lead? No way. Work on a several thousand dollar full suspension mountain bike? Certainly, but I won't be fast. Diagnose a problem with a bike with E-shift. Maybe, but I'd rather slam my hand, repeatedly, in a car door. Because the shop lead and other wrenches were younger than my kids, they'd ask me about an older bike they'd be working on and I'd defer to them on the new stuff.

After closing time, splitting a 12 pack with the boss and the youngsters on the back steps was about the best part of the day.

BFisher 

Almost can't overvalue good lighting. All kinds of stuff ends up hiding in plain sight without it.

BTinNYC

/iˈnept/
adjective

1. having or showing no skill; clumsy.
2. BT's failure to troubleshoot ghost shifting
3. Regularly bending derailleur hangar when attached to trainer

branko_76 

A few years ago I went to a local bike shop to get parts for my 1974 Raleigh Grand Prix restoration, cables, chain, tires, etc. The owner of the shop asked if I was a mechanic, I said no but that I had been restoring bikes for over 30 years. He then asked if I wanted a job in his shop. I don't need a job but was curious how much he would pay, he said $11.00 per hour under the table. I thanked him and said I'd think about it. At the time I was amused but slightly offended, but reading the above post made me realize that $11.00 for someone like me is a pretty good deal. I make much less than that meticulously restoring vintage bikes that I find and resell.

cv350

Another vote for “Shop Class as Soulcraft”. I first read this book a decade ago and it really resonated with me. It still does.

bboy314

Something to consider for anyone wondering why their local shop mechanics aren’t more experienced… you get what you pay for.

Germany_chris

While my my day job isn't totally office bound on my last rotation back to the states I took a job at an AutoZone the job was NY minimum wage plus a couple of bucks, I worked a couple days a week and it was great. I stocked some shelves, helped the folks that needed old stuff or basic diagnostics i.e. a dude came in looking for points for a '58 Chevy truck or a guy that had bought a new carburetor and after installation had a high idle. The end state was my manager hired a guy who could deal with weird while he wasn't there, I got to do a job that kept me thinking without having to answer "what oil do I need for my '14 Camry, can you test my battery, I bought this wrong alternator 6 months ago and it blew up etc. and the best part of all of it I wasn't the boss. I'll rotate back to the states in 2024 after I get there I'll volunteer and a shop or co-op and do much of the same thing for bikes the money isn't the important thing it'll be cheaper to work on customers bike vs. my own and it should scratch the work on it itch.

Darth Lefty 

I'm not ept much less quick but my labor is free.

This is... not enough. The part of the narrator that natters on about this stuff is not a complete person and lacking the exceptional part of his character. The other half of his bipolar character, suppressed by electroshock therapy and now escaping, rails at the self indulgence of it. The romantic side that looks outward to relationships with people is required to complete the character.

Part of why making things look good is important to sell them, when form fails to much follow function.

mountaindave 

I'm not super speedy either, but I have enough skills to make myself useful at the LBS and I absolutely love volunteering at the co-op. The latter doesn't require extreme speed; I'm often teaching others how to do things, so they are slower than me. Volunteering at a co-op is a very worthy endeavor if you want to share your skills without the pressure of working at an LBS.