OPINION
standards, things that extend beyond the job of the mechanic, as well as specific modules for e-bikes. Harrison: “You have so many opportunities. It’s not just being a bike mechanic yourself. You could then potentially be a bike business owner, you could work for a race team, you could be a trainer yourself. There’s so many different offshoots from this, and there’s so many different types of bicycles. It’s not just seeing the mechanic in a bike shop. That’s why I always try and use the term ‘technician’.”
Another way to bring people into the industry is by retraining those out of work. Both XO Bikes in Lewisham, south London, and Life Cycle in Bristol are organisations training ex-offenders or prisoners in cycle maintenance, in order to help them find work and reintegrate into society. XO Bikes recently doubled its training time to 14 weeks to prepare ex-offenders for the commercial workshop. Once trained, according to founder Stef Jones, these mechanics want to work and are loyal to those offering them a second chance. The best mechanics will find placements quickly, and some will use their newfound skills and confidence in a different industry, but with apprentices recycling abandoned
28 | October 2025
bikes, they can sell good bikes at a relatively low cost, including via XO’s own Re-Cycle to Work scheme, as well as offering maintenance. In Copenhagen, according to van Dijk, similar programmes help people on low incomes access cheap
bikes for work and general transport. Meanwhile, those riding high-end bikes should be
willing to pay a premium for a skilled technician to work on their machine. Van Dijk believes the industry could model itself on the automotive trade in many ways. “If you
‘THE AUTOMOTIVE
INDUSTRY HAS A BIG SKILL ALLIANCE; THERE’S A COMPLETE ECOSYSTEM, AND THEY ARE QUITE GOOD AT REPRESENTING THEMSELVES AS AN
ATTRACTIVE INDUSTRY TO WORK IN. SO THE YOUTH MIGHT SEE IT AS MORE SEXY OR ATTRACTIVE THAN BIKES; IT’S FAST CARS.’
cycle to work and your bike stops working next to a highway, you don’t know what to do, whereas in a car, you know what to do. If we don’t provide the same support, you can’t become as attractive, and to do that, you need mechanics.” “The automotive industry has a big skill alliance; there’s a complete ecosystem, and they are quite good at representing themselves as an attractive industry to work in. So the youth might see it as more sexy or attractive than bikes; it’s fast cars.” However, with plug-in diagnostics,
the opportunities to get into the nuts and bolts of a car are fewer, which could mean the bike industry is more attractive to some youngsters again. It’s a case of grasping
that opportunity as an industry.
www.bikebiz.com
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