LOCKDOWN - New Vocation - Cycle Servicing?

[justbackdated]

Re:

And don't forget your liability insurance!

 

[one_bad_mofo]

There's currently a thread on this very subject on a private cycle industry forum. [Don't bother going to look for it, unless you can prove you're in the business you'll never get an invite to join].

The general consensus is that this is just a pleasant bubble for the trade. Lots of people who like tinkering with bikes have found time on their hands and are seeing the mass uptake in cycling, but what happens once normality starts to return? Those of us who have been in the trade for a long time have seen it all before boom-bust. The last time it happened was after the 2012 Olympics.

Ask yourself this is the likes of Evans, Cycle Republic and Cycle Surgery can't stay open then what hope have you got? These were big operations with the buying power that allowed them to get serious wholesale discounts, how much do you think you'd be able to buy your spares for? Oh and consider the cost of tools, public liability insurance, and more.

To put this in perspective, six years ago I wrote a piece on the founder of Cycle Tech UK and he reckoned you'd need to spend around £10 20K to be able to outfit and stock a van as a mobile cycle mechanic.

Please don't think I'm trying to piss on your chips but I'd hate to see someone go into this and then face the reality of how shit it can be.

 

[TOMAS]

There's currently a thread on this very subject on a private cycle industry forum. [Don't bother going to look for it, unless you can prove you're in the business you'll never get an invite to join].

The general consensus is that this is just a pleasant bubble for the trade. Lots of people who like tinkering with bikes have found time on their hands and are seeing the mass uptake in cycling, but what happens once normality starts to return? Those of us who have been in the trade for a long time have seen it all before boom-bust. The last time it happened was after the 2012 Olympics.

Ask yourself this is the likes of Evans, Cycle Republic and Cycle Surgery can't stay open then what hope have you got? These were big operations with the buying power that allowed them to get serious wholesale discounts, how much do you think you'd be able to buy your spares for? Oh and consider the cost of tools, public liability insurance, and more.

To put this in perspective, six years ago I wrote a piece on the founder of Cycle Tech UK and he reckoned you'd need to spend around £10 20K to be able to outfit and stock a van as a mobile cycle mechanic.

Please don't think I'm trying to piss on your chips but I'd hate to see someone go into this and then face the reality of how shit it can be.

Appreciate any feedback of people, so with my current (possibly soon to be previous job) I have walked into all manner of businesses over the last 17 years and sat down with directors and listen to the woes of 'where it all went wrong' - giving rise to why i'm in attendance to seize their goods. I've a fair bit of experience of 'the real world' & shizzle and shenanigans it can bring.

At present i'm not looking to jump head first into it, the way i'm currently looking at it is as a small side-line to something else I may end up doing, effectively operating from home. I've more tools than I can shake a stick at that I've acquired over my 20 years of bike tinkering. My overheads for now would be very little, I have a few contacts in the trade I could possibly speak to regards a firm supply of repair/replacement parts, what i'm really focusing on is earning money for the labour side of things.

What do I have that the big boys don't - lack of expense is the biggest one, no inner-city prime spots with colossal rent, not trying to sell bikes either. So far, from a single shared social media message 48hrs ago I've had about 12 inquiries, 2 major services and got another confirmed 3 booked in over next few days - friends and family at the moment but it could grow. We have a couple of local cycle shops here in the suburbs that have been around a very long time and make a fine business of just that - if I was going whole hog I think the only way I could make it work is dealing with the average cyclist or very occasional cyclist - turnover, turnover, turnover - punctures, brake cables, gear cables, brake blocks that kinda stuff.

I've also uncovered a swathe of bikers that never ever think to crack open their forks to clean out, refresh lower leg oil/foam rings and a smear of grease on the wipers... it really is simple stuff that can transform how they operate, especially for lighter riders - most don't want to have to post them away or wait a week to get them back etc, its a very quick and simple job!

 

[legrandefromage]

I thought the vinegar was off.

Wiggle owns Evans? Weirdly a few directors of Wiggle were on the board of a sub-prime car finance company I worked for. A company that was heavily invested in by an American hedge fund only to promptly go bust owing owing £100,000,000

Look it up, its in here somewhere https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06060536

Locally, there is/ was a wholesaler that sold to small independents extending their credit so much that when it came to pay up the wholesaler took the shop. Many owners ended up as grumpy managers.

In another thread someone said that their local shop asked why they wanted 26 wheel stuff 'as nobody rides that anymore' - this and the attitude of the mechanics where I worked was very odd. Some conversations with small independents left me wandering how they were to make any money if they only wanted to concentrate on the brand new all of the time.

My time at a big store did have one effect, their service turnover went up by 10% . But only because I would take on the jobs that the other mechanics didnt want to do. They seemed happy to turn down jobs they were not comfortable with despite owners waving lots of cash at them. All these jobs were just on older road bikes or tandems. God knows how much they turned down after I left - there were customers who would seek me out to service their bikes over the familiar faces that had worked there a number of years, they had no trust in them. Yet the work was relatively simple and parts were easily available from one of the wholesalers. Yet it just wasnt glamorous enough and didnt seem to fit in with the brands ethos of being a Giant Store and all that.

Anyway, that is only my own very narrow experience - IF a job came up locally, I would give it some serious thought in the current climate

 

[one_bad_mofo]

Apologies if I was a bit ranty in my last post.

However, this is a sound piece of advice:

IF a job came up locally, I would give it some serious thought in the current climate

Until you've spent time working in a cycle shop you won't know if it's what you really want to do. In the past in the trade, I've been in cycle retail, worked as a cycle mechanic, assistant manager and store manager, I've been an importer and internet retailer and lots of work writing for consumer and trade magazines and websites, which is basically a long-winded way of saying I've been there done that and that reality very really matches the dream.

By all means, go for it but don't let it destroy you. It's not just the lack of money (the trade is notoriously badly paid), nor the attitude of potential customers that gets to most folk in the business, it's the fact that bikes are no longer fun.

These days I write the occasional freelance piece and I'm riding more than I have for years. Taking a step back has reignited my love for riding.

Anyhow, TOMAS if you want and advice or simply want to bounce ideas around I'd be happy to chat via PMs.

 

[TOMAS]

Apologies if I was a bit ranty in my last post.

However, this is a sound piece of advice:

IF a job came up locally, I would give it some serious thought in the current climate

Until you've spent time working in a cycle shop you won't know if it's what you really want to do. In the past in the trade, I've been in cycle retail, worked as a cycle mechanic, assistant manager and store manager, I've been an importer and internet retailer and lots of work writing for consumer and trade magazines and websites, which is basically a long-winded way of saying I've been there done that and that reality very really matches the dream.

By all means, go for it but don't let it destroy you. It's not just the lack of money (the trade is notoriously badly paid), nor the attitude of potential customers that gets to most folk in the business, it's the fact that bikes are no longer fun.

These days I write the occasional freelance piece and I'm riding more than I have for years. Taking a step back has reignited my love for riding.

Anyhow, TOMAS if you want and advice or simply want to bounce ideas around I'd be happy to chat via PMs.

Cheers buddy, i'll be sure to give you a shout if required, it won't destroy me... as I say i'm financially secure atm, no mortgage/rent, savings in the bank, no outstanding loans etc so i'm just gonna have a play about with it and see where it goes... I don't need to earn bombs to live off, I'd say most of my big earning years were over the last decade. Happy maybe for now, especially with talk of tax hikes etc, to maybe cut back a bit (or a lot) and not continue to line the pockets of the treasury as I quite have in the past, well until this all blows over...

 

[d8mok]

Re:

Slightly off topic but kinda relevant - why will your old job come to a end? I would of assumed that it would of been booming once things stabilise a bit with the virus. Lots of companies and people will be going under and surely that’ would mean even more work for you?

Ps Are you Paul Bolehill under a different name?

 

[legrandefromage]

My furlough has been extended indefinitely, or at least until the Government support ends so I am also considering what to do next. Given the amount of soon to be unemployed, I am a bit worried.

 

[Graham_hkr]

My furlough has been extended indefinitely, or at least until the Government support ends

End of October then!

 

[TOMAS]

Re: Re:

Slightly off topic but kinda relevant - why will your old job come to a end? I would of assumed that it would of been booming once things stabilise a bit with the virus. Lots of companies and people will be going under and surely that’ would mean even more work for you?

Ps Are you Paul Bolehill under a different name?

No i'm not Paul haha, currently work for one of their competitors, doing the same thing, on my own and only ever featured on a foreign TV documentary, not Can't Pay lol.... Yes from all accounts the industry will be booming, however I think it will also be changing a lot, there is such thing as a busy fool... Booming yes but with all the big firms paying out on pure commission only, it will unquestionably be harder then ever, I am also of the firm opinion that there will be 'restrictions' put in place to make it more favorable for the 'customer' going forwards. I've had a good run at it, 17 years and 24,000 door knocks but for me, quite possibly time to get out...