Hi all, im thinking about starting a Mobile bike mechanic service and wanted to pick some brains.

Ive seen a few offering this type of thing both in the UK and Europe and it seems like an interesting way of utilizing my experience of being a qualified and experienced bike mechanic while keeping overheads low.

My idea is to offer an on call service so a customer could call me out to there home or place of work and while im waiting for calls to come in set up in the local square and tout for passing trade.

So my question is this, what would need in terms of business licenses, insurance that sort of thing?

My initial idea would be to do this part time around my current job but do any of you think this may be sustainable as a full time job in a small city like Peterborough?

Id really like to avoid the cost and pollution of a car or van so would want to run it from a Work cycle similar to The BikeMan or am i being too optimistic about the practicality side if this?

Any other advice, ideas or constructive criticism welcomed 🙂

Sean at http://www.cycle-systems-academy.co.uk started out as a one man outfit in central London with a bike equipped with specialist panniers from http://www.openhouseproducts.com

His company runs courses to give you an "industry" qualification and you may be able to pick his brains (if you can pin him down) whilst your there.

His mobile mechanics (reluctantly) use those BIG Dutch bikes for getting to jobs but i'd rethink the idea if its hilly where you are as they weigh a ton unloaded, let alone once kitted with tools and spares.

Consider getting into the corporate companies offering a fix it at work type of deal as well as "home" repairs.

One of Seans guys split and has set up a similar company.

Look for who uses / has bikes and look for contract work as well as one off repairs.

……… start with a large fortune to make a …………………..

I'm not sure about full-time, but it's great for part time work.

Personally, I'd prefer to do it in a van. I hate working on bikes not in a workstand anyway…

For liability insurance you might want to get a cytech qualification (but it's not always necessary)

Good idea, if you start off small and see how it goes, limit the risk and all, ecpecially if you keep your existing job.

It will all depend on who else operates out of Peterborough ie good Lbs with fair repair prices and good service etc

Make sure you get liability insurance, one repair gone wrong could cost you dearly. Might be worth a visit to CTC to see if joining them might get you a good price on isurance. Otherwise go for it, you only regret the things you haven't done in life, not the things you have done.

We are starting up a mobile service soon, but on a pick up and bring back basis only for the time being. The issue would be if you did it on a bike would be carrying enough spares.

Also suppliers could be an issue if you're not in the trade already.

there's a chap who has recently become prevalent in our club who is doing a similar thing. he seems to have tapped into a little goldmine by offering a slight discount to members (100+) and providing excellent service by all accounts (i haven't used him, do majority of my own work). word of mouth and all that means that everyone is now starting to go to him where as before they would be at the bike shop. he's quicker, cheaper and better…what's not to like!

Ive often thought that it would be a great idea to bowl up in a small van at the start of the day at the main trail centres who dont have on site facilities, and offer fixes and and the like on a while-u-wait basis. How many times have you got the bike off the rack arriving somewhere and there is a problem. I think there would be numerous "side" revenue streams that you could tag onto it, like a range of energy drinks and bars, maybe even one of those van based espresso machines. You could do trail centres, popular walking spots, the possibilities woul be numerous I think 😀

I know someone who does this and it's certainly not enough to keep paying the bills so he has to do other supplementary work to make ends meet. Having said that he enjoys it 🙂

Some great input there thanks guys 🙂

When I needed any bike business-related insurance, this guys always were able to help.

Have a look at http://www.cyclefix.net/ see if anyone in your area. Also the guy who runs the site is helpfull.

best of luck!

Hi rob thanks for the link, no locals already fortunately

Perfect Hairy

Does anyone know what i would need from the council if anything?

I'd suggest trying to tie in with the local council's cycling policy / ride to work / green transport schemes. That might give you an angle. Also – check details on street trading with them – they probably license those as well.

Peterborough – not a place I'd think about really. Hard to expand from if it hasn't got enough business to support you. You'd really need secure premises for your van as you would be a really obvious target for thieves.

Hi !
Thank you for linking to my page thebikeman

We actually search for someone to run the bike man in UK..
In Denmark we have a huge success with it.. So don’t listen to people that tell you that you can’t pay your bills and bla bla bla…

I have been running The Bike Man for 1 year now. And i have 2 full time employee and 3 bikes cycling around Copenhagen.
The thing we do are agreements with huge companies employing a lot of people, they have a Bike Man for 4/5/6 hours a day. And there is a lot work on those hours; we repair about 20-30 bikes pr. day. pr . bike

So i can only motivate you to start.. You can also contact me at info@thebikeman.dk if you need any help starting your own Mobile bike Mechanic
Btw. Where did you hear about us ?

Regards Jakub Slusarek
Founder of The Bike Man

You could make a killing maybe 1 or 2 days a week, parking your van outside the railway station and spannering the ride-to-the-station bikes the commuters use.

£25 for fixing a puncture on a Brompton?

£25 for fixing a puncture on a Brompton?

Supply and demand?

You could make a killing maybe 1 or 2 days a week, parking your van outside the railway station and spannering the ride-to-the-station bikes the commuters use.

Take that a step further – do a tour of local stations, see where has a decent population of 'cycle to station' bikes then advertise that you'll be at Station A on Mondays, Station B on Tuesdays etc. Add in that you're mobile, so can cover any station (heck, anywhere, within reason) on any day if needed in emergency?
Only thing I can think is how will you get the keys from / to the client – guess you agree to be at the station from 7-9 for collections of keys, 5-7'ish for return of keys, payment etc?

It seems that anyone offering any kind of bike service in london makes a mint – elsewhere I'm not so sure

Thanks Rob for adding the link! Also view my Blog Lots of info on starting a new business