About your job please.
I don’t mean how great/crap it is, or about customers etc, but about the way you work, what’s expected of you from a practical point of view, your systems of work, how you look after bikes, how you use your tools, that sort of thing, if you catch my drift? The nitty gritty of how you repair bikes, I guess

Thanks
🙂

its all about the biscuits isnt it?

1.Drink lots of tea
2.Be surly
3.Hit things with hammers
4.Swear lots
If I had ‘systems of work’ I sure as hell would’nt be working for min wage fixing push bikes.

Maybe I should be more specific – DECENT bike mechanics, not crap ones. 🙂

Customer brings in bike, told me what was wrong, quick inspection, give them my opinion. FILL IN A JOB CARD, give them the bottom half. Give them a clear estimated date of repair and importantly contact them. If its done early let them know, if theres a prob, let them know. If its done on time let them know. I used to have a tick box that said if we find anything else wrong either fit a comparable component or contact them before carrying out any work.
Don’t diddle anyone by making work up.
Hang bikes up when not working on them.
Tool box for tools, allen keys on stand.
A long lever bar is priceless, a nice 6, scaffold pole does the trick.
Other than that, some tunes and be approachable and the font of knowledge in the shop.

OK, cool. Sounds sensible.
Can I rephrase my question now? I was being a bit too cryptic for my own good I think 🙂

‘What’s the difference between a home mechanic and a Cytec mechanic?’

To let the cat out of the bag (Which I didn’t want to do really) I’ve got a second interview next week, and it’s going to be a practiacal one. To blow my own trumpet, I know my stuff, but what will the shop manager want to see me doing? How will he want me to work? What’s he expecting in an idal world?

This is a VERY good LBS I’m talking about, main dealer level for several big brands.

ah the old lifestyle thread a few weeks back… Good luck.

Be yourself.

Not in the bike trade, but do not pick up a multi tool for any reason whatsoever.

I would imagine he wants to see a logical approach to work.

They wont expect you to do things “their way” They can train you do do that once you have shown them you are logical and competent and have the ability to learn and do things a certain way.

Personality, and ability to learn are more important than already having exactly the right skills in my opinion.

Just work logically, he’ll most likely make sure there’s something obscure wrong with at least one bike you work on to try & catch you out-loose chainring bolts or caliper bolts if it’s a split type (old HFX9 etc.) are a classic, along with wrong chain fitted, cable wrong side of rr mech clamp so won’t index etc etc.

Neal, yep, sounds reasonable. I’m fairly astute with fault spotting etc to be fair: Listen to the rider, then start at the front and work backwards basically

I’ve already done well becasue I was told they generally don’t interview people with no experience but (Although I didn’t know him at the time) the MD remembers me from a while back having a conversation about chainrings with him…! I’m not in the least bit confident I’ll get it, and there’s other outside factors that have to be taken care of as well, but you gotta be in to win.

Golden – Thanks for that. Good info. That said I don’t think they’ll try and catch me out, but you never know 🙂

Take pride in your work, however shyte the bike. They all deserve some care and attention. I decided to never let a bike out that I wouldn’t be happy riding myself or letting my mum ride. Seemed to work out OK.

We all make mistakes, but make sure you always nail the safety critical bits: brakes, bars, stem, QRs etc.

Being able to explain what you’re doing and why at the same time as doing it and regaling them with witty tales of adventures past can help too.

Being able to bleed a brake and drink from a mug simultaneously is an essential skill – practice it.

If he’s having you do a bike build or service pump up the tyres as soon as you’ve got the bike vaguely bike shaped and unwrapped (bars on, wheels on), or if it’s a repair as soon as you’ve got it in the stand. If a bike’s got discs and is decent quality it doesn’t matter, but it shows good practice as if you are building a £150 bike with rim brakes you can set them up perfect, then pump up the tyres and the rim will deform so much that you’ve wasted 10-15 minutes setting up the brakes that you now have to reset.

It’s nice work- work logically, so don’t keep switching between brakes and gears and so on. I start at the back and work forwards (rear mech, then front mech, rear brake then front), and if the job requires new parts that you know about before you start fit them first or you’ll end up setting things up to work with the old stuff.

Probably be neat when you’re laying things out as you dismantle them, rather than chuck everything in a pile as will save you time when reassembling and time is more important for an LBS mechanic than a home one

Be transparent. Be totally honest. If you make a mistake, fess up straight away, much better to sort out something before the customer finds out! Let customers know, at every stage, what to expect… If the original quote you gave them to fix their bike is wildly out cos you’ve just found it also needs several other new parts, phone them immediately! Phone them immediately after the work is done. In fact, phone them just to let them know you’re about to work on their bike quite possibly (maybe not necessary, but you’re getting the picture). Customer satisfaction comes from you managing their expectations.

As for the mechanicing bit? Well, Cytech is largely a box ticking exercise. I’ve not done it myself, but I do know several cytech qualified mechanics that don’t know half the things I do about bikes and fixing them just because I’ve been doing it so long anyway. That said, it can be good to verify that you have actually got the skills you thought you had. It’s a bit like BSI:9001 in the manufacturing world, doesn’t mean you’re that great at anything but it does mean you are at least checking yourself against a standard.

Be tidy… It might sound a bit old school, but stop working 15 minutes before clock off time, and make sure the workshop is immaculate, all tools put back where they should be, no rubbish lying about etc. Leave it as you would like to find it.

Have a keen eye for detail. Nobody expects you to spot every last little thing, but a colleague fixed my bike for me (waiting for a new rear mech to come in) when I was on my day off the other day, cos he thought he’d be nice. Only he stuck a 9spd quicklink onto a 10spd chain. After 35 miles on it, I spent the next 45 minutes in the workshop cursing the bloody thing, before I finally diagnosed the problem! Basically, he was just on autopilot, didn’t bother to count the number of cogs, and grabbed a 9spd link… We all do it sometimes, the old addage measure twice, cut once, is quite appropriate here. Be careful, pay attention, and don’t worry about taking a bit longer over a job to make sure its done right.

Oh and drink lots of tea, eat lots of biscuits, ride WAY less than you did when you didn’t work in a shop, get generally fat and out of shape, and errrr… Enjoy it! 😀

goldenwonder – Member

cable wrong side of rr mech clamp so won’t index etc etc.

wish someone had told me this a while back
took me ages to figure out why my shifting was off!!!!!!!!!!

1. Qualifications and reference (natch, the latter more important)
2. Attitude to unsocial hours ( we open till 8:00pm and Sunday)
3. Attitude to customers and ability to sell ( everyone in the shop has to be able to sell)
4. Team work (do you fit in)
5. Self starter ( will you stack/ price up as there’s nothing to do without me asking/telling)

Would be my priority, if you’re coming as a bike mech, I’d expect a level of competence and the Ability to work to deadlines without having to be watched over constantly. As a minimum your work has to be safe, I’d expect pride, correct to manufacturers guidelines and no grubby fingerprints.

Don’t do jobs as ‘favours’ for people. It gives them unrealistic expectations and devalues your time and expertise. Well, except for the little old lady who I used to pump the tyres up and lube the chain on her ancient shopper bike, or the wheelchair rugby player who got a discount on wheelbuilding…
Don’t rush into the job, sometimes the problem a customer reports is a symptom of a further fault, not the actual problem if that makes sense?
Wear gloves or barrier cream and wash your hands/change gloves once mucky parts are off and clean ones on. Don’t be afraid to either wash bike and charge or refuse to work on it if it is too mucky/covered in dog poo.
Tidy your tools away after every job or you’ll waste ages trying to find the one you need. Mind you I always had 4, 5 and 6mm allen keys in my pockets, still find them now and again in old clothes!
Try and treat every bike as if it is your own, even if it’s an Orange 5 or a BSO. It’s someone’s pride and joy and they are paying you to make it better.

Good luck.x

Aye, wear gloves. It doesn’t make you less of a man, it saves oil drying out your hands and ruining them.

As a above gloves make things much better

Oh that and cake
On a more helpful note customer contact is key
I’m rubbish at been organised and it can cause issues

Some of you lot are talking like I already have the job! 🙂

Take pride in your work, however shyte the bike.

Mate, I do. That’s me, that is. 🙂
I just like bikes. Any bikes. And I like seeing someone with a smile on their face. Last one was the son of a friend. I fixed the gears and the brake and he was chuffed to bits.

Some very good stuff here though chaps, thanks a lot, I mean that 🙂

Like this:

pump up the tyres as soon as you’ve got the bike vaguely bike shaped and unwrapped (bars on, wheels on),

That’s what I need, that’s gold dust to me, being the underdog here 🙂

When you go in ask for a hammer, when shown the hammers ask if they have any bigger ones. 😉

PeterPoddy – Member
‘What’s the difference between a home mechanic and a Cytec mechanic?’

IMO/E…the cytec certificate.

You can get good mechanics without certificates, and crap ones with. IMO anyone who can pick it up reasonably well themselves will always be better than someone who needs trained. The former are likely to be doing better paid jobs though.

IMO/E…the cytec certificate.

You can get good mechanics without certificates, and crap ones with. IMO anyone who can pick it up reasonably well themselves will always be better than someone who needs trained. The former are likely to be doing better paid jobs though.

Yeah, good point, but It’s just a nominal question really 🙂
I need to forge myself an advantage over an unknown qualified AND experienced mechanic who I may be compared to in this instance. I have to imagine he exists and set out with the mindset of beating him. I have to. If I’m as good as I can be and don’t get the job, so be it. But I have to be me at my very, very best, and any advantage I can eek out will help, even if it’s only confidence. 🙂

Ya get me, blud?
😉

I’m sure you’re competent as you’ve been working on bikes for years and you are aware of the following but i’ll list it anyway,

On stem faceplates such as thomsons etc, make sure the bolts have a touch of anti-seize compound on the threads and all 4 are tightened up equally so the faceplate has the same gap all the way round – use a torque wrench as a final tighten on all critical bolts such as steerer bolts, brake caliper + rotor, stem bolts, seatpost bolts and clamps, crank bolts as this is especially critical with sram cranks and middleburn RX-8, not so much with shimano but still good practice for your piece of mind. Anti-seize compound is not grease, if it moves and is meant to move grease/oil it, if it is not meant to move (bolt) either loctite 243 or anti-seize depending on the situation – blue loctite on disc rotor bolts, caliper bolts is generally regarded as a given.

For brake lever clamps and shifter clamps i tend to do them up just enough so they don’t move but not so loose you can spin them on the bars as in a crash it is preferable to move the lever rather than snap it off – various bars whether carbon or alloy need different amounts of applied torque to move levers so take this into account.

When fitting the chain remember and run it through the rear mech correctly, it’s easy to let it slip over the front metal guide.

When given a bike for the first time give it a cursory glance/check over, skewers, wheels spin freely, no brake rub, handlebars secure etc and pick it up using the stem and seat or seatpost so the wheels are off the floor, this will tell you if the rear shock bushing is knackered as you’ll hear a clunk as the shock drops, then drop it down onto the wheels – if it makes a clattering twangy noise then check spokes, bushes, loose bolts etc.

To check for wear in fork bushings turn the handlebars 90 degrees and rock the bike forward and back or secure the bike in a stand and grab the lower fork legs and push/pull, to check for wear in rear bushings if full suss then grab rear wheel and rock side to side, similar for wheel bearing wear, to check for unusual creaks stand astride and grab handlebars and seat then apply pressure on the crank arm spindle area with your foot and press – if it comes from the handlebars you will feel it, if it comes from the seat/seatpost you will feel it and if it comes from the crank area you will hear it 😀

There’s loads more tips n’ tricks but just treat every bike you work on as you would one of your own and you’ll do fine.

Good luck.

When you go in ask for a hammer, when shown the hammers ask if they have any bigger ones.

Actually LOL! 🙂

That’s how we work in my current job, to be fair…..

Anti-seize compound is not grease

There’s someone watching this thread who’s going to be pissing himself laughing at that. It’s a private ‘joke’ which isn’t actually funny through, so no sense trying to explain….. 🙂

Will you have any customer contact?

SB

i think the good mechanics (pro not neccesarily cytech) are the ones that can work on mtbs/ road bikes/ old shoppers/ BSOs.

building up bikes out of the box can be a bit of skill especially when faced with something you’re not familiar with. BMXs always seemed to be the most time consuming.

a logical pattern to check a bike over can help. i was taught the ‘M-check’:

front QR/ wheel bearings/ tyre
headset/ handlebars/ stem /check brakes
BB/ cranks/ pedals
seat/ post
rear wheel/ qr/ etc.

then up in the stand for gears.

Makes an M shape see.

I was taught the M-check as well when i did my TCL/MBL with Rich n” Craig at Cyclewise – good tip!.

Makes an M shape see.

Love it. 🙂

mtbs/ road bikes/ old shoppers/ BSOs.

tick
x
tick
tick

Road bikes I need to learn, but the thickest of it is the same as an MTB. I’m just having a read up on 10/11 speed as I’ve never been anywhere near either of them

I’ve done some voluntary work involving teaching basic cycle mechanics last year, which I thought might be ‘money in the bank’ at the time, too.

SB – Probably not in the interview I would think, but I’ve been doing that all my life and I’ve recently been travelling all over the country teaching people SAP, so my people skills are up to scratch as they’ll ever be! 🙂

Good luck Pete.

I just hope they don’t ask you to pump up an inner tube with a Presta valve…

Slight Hijack..but going back to the point about fitting the cable wrongly on the rear mech? Please explain..this may be the greatest tip I’ve ever heard, given my ability to get my gears aligned/index correctly is non existent.

I just hope they don’t ask you to pump up an inner tube with a Presta valve…

Git!!! 🙂 LOL!

Worked out which shop it is yet? 😉

Try to make sure you have payed your own wages every day.
Be fast and methodical, be good enough that half the bikes you work on don’t come back the next day.
You would be amazed by the amount of spannerers that just don’t understand this.

Try to make sure you have payed your own wages every day.

You would be advised to deliver the shop a profit on the cost of your wages.

Simply covering won’t see you being there very long.

A second interview in a bike shop…..sounds too pro for me

First job went along lines of – need a hand in here ? – oh you know your arse from your elbow – want a job ? Stayed for 8 years

Second job was – im moving to your area john – needing an experianced mechanic for the summer ? Just about had my hand bitten off !

Keep the work area clean , keep the tools in their place when not in use , and if busy make a point to leave the workshop clean at the end of the day, used to give me the rage going in after days off and finding a sty.

Trail Rat, I’ve got no previous. And the boss said they don’t usually interview mechanics with no experience in the trade. This is a very good LBS with 3/4 branches. No big online presence and one of the biggest dealers of a certain big brand in the country. They can afford to be picky I guess.
They are, in fact, my LBS of choice round here. Some of my friends I know shop there. I’ve literally got one opportunity here (there’s other current outside factors I have to balance too) that I cannot mess up. All will become clear if I get the job, but I’ve put more info in this thread (out of necessity) than I wanted to already. 🙂

Road bikes I need to learn, but the thickest of it is the same as an MTB. I’m just having a read up on 10/11 speed as I’ve never been anywhere near either of them

Few quick things I’ve had to learn quite quickly… Some of them more obvious, some of them less so.

Campag brakes don’t have a cam on the cable clamp unlike Shimano, they have a mechanism inside the brake lever itself that you slide across that releases the calipers slightly to get the wheel out.

If in doubt, fit a KMC chain… Aside from the fact they’re probably the best out there, they work well on anything, Campag included. They’re not directional like the Shimano either. They also all come with a quick link.

Bar taping is a scary concept the first time you try it, but once you’ve done it a couple of times, it becomes easier. It’s just about being methodical and keeping the spacing the same as you go round.

Low spoke count wheels go out of true very easily in comparison to 32 spokes (sounds obvious but is often forgotten).

SRAM STI’s are crap… No matter what any customer, Fisher’s rep, colleague or otherwise will tell you. They may just about work ok when brand new, but give it 12 months and they’ll be ready for warranty or throwing in the bin. Funnily enough, neither Shimano or Campag seem to suffer the same fate, despite their STI’s being significantly cheaper than SRAM’s!

For some reason brake caliper bolts are never done up very tight from the factory, so always check them when building a new road bike. You’d be amazed how many people don’t spot this when building a new road bike up!

Don’t be daunted by 10/11 speed. They work in exactly the same way, there’s just more cogs and narrower chains to deal with, that’s all.

I assume its just a mechanics job your heading for ?

Id be open about what you know and what you dont youll get caught out quickly doing anything else.