Anyone else here work for a small LBS? I like it, mostly building kids bikes might be annoying but talking to the customers is cool. most of them are NUTS! especially the old-school hippy hardtail guy who REFUSED to pay 25 quid for a new shimano SS freehub because he got one for 20 quid 3 years ago! and the aparently normal guy who preferred campagnolo to shimano “because he prefers western religion – mainly christianity”! Ace! I think i’m going to like this job!

it gets wearing at times but for the most part i wouldnt swap it for the world ….

unfortunantly i have to 🙁 currently looking for engineering jobs as moving out the parents house and need more cash to live where im going !

just did my first day last week as an occasional stand-in type of job. Had fun but the till beat me!!!

My LBS has a weird mix of customers from commuter/recreation types who think £200 is a lot to spend on a bike right up to guys like Rob Hayles and Nick Craig (both local). It’s kind of strange seeing Dura Ace groupsets and £300 hybrids but with no middle ground.

But yes, customers are often quite spectacularly strange (mostly in a good way).

just did my first day last week as an occasional stand-in type of job

snap. as and when needed kind of thing.

The thing about all the customers i find is that i can see a bit of myself in each and every one of them. quite scary!

I have no comment on this…some of my customers may read it…

😆

I did it for a good few year until i realised I didn’t want to ride my bike in case something needed fixing and I’d end up spending my day off cover in grease as well.

Now I have a “proper” job (no offence to those still in the trade) I can enjoy my riding, and tinkering again.

“I did it for a good few year until i realised I didn’t want to ride my bike in case something needed fixing and I’d end up spending my day off cover in grease as well.”

when i used to ride downhill that happened to me i just had a total lull and disinterest in riding …it affected my work as well … then i discovered singlespeed and XC and my love came back ! and i enjoyed work again …. i nearly became a windsurf instructor instead of a bike shop mechanic in that period !

I love it. Thought it was just our shop that had mental customers! Ours caters mainly to roadies and the commuter end of the market and it’s really cool. I like speaking to the guys who know nothing about bikes more- I really like explaining what stuff is and how it works. The nicest thing is getting people who don’t cycle into it, though.

I like being able to make sure my bike is A1 too.

Ours seems to do a good line in staff with mental problems though, we’ve got an alcoholic, someone who’s borderline autistic and depressed and an actually autistic guy who seems to have about 8 polish girlfriends and 20 children. None of them ride bikes either.

When I worked in a bike shop we dreaded the visits from the ancient “Flying Scot” man.

“When I was a lad…..”

Now that’s me 🙁

Ours seems to do a good line in staff with mental problems though, we’ve got an alcoholic, someone who’s borderline autistic and depressed and an actually autistic guy who seems to have about 8 polish girlfriends and 20 children. None of them ride bikes either.

which is you luke? 😀 when you go home for summer ?

Did it for around six years. It’s awful.

I love all these middle aged blokes who turn up on some sort of romantic nostalgia tour for a few months from the city every so often, thinking they are living the dream.