the rear hub only fits in ONE direction
Well that's wrong for a start!
To be a "qualified" cycle mechanic doesn't take 4 years training....
True, I'd say it takes longer. It's not the 1960's any more where all bikes were pretty similar (and we still need to know the old school stuff too). I've been wrenching on and off since 1990 and I'm still learning plenty of stuff.
Regarding modern cars, I've no doubt that car mechanics are really skilled, but how much stuff actually gets fixed? If a shock blows, a new one is bolted on. If a bike shock blows, it gets rebuilt.
A bicycle 'mechanic' won't rebuild a shock, that'll get sent off to a specialist.
And you could argue the exception to the rule of rear hubs is flip/flop ones.... the other 99% go on one way....
Any half decent shop will rebuild the front shocks (i.e. suspension fork...) which is more than your local garage will. Hell, many garages won't even remove the sump plug to drain the oil properly these days. They'll just suck the oil out of the top, leave all the carp in the bottom of the sump and charge you top dollar for the service!
njee20 - wronger than the wrongest thing from wrongsville. there is no comparison at all.
there is no comparison at all.
There is you know, about 3 posts above yours. The comparison could be deemed valid if someone knew how much training was required to be an ECSW. Do you know?
Now mods please can we get TJ out of this thread and get back to pedantry... At least it was funny 😀 😀
If you think going to uni equals lot of cash you're deluded. If you are lucky to get a position as a lecturer down here, it's about 26k per annum. Peanuts, if you compare it to the level of education needed.
Plus I don't think there is a "basic" salary for bike mechanics. Work in evans and work for a local Edinburgh bike shop and the salaries/jobs are going to be fairly different.
The problem is in the four years I have spend in the UK and number of bike shops I have visited only two of them actually were owned by someone working there.
Why do people think nurses get very little pay? My wife is a nurse, they are very well paid. Along with the maternity/sick/pension it's a very good package.
RichPenny - Member
Regarding bike mechanics - is £20k a good wage? I used to be a car mechanic and would expect to be on £30K to £35K by now
You might expect it, I doubt you'd find many people willing to pay that much though!
Actually yes, i am still friends with plenty of people in the garage trade and if your a well qualified technician in a main dealership for a premium brand, working to targets, then they can expect take home £30k to £45K per annum
njee20 - wronger than the wrongest thing from wrongsville. there is no comparison at all.
Well I actually do know and work with them on a daily basis.The comparison could be deemed valid if someone knew how much training was required to be an ECSW. Do you know?
The problem is that there is a fairly large gap between what ECSW's are supposedly trained to do and the type of jobs they attend (and are pay banded accordingly) and what they actually do on a daily basis.
I would elaborate on that but this is not a thread about the NHS or ambulance service.
[pedant]
[pendant]In future I will conduct my manner
[/pendant]
[pedant]
I actually laughed out loud. correcting with wrongness,
A new pilot at several UK airlines will start on around £20k sometimes a bit less. £20k to fix bikes seems okay in that context.
A bit off topic but...
I really take my hat of to nurses & teachers who work silly hours with incredible responsibility for very little payThe stark differences in wages between the private and public sector is crazy
Really, is that a fact or something you've just come up with because you heard it in the pub...because its not what the office of national statistics says
anyway..now I'll sit back and watch the argument ensue 😉
Really, is that a fact or something you've just come up with because you heard it in the pub...because its not what the office of national statistics says
[url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jan/09/bad-science-ben-goldacre ]I think you'll find it's a little more complicated than that...[/url]
[pedant][pendant]
In future I will conduct my manner
[/pendant][pedant]
I actually laughed out loud. correcting with wrongness,
Yep, you forgot your closing / in the final [pedant], golden balls.
I think you'll find it's a little more complicated than that...
Yes I am well aware of this...I work as a resourcing manager so its my job to know. I posted my article to show that sweeping comments like the one made by boltonjon aren't accurate, and the second paragraph of your article further proves my point...
and of course to start an argument as I'm bored....;-)
as for bike mechanic costs...25 quid an hr to the LBS where I work. And I need to book it in a week in advance due to capacity. Someones doing ok out of it...although I suspect its not the mechanics...
[b]TandemJerry[/b]
BY a car for £15 000 you will pay £50 an hour++++ to have it serviced - but your £3000 bike you baulk at £2o an hour
My Porsche costs less to service than does my Giant. Car needs a service every two years.
Your Porsche would probably need servicing more often if you drove it down Cavedale in the Peaks every weekend.
I've never in my entire life employed the services of a bike mechanic.
Man can build rockets to get folk to the moon, pretty sure I can manage a bicycle.
😆
My Porsche costs less to service than does my Giant. Car needs a service every two years.
Despite being a relatively high performance car your Porsche has been designed from the outset to meet consumer's expectations in longevity.
Bikes could be made far more maintenance free than they are with shaft drive, hub gears and enclosed brakes but then how many of us would seriously consider dropping £2-3k on an XC bike that weighed 50 pounds?
If you read the owner's manuals for most high end forks and shocks you'll see that they stipulate service intervals of 50 hours riding. Would you consider that a worthwhile trade for losing half the weight of your car?
In terms of servicing requirements, the bikes most of us on here ride have more in common with F1 than any road-going car.
Sometimes - salary is not that important (I did say sometimes), there is a lot to be said for being happy in your work, lots of dosh does'nt always equal a happy life.
As long as your lifestyle is achievable from income recieved then it's happy days 😀 I can manage quite well without a porsche. I could also manage wonderfully well on 20k a year (in my old persons home for senile mountain bikers)
