[Closed] Setting up as a mobile bike mechanic/repair shop

Cytech or Velotech. Both have their proponents.

Cytech level 2 or three desirable? Am I right in thinking you did (or do) this as s job?

Velotech platinum covers all I know/have experience of/proficient in. Looks a good starting point

Would it not be a good first step to try working as a mechanic for someone else first so you understand exactly what is involved before setting up your own business? Most of your work will not be on high-end bikes, it'll mostly be patching shitty old commuter bikes with owners who resent spending any money at all. You'll get someone bring in an ancient rusty old POS with tyres down to the canvas, no brakes, and rusty chain, then when you tell them how much it would cost to sort out all the problems, they'll say "but that's more than I paid for it" and start ranting about what a rip-off you are. And then when you tell people the full retail price of parts, they'll tell you that they can get everything much cheaper online and then expect you to fit them for free. God, I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want that job.

@hols thanks for your positivity

@hols thanks for your positivity

He’s right though. Go work for someone else for a bit, if that doesn’t wear you down enough to put you off and shows you that the figures can work for you, go for it. I understand UByk now offer mobile mechanic franchises (really...)

I understand UByk now offer mobile mechanic franchises (really…)

<Ponders a 'Sick Bikes' fixing service>

What @hols2 said. It's exactly what happens. In summer, after the tdf and the good weather and holidays start, people drag out their pos 5 year old bikes they bought from halfords and other online shops for £150 and ask you to service it.

The tyres have cracks in them and are unsafe, the chain has seized. The bars don't turn, the rear mech is bent etc etc.

Even putting on the basic cheapest nastiest tyres, new chain, headset, new gear cables and doing a service its still around 50-100 depending on your prices and components used. It's just not economical to fix it.

Very rarely do you work on nice road bikes or mtbs as they are owned by people like you and me who have learnt over the years to fix our own bikes. Sometimes when people just don't have the time they bring them to the lbs but the majority of your work is low end. It's also very seasonal so what will you do over winter? My friends who work in the lbs save for winter.

Are you any good at painting and decorating?

@hols thanks for your positivity

He's spot on. A few years ago when I was "inbetween jobs" the local bike shop wanted summer help so I agreed to work for them 3 days a week. A well known shop selling lots of quality gear and well known among cyslists. All I ever saw was bottom end stuff in poor condition. I did the work using low quality materials, and worked out the cost and labour. I put a ticket on the bike and customers invariably argued and shop owner would reduce the charge down to little more than the cost of parts. He can't have been making much from the work, other than goodwill, but that amounted to little more than coming back and repeating the process. Good quality bikes were never seen - those guys always did their own repairs, or had a mate who knew what to do.

Job dried up in September when occasional cyclists put their bikes away until April. Didn't seem like a paying proposition to me.

@hols thanks for your positivity

You're welcome. Just understand that any business where you're fixing broken things means that a lot of your customers will be having a bad day because stuff they need urgently is broken and they're facing expensive repairs that they haven't budgeted for. You will be the person giving them bad news so they may not be as grateful as you believe they should be.

It will probably take two years for you to build up a customer base for you to become profitable so you'll need money in the bank prior to starting to pay your bills in the interim.

One or two of our local LBSs have boards showing their standard charges, obviously their costs will be different to yours but should give you an idea of what's involved. As a counter to the "how much??!!" response for parts tell your customers what they need and let them buy them themselves and you fit them.

There'll always be some jobs that aren't worth the time and may well be "loss leaders" but equally there'll be jobs that look like they'll take a day and ten minutes later you're done.

Take in to account travelling between jobs - you could end up with one job on one side of town with the next on the far side. Of course everyone will want you to do their job between 1700 & 1900 when they are at home and it's convenient for them.

One thing I thought about when contemplating doing this a while back was doing puncture repairs for commuters. Obviously needs to be a city with a lot of commuters

Actually know Pete currey (ubyk/peak bikes well)

There is a company in Brighton (or was, never used them) that would scoot around the city picking up commuters bikes in a little van, fix or service them and then run them back to the owners in the afternoon. (I think thats the basis of the company anyway)

Probably avoids unused rusty heaps being delivered direct from the shed, you are get rusty heaps that are in use and therefore probably need less work to satisfy the customer (even if you do have to give it back with cracked bulging tyres and a rear mech seized in their favourite gear)

Ignore the negativity and give it a go yourself. You will probably be better at marketing your services to the right audience.

My local bike mechanic is fully booked and the only bikes I saw in the workshop were pretty high end.

The two local bike shops on the other hand seemed less busy. Suspect it was something to do with their negative attitude towards customers

Having 14 years experience doing this sort of thing...you'd be amazed at the quantity of spares you'd need to have at hand to cover the multitude of standards you'll encounter if you want to fix on the spot. Even mechanics with decades of experience have to resort to googling, phoning suppliers and ordering obscure parts in, not always immediately available either.  And then as above you need to explain to your customer that a shimano gear cable costs more than 99p etc.....even if you do encounter a good bike like a modern mtb you've got to explain to the customer that spent 2k and assumes the bike is therefore self maintaining that they've worn out the whole drivetrain costing £200+ to replace, needs a shock service too etc...by the time to you've spent 2 hours trying to free that rusty pivot bearing, then had to price match all your parts down to cost because internet- then actually paying yourself a wage may be a problem.

Having said that - If done well there is a space for this in the market...some very successful businesses in the US doing it. Could be more likely to succeed than most LBS in current climate.

Setting up a business involves the same process, regardless of what it is. How big is the market? where is that market and how do reach them? what prices will that market stomach? Does that leave a decent profit margin? What competition is out there? How are they doing? what is your value proposition compared to theirs? etc. etc...

Try and keep your passion for bikes out of it while you answer those questions objectively. Unless you just want to do it for pin money in which case give it a go.

Personally I do it for beers/favours, and have a deal with my "customers" they must have rockshox/shimano equipped mtb's to make it easy for me 😀

If you do it right, have a good reputation etc the high end bikes have to go somewhere. If you've paid £5000 for your pride and joy you are selective with where you can take it. Some people like to watch you work on it to make sure you treat it with care.

Put a really good coffee machine in, buy a big van and offer fix while you wait service for a premium.

I'd also echo above, you buy it, I'll fit it service. You are less likely to have the moaners then. But that opens up a whole new problem where you turn up to fit some forks but they bought tapered and it's a straight steerer or the wrong size bottom bracket etc and you've had a wasted journey.  Half your time will be spent checking out links to items on chain reaction. Is this the right one?

I hope you have good customer service skills.

What do you do now for a job that you hate so much and how much do you earn a year?

My sister regularly uses a mobile mechanic and will happily pay £20 (+£5 for a tube) for someone to come to her workplace and fix a puncture. From her point of view it means she can finish work and cycle home as normal.

Other repairs are booked in advance and the mobile mechanic picks the bike up from her work, repairs it and returns it to her before home time. Logistically it is easy for her and as she relies on her bike to get to work she doesn't begrudge paying a reasonable price for a well-done job.

She lives in Oxford, a city with a lot of cycle commuters which makes offering that service viable.

Most of your work will not be on high-end bikes, it’ll mostly be patching shitty old commuter bikes with owners who resent spending any money at all. You’ll get someone bring in an ancient rusty old POS with tyres down to the canvas, no brakes, and rusty chain, then when you tell them how much it would cost to sort out all the problems, they’ll say “but that’s more than I paid for it” and start ranting about what a rip-off you are.

100 of these for every high end bike. Plus the usual "it only needs a tweek can I pay in biscuits" customer who knows all the frame bearings, headset and BB are shagged but doesn't want to pay the labour costs for replacement hours.
That said it's a lot stressful than working in the NHS I can tell you & although it has it's down days I still don't regret working in the bike industry

Currently a teacher on 45k but hate it

timidwheeler, your sister sounds like a reasonable, sensible person. Most people are not that.

Where do you live? I have a friend in SW London who does this and only gets high end bikes to fix. He’s busy year round and is known at the LBSs who send overflow customers to him. He loves it

I think it makes a lot more sense than running a bike shop if you can be flexible on hours and suit your customers. If you can do collection/delivery early and late then you can probably get a good chunk of non-BSO work from people with money but not the time. Keep overheads low, build up a customer base and you can grow pretty well through word of mouth.

There’s someone near me who seems to keep very busy with pretty high-end mobile repairs but also deep cleaning type work - getting posh road bikes back to sparkling.

The majority above are living in the dark ages .
This is a thriving growing sport with people with high end products with disposable income
Do the job right and you'll be amazed how quickly your good work name spreads around bike clubs .
Forget the coffee machine too this isn't necessary people woulike rather nipnunto down or run an erron than watching you fit a new bb or bleed there breaks .
The lowest value bike I've worked on this year was still 4 figures and I've never had that rusty shed bike yet as it's probably still sathe in the shed whilst they watch love island or something equally shite.
Don't forget the events
Ardrock all the pmba events to attend I'm having to get extra help in at these events to cover demand
As for parts anything I don't have a bike shop is unlikely to but I get it delivered next day .we ..even the big boys don't carry everything.
Honestly ignore the snowflakes who's drive and determination has made them negative on here there probably just upset it's raining and don't want to get there yetis wet instead of getting out there for a ride .
Honestly do it do it well and you'll love it

Although ignore business advice from tj
He's either lining the streets with nails or charging 3 figures for a tube
Oj of course.
See i do it and I still have a sense of humour too .
I meet lots of great people too some arseholes too mind but I just break the ice by telling them the truth of what I think .

What about keeping a handful of quality, no frills, low budget 2nd hand bikes ready to go? That way if someone comes along with their BSO deathtrap you can show them the difference to a real bike and how it could be just as cheap buying one of yours than fixing theirs only for it to be crap again soon afterwards.

" This is a thriving growing sport with people with high end products with disposable income". Actually, reliable data within the UK bike industry such as published by BikeBiz has shown the exact opposite. A declining and ageing demographic of customers with higher expenditure predominately in older age groups - Brexit will soon sort the disposable income bit...

I use a guy local to me who does exactly what you’re thinking of. He’s always busy to boot. Offers a pick up and drop off service and you’re welcome to pop around to his workshop. He supplements his income by running skills courses and guided rides. I’d love to maintain my own bike, but two young kids and a busy job mean I barely get time to ride never mind maintain a bike.

Do not assume as you are good at fixing your own bike, you can money from it. You need to be very quick at mechanics also with a large variety of bikes.

This is a thriving growing sport with people with high end products with disposable income”. Actually, reliable data within the UK bike industry such as published by BikeBiz has shown the exact opposite. A declining and ageing demographic of customers with higher expenditure predominately in older age groups – Brexit will soon sort the disposable income bit…

Got a link to that data?

Anecdotally the local cycling club has grown substantially in the last couple of years and two others have been setup in satellite villages/towns locally in the last 5-10 years. The average age has dropped by about 20 years and the number of women has gone from about 2 to 30+.

That said, despite being in the SE, the stereotype of £4k pinarellos doesn't hold up, I'd say the average club run bike is a 2-3yr old Cube with ultegra/105 bought in the sales for £900-£1500 with about 20,000miles under it!

good luck if you decide to go for it.

I would imagine that a better business would be suspension servicing as a lot of shops don't do this and sending shocks and forks away can be very expensive and leave you with your bike off the road for a couple of weeks . Bike fit might have possibilities as well .

Where are you based OP? I expect this will have an effect on whether you’re in the ‘every bike is a £1000+ bike’ bracket, or the ‘changing the gear cable means it’s beyond economic repair’ bracket...

Currently a teacher on 45k but hate it

I get this, my wife used to be a teacher but needed a career change. She now works in admin, has far less money but is sane and happy. Teaching made her ill and miserable.

I remember her desperation to find something else to do. I almost asked if you were a teacher!

She tried to go part time first, I suggest you try this. Working just 1 day a week as a qualified teacher will get you more money than working in the bike trade. Then you have some spare time for yourself.

I think you need to address your current work place rather than looking for alternative escape routes. Have you tried another school? Reduced hours, supply work? Spoke to your manager or the union?

Can you afford to give up £45k to set up a bike business earning minimum wage?

The one thing I'd say is always make it clear what the potential costs and timescales are, this is where customers and mechanics often fall over. Be realistic and it creates less issues.

I would recommend Cycle Systems Academy for Level 2 or 3 mechanic training. I did a L3 course a couple of years ago with them and thoroughly recommend them. Sean who owns the business and teaches the courses is excellent and has a deep knowledge of exactly what you are looking to do.

https://www.cycle-systems.co.uk/

I can see both sides of the discussion above - you'll undoubtedly get the odd basket case knocking you down on price to do something to a bike that'll be dumped back in the shed next week, but you'll also gain a growing amount of regular customers that are switched on to the real cost of parts and labour (if you market yourself well).

I'm reasonably handy with a spanner, but use a chap local to me in Chester when I just don't have time to fix something - work or family taking up the week - or I just don't know how or have the specific tool for a job. He's usually very busy and judging from his Facebook page, he deals with some decent bikes. But he also puts time in to helping at local events, free checkovers etc. He deserves the business he's getting because he's good at what he does, is honest, accommodating, and a really nice guy.

If you're good at it the markets definitely there. In my town (central herts) theirs 3/4 mobile mechanics (as well as a Hafords, cycle surgery and a decent LBS) and they're all booked up 2/3 weeks in advance charging the earth for puncture repairs, gear alignment etc etc..

If you're very well known in the local scene the markets also there to work on higher end bikes. A friend just set up on his own and he's always busy

"Got a link to that data?"

No, but a series of extensive articles run in BikeBiz magazine last year based on wide data collected from bike retailers across the country came to that conclusion. Articles were related to explaining the high rate of closures of LBS and shifts in popular product types- it's possible the articles are still viewable online. My observations in store over more than a decade in a popular mtb area reflect their conclusions with a sad noticeable decline in youth footfall and the majority of customers  with spending power being of an older demographic. Fully understandable given the challenges facing youth on low pay, insecure jobs, housing issues, but also explained by the increase in 'screen time' eating away at real activities. The manufacturers know this full well...hence we get expensive e-bikes which the majority of retailers will be relying on to survive via. These trends are also mirrored in the car industry where manufacturers will have to adapt to the fact that many urban based young people are not even learning to drive anymore (also for economic reasons), and if they do are potentially more likely to 'rent' a car when they need one through a high-tech scheme rather than be burdened with the cost of ownership.

All of this could be interpreted as an opportunity to target that younger demographic with suitable products styles, ie: a simple affordable bike not the latest whizzbang gizmo. This is something that has been happening in the US with a resurgence of grass-roots XC style events on a collegiate level that focuses on simpler attainable equipment to aid inclusivity, and comes with huge benefits all-round to health - but also potential for the industry to build a new sustained customer base. Would love to see more focus on this sort of thing over here...

 can I pay in biscuits” customer who knows all the frame bearings, headset and BB are shagged but doesn’t want to pay the labour costs for replacement hours.

There's some like that but if your professional they can be delt with. Just tell people it needs XYZ, cost will be whatever and leave it at that. They either agree to pay or they walk away, dont argue with people or get messed about.
I'd consider a franchise of some sort.
https://www.cycletechuk.co.uk/Joinctuk

there is a company in Brighton (or was, never used them) that would scoot around the city picking up commuters bikes in a little van, fix or service them and then run them back to the owners in the afternoon. (I think thats the basis of the company anyway)

South Coast Bikes https://www.southcoastbikes.co.uk/ it always seems quite a good model and when I see the little van driving around it is loaded with bikes so they appear to keep busy

The advice re: trying out for someone else is one I have heard too when I were interested in mechanics.

I wouldn’t recommend say Evans but a more tailored independent outfit.

Then you can gauge and take it from there. 👍😊

Sounds great, as I have neither the time nor inclination to do my own repairs. So you’d pick up my bike, fix it and return it on the day? Would the price be comparable with my lbs or would you charge a bit more to reflect the convenience? Would you also build bikes to spec? Would you offer wheel building/trueing?