How many people would get to the point of giving up hobby riding as a complete drivetrain would just be too much, that one step where you need to focus on other areas I.e bills. How many shopworkers without the discount and living carefully would give up?

Maybe assuming SLX is entry-level is a problem.

You’re still thinking like someone with a decent income, £200 can get you a decent 2nd hand working MTB that will last a couple of years, it might even have disc brakes if you get a good deal through mates/club. I give a fair bit away to people and the local bike charity and at Jumbles.

Basic 8 and 9 speed stuff is cheap enough, cassette, ~£12, chain £10, rings £10-£15 each. tyres when on offer at £10 er even £6 when on-one are punting out Geax) and suddenly it’s not really an expensive hobby at all.

If you are really scraping the pennies together to eat then yes ANY hobby is going to be an issue, but at that point so will clothing, heating, shoes, etc. you certainly won’t be running a car or anything like that, but it can be cheap if you realise you don’t need posh stuff to ride a bike.

I’m just as guilty as the rest for spending more than I need to on bikes, but there have been times in the past when I was struggling, out of work etc. but you can economise a lot (not just on bikes).

None of the above is intended to say that wages should be low, they absolutely shouldn’t and we do not value decent mechanics enough, I was simply responding to Horas and others comments about the cost of biking.

I don’t know but tell you what, my local bike shop charges (wait for it) £60 per hour for labour. WTF.

But if there were queues down the street of people bring in their bikes to fix and enough work for 10 mechanics in the bike shop they probably wouldn’t need to charge £60 an hour.

The problem we have in this country is that salaries are high compared to goods. Goods come from China/other cheap places with low salaries but if you need the services of a person in the UK then it seems out of scale with the goods.

Esher shore, are you referring to Evans re fitting vs mechanics there? Only asking as it reads like it could be but that’s not how I see it there. I agree that mechanics should be valued higher in general in the trade, I’d guess some of it is about supply and demand at the level needed or the level customers are prepared to pay for. Hence I’d not be surprised if fitting was a better earner, for a while.
When I was at madison the seminars at the yearly dealer show usually had a focus on making money from the workshop as its where a good retailer can offer something that online-only can’t.

Lol at hora-logic

“I buy everything cheap and shop staff earn a pittance but it can’t be my fault so someone must be making a mint somewhere “

Dream on, they aren’t.

cynic-al – Member
Lol at hora-logic

“I buy everything cheap and shop staff earn a pittance but it can’t be my fault so someone must be making a mint somewhere “

Dream on, they aren’t.

But he always says ‘evening’ or ‘peace’, so he must be dead cool.

Peace

How do the wages of uk bicycle mechanics compare to those in Germany/France etc? – anyone have an insight?

I’m a bike fitter (or gold mine apparently!) and don’t earn anything like 20k. I have a degree from one of the best sports science universities (Bath), not just a week long course, and I think I’m good at what I do (or so my customers tell me). In the summer I can do 15 fits a week (2.5 hr appointments) and be booked up for weeks on end. That sounds great until novemeber when I only did about 4 all month.

Having discussed this with my boss, it’s tough for him to pay more each month because that would put the shop in financial trouble come the quiet times. Around now I spend most of my time (along with the 2 mechanics we have) doing everything from DIY to website editing to stay busy and keep the shop running and bringing in cash.

My takeaway summary is that I’m looking to leave the bike industry all together- I could do an easier job closer to home for more money- so why stay? The discount isn’t worth much to me as I don’t buy a lot of bike stuff (my money is spent on a mortgage and commuting) and online retailers can usually trump trade price if you wait for a sale.

The majority of my repair work is not the hobby rider, it’s the people who use their bikes for transport.

When they buy a bike for less than £300 and ride it every day because they can’t afford to run a car pennies count.

We are not talking SLX to XT upgrades, more like a completely shagged transmission at Acera level. It takes longer to fit and set up lower quality components but you can’t charge more for it. You can almost throw a box of XTR at a bike and it just works. TX mechs need to be perfect or they don’t work at all and don’t get me started on SRAM MRX shifters!

At the moment I have one job booked in for this week which will be about £30 labour. On the other hand I’m PDI ing around 15 bikes a day. January will be dead though.

You don’t get rich fixing bikes, but fortunately my other half is from Switzerland and on one visit I found some old Nazi gold lying around 😆

Someone’s making money.

Had a look at Wiggle’s or Chain Reaction’s accounts recently?

Apart from a few companies like them, no-one’s really making serious money. That’s why the bike industry is still mostly run by enthusiasts, if it was really profitable then the money men would have taken over.

See every page on the forum with somebody desperate to save £5 on something, I’m all for making your money go further but some days it’s killing the golden goose as it were. If the only bike shops left on the high street are Evans and fancy bikes and components are things you only ever get to see in pictures and the day you need that thing fixed and the lbs has closed.

I knew the wages were low but some of the figures are pretty shocking, I have to wonder why people do it when there’s driving jobs etc. that would pay more. From what I’ve read it sucks the passion for cycling out of you too so it can’t be the love of bikes that keeps them going either.

I have to wonder why people do it when there’s driving jobs etc. that would pay more.

Because you get to mess about with bikes all day, instead of getting stressed in traffic jams?

Money isn’t everything. I could make a lot more money in a real job, but I don’t want a real job. I’m making about as much as my starting salary was with IBM 20 years ago, and that’s enough for me.

And I bet your wife agrees just fine 😉

Seriously though, if all the people like CTBM and yourself ben could just leave the bike trade to people that don’t know how to do anything else. WE DON’T HAVE A FALL BACK PLAN OR OTHER SKILLS.

It’s OK that was a joke btw. Is it called the Edinburgh Defence?

@jameso

not evans, but the “other” well known chain retailer 😉

it was felt by many workshop people in the London bike trade that it was a real shame when Evans stopped doing Cytech in house at LCW / Bermondsey once Jules left.

it was good for Evans and good for the bike industry in general, providing quality training and certification for the mechanic work force.

Its debatable whether its worth individuals paying for their own Cytech bearing in mind the limited earning potential for mechanics, and the relatively high cost of undertaking Cytech or C&G on your own cost.

What i used to earn as a bike mechanic is what i pay in tax now. I’m earning a lot more in an easier to me, and more interesting job, better hours, greater flexibility.

I understand what i’m doing now generates far more money, but the difference in pay between what your traditional, educated “professional” and a nurse or plasterer for example leaves me with a bad taste. (not that i’m game for a pay cut)

I lot of people romance being a bike mechanic, but you’re working on pretty rubbish stuff a lot of the time, faffing to get it just right, someone mentioned above, you can throw a set of XTR brakes on in minutes, but take a haggard commuter from argos, it turns into a never ending saga to get it remotely acceptable due to parts just simply being naff and/or corroded.

E-S, agreed, without any comparison intended to our current trainers who are great, Jules had a lot of respect here. He built my Jones wheels and the longer those things last the more appreciation I have for his skills.

Money isn’t everything. I could make a lot more money in a real job, but I don’t want a real job. I’m making about as much as my starting salary was with IBM 20 years ago, and that’s enough for me.

Is it enough to own your own home, have a family and a car to move them around in (no term time holidays or Audi) in the southern half of UK? Some very low numbers being posted in this thread for a mechanic, probably fine for a young person without responsibilities but not for somebody with family/mortgage etc.

Is it enough to own your own home, have a family and a car to move them around in (no term time holidays or Audi) in the southern half of UK?

Maybe not, but I’m not daft enough to live in the Southern half of the UK 😀

I guess you couldn’t afford it 🙄

No it’s because he not a shandy drinking, afraid of actual hills, oh look at my saanta crooz wazzock.

I certainly do..I bought a pair of Shimano RS81 road bike wheels last week from Wiggle. It was £80 cheaper than buying them through our store by using the trade account with Madison.

Makes you wonder really?

I remember buying stuff from CRC for less than I could get it at trade but I also remember getting some cracking deals from the reps. The SRAM guy did us all amazing deals on the then new X9 triggers and mechs when they first came out. We al, really liked them and sold loads as a result.

I knew the wages were low but some of the figures are pretty shocking, I have to wonder why people do it when there’s driving jobs etc. that would pay more. From what I’ve read it sucks the passion for cycling out of you too so it can’t be the love of bikes that keeps them going either.

It certainly does suck the fun out of it. I was ok, fresh out if uni wanting money for dicking about on bikes and snowboards, but most of the lifers were so jaded and hated bikes. With a passion. The BSO’s just made it worse.

[list] Goods come from China/other cheap places with low salaries but if you need the services of a person in the UK then it seems out of scale with the goods.

I do not think they are, there is always a massive difference between rate payed and rate charged by a business for labour because of the costs involved.

I knew the wages were low but some of the figures are pretty shocking, I have to wonder why people do it when there’s driving jobs etc. that would pay more.

OK. As I think the be already said, I’m lucky that I’m not in need of a lot of money. I’ve done mind numbing jobs I hated for over 20 years and when given the chance I left as fast as I could.
I’d be bored shitless driving a van all day. I chose to become a mechanic because I love it. I spend my day off in the week fixing more bikes in my own workshop at home (that would shame some bike shops I could mention)
I can loose myself in a big job, something new, so,etching difficult, something that requires thought. I’m also lucky that I share a workshop with a very experienced and professional mechanic, and by and large we think the same way and can bounce ideas off each other and get stuff sorted. I can fix stuff now that I’ve been told in the past not to touch, by other ‘good mechanics’ I’ve worked with, and we’ve just been trained by Bosch in ebike maintainence. Another string to my bow. Yes, sometimes you spend a week fitting chains and vbrake pads, then others you get bogged down on one job, but then there’s always that new thing that comes along. I love talking to customers too, trying to give the best advice. Not necessarily what makes the most profit at times, but because I’ve been on the other side of the fence I like to see a customers money is spent wisely.
It can be hard work, it can be flustrating, it can be repetitive, but it’s never boring for very long!

No it’s because he not a shandy drinking, afraid of actual hills, oh look at my saanta crooz wazzock.

Bravo sir! Cap doffed….

I guess you couldn’t afford it

Could easily have done if I’d stayed at IBM, but I’m happy with the choice I made.

Is it enough to own your own home, have a family and a car to move them around in (no term time holidays or Audi) in the southern half of UK?

Why anyone would trade places with mountains, normal people and lots of space that offers good value for money for the Sauf I don’t know…

So they could use at as launch pad to escape to the USA to team up with a fat canadian and become one of the biggest movie stars of their age?

Mind you I don’t think he was in to mountain biking.

I have often thought that an mot style yearly check would help push up wages in the trade.
other benefits would include ,
documents with all bikes so hopefully less theft.
bikes used on roads kept to a better standard
hopefully the crap bike shaped objects would fail so the standard of bikes sold would improve.
I would force new bikes to be pdi’d by a registered mechanic.
recognised standards would hopefully push up wages ,which in this day and age are at best poor.
when the country is so overly keen on health and safety, why standards regarding cycles are so lax is something of a surprise.
no doubt this would be hated by the many home mechanics but remember these are the same people that are most likely no longer allowed to swop a plug or light bulb at work.

Is it enough to own your own home, have a family and a car to move them around in (no term time holidays or Audi) in the southern half of UK?

I guess you couldn’t afford it

other benefits would include ,
documents with all bikes so hopefully less theft.
bikes used on roads kept to a better standard
hopefully the crap bike shaped objects would fail so the standard of bikes sold would improve.
I would force new bikes to be pdi’d by a registered mechanic.
recognised standards would hopefully push up wages ,which in this day and age are at best poor.
when the country is so overly keen on health and safety, why standards regarding cycles are so lax is something of a surprise.

Were you going to list some benefits in there? What it sounds like is number plates and registrations for cyclists….
Apart from the glaringly obvious of I can just buy a bike then get it rebuilt as anything in my garage part it’s not the best plan for raising wages I’ve ever seen. For me, the suppliers need to get their act in order and stop screwing over the shops. OEM needs tighter controls to make sure it’s not just appearing into the main supply chain which devalues the product even further. Move on those and look at reducing the trade prices a bit to allow the LBS to compete with the internet fairly.

just a chip fitted somewhere rather than a number plate,
theft is a massive problem ,many of us have lost a bike,how many post’s on social media are asking people to keep a look out for whatever superbike they have just lost.
my friend has a good living doing motorcycle mot’s and gets a lot of repair work off the back of them,with the regulation people think there getting a better job done.
I would love to see importers better control there product,i mean just look what has happened with pauls cycles/ cannondale ,any dealers who have still got stock on there floor will be really upset as they will be loosing money in a big way.
oem is a big problem as is mailorder in general but the internet is going nowhere…sadly,no uk shop can compete with direct sales from china or Europe,sadly life for an lbs is tough and even run well will only return a modest living ,but as pointed out at least our day isn’t spent on a motorway .

just a chip fitted somewhere rather than a number plate,
theft is a massive problem ,

It is and when you see some of the recovery stories it’s the frames that are left and the parts are split and ebayed so a chip would do nothing.
Suppliers can do stuff, for instance some like mavic won’t allow their current product year to be sold cross territory so here in Oz I can’t buy a current mavic rim from CRC. I know of one big company moving to that approach.

The current economic climate and euro/pound change has brought a good situation for UK buyers from Europe, this can and will change.

@mikewsmith

the problem with the factories is they just don’t care as long as their factory is busy pumping out branded goods and getting paid.

The figures I have seen for Shimano is that only 5% of their bicycle component manufacturing is official aftermarket

The bulk of their output is sold to OE customers and this does not affect their turnover whether those OE goods are being bolted onto bicycles in assembly plants or finding their way into the aftermarket via clearance “agents” operating in Asia or Europe.

One company I worked for had contact with a sales agent in Amsterdam who could obtain shipping containers of high end Shimano components as long as a bank transfer minimum of £45,000 was involved. This company was cash flush and could do this several times a year and then offer discounted parts whilst maintaining a useful margin.

As anyone who works in the bike trade knows, grey imports and OE stock leaked into the after market has caused havoc for retailers still buying stock from official distributors. The distributors probably have little power over this situation, apart from ending their relationship with the brand.

The easiest solution for retailers is to stop buying this stock, and concentrate on selling bicycles and branded goods from companies who don’t support discounters, and increase workshop and bike fitting operations which is something the internet has yet failed to offer customers!

Interesting comments have been made by some in the trade that within the next year it may be rare to see Shimano components stocked in a bike shop, apart from cheap workshop service parts.

The rise of the smartphone and comparison tools have meant that even casual consumers are commonly shopping on price; as with my previous example of the RS81 Shimano wheels I bought last week, £80 cheaper from Wiggle than through our trade supplier means its completely pointless to hold these in stock as we could not recover even our cost price if forced to price match to clear the goods.

Interesting comments have been made by some in the trade that within the next year it may be rare to see Shimano components stocked in a bike shop, apart from cheap workshop service parts.

Not really. Going by concept stores about to crop up fuelled by a certain distributor of Shimano.. it’s looking the complete opposite from where we are.

asc70 – Member
I have often thought that an mot style yearly check would help push up wages in the trade…

As an old guy I can remember there used to be some sort of organisation that existed to help protect wages of workers in the mechanical industries.

Something to do with onions… no wait, I’ve got it, unions!

Even the most benevolent businessman can’t afford the pressure to reduce wages if his competitors are racing to the bottom, so really it’s up to the bike mechanics to organise and get help to get their wages to a decent level.

I wonder how many people on this thread actually use a shop mechanic, or spanner their own bikes?

I honestly can’t remember the last time I took a bike to a shop for repairs. The only exception would be shocks for servicing at a specialist…

I honestly can’t remember the last time I took a bike to a shop for repairs. The only exception would be shocks for servicing at a specialist…

I was riding with 4 last night, their workshop is busy, another mate runs a shop and generally the workshop is busy,not just BSO’s but a lot of high end bikes from people who either don’t have the skills/time/tools/space/desire to spanner their own bike. Just reading some of the “Home Spannering”gone wrong internet please help threads do suggest that a lot of people would benefit from using a professional mechanic.

As an example I split a hose on an XT brake, I could order the bits, get the fluid, sort out the bleed kit etc. or I can drop the brake in with my mate on the way to work and pick it up bled and good to go on the way home, fit it to my bike and keep riding.

Even the most benevolent businessman can’t afford the pressure to reduce wages if his competitors are racing to the bottom, so really it’s up to the bike mechanics to organise and get help to get their wages to a decent level.

Flip side is if there isn’t the cash to pay them then either the business goes under or you get less. Again read the threads in here complaining that a shop dared to charge them to work on their bike.

@mikewsmith

the problem with the factories is they just don’t care as long as their factory is busy pumping out branded goods and getting paid.

The figures I have seen for Shimano is that only 5% of their bicycle component manufacturing is official aftermarket
I know of one of the biggies that are making a change to make it work better for all involved, more streamlined dealer set-up and taking much more notice of whats going where. In the end of it how can the business model be right when you can buy stuff (Like a new set of pikes for instance) for less than the trade price in your own country (with tax etc. taken into account)

Talking to a bunch of reps and they really do value the LBS as the shop window for their products, good owners and mechanics are the best salesmen they can get, the volume they see means the know what does and doesn’t work and really can pass that onto the customer. But all of them have the stories about the internet customer who insists that they know better as the internet told them who finds the parts don’t fit or fail within weeks as they were just not the right thing for the job. 🙄
You want it quicker get me a 6 pack
You want to watch and ask questions? Bring 2
You want me to teach you how to do it? Bring 3
You want me to fix the job you started with the wrong tools, no instructions and just some guidance from a bunch of strangers online?

I have often thought that an mot style yearly check would help push up wages in the trade.
other benefits would include ,
documents with all bikes so hopefully less theft.
bikes used on roads kept to a better standard
hopefully the crap bike shaped objects would fail so the standard of bikes sold would improve.
I would force new bikes to be pdi’d by a registered mechanic.

At the risk of indulging in “Whataboutery” this is totally unworkable. Take into account all the kids bikes which are only used in the garden/park, BMX’s only used in the skate park and MTB’s which are only used off road and you end up with huge grey areas. In addition would you get it re-tested each time you change a component? If so it would be ridiculous, if not it’s pointless.

I’m struggling to see how motorbike MOT testers make a good living if that’s all they are doing. A motorbike MOT costs a maximum of £29.65. It takes them an hour to do my bike including paperwork and handover etc. Add in the workshop costs and I can’t see there is much more than £10/hr left for the tester. I suspect they make their money from servicing/repairs rather than MOT tests.

Mostly I do it because I love it despite the money. There are other benefits as well from time to time – once a customer asked me to upgrade his XT cranks to XTR. When I gave him his old cranks back with his bike he handed them back and said he didn’t want them. I told him he could easily sell them on ebay etc and he handed them to me and said he couldn’t be bothered so I could have them if they were worth anything. They are now on my bike 🙂

On the other hand a guy turned up last night just as I was tidying away at the end of the day. I was already half an (unpaid) hour late leaving. He demanded I fit the rusty front mech that he gave me to his very battered Saracen there and then. I looked at it and told him that the top swing front mech he had wouldn’t fit and he needed a conventional swing mech and I showed him the difference. He called me an effing liar, then demanded I adjust the rear wheel bearings. I said he would have to book the bike in as I was already late going home and I would do it first thing in the morning. More swearing and being told that it would just take me a few minutes. Looking at the rusted mess that was his screw-on freewheel it looked like a nightmare job so I declined again. More swearing and insults and he left. Fortunately most customer are nice!