| Tips Archive:
Hot Tip of the Month- December 2002: "Bike
Techs - What it takes to qualify/What to watch out for"
It never ceases to amaze me what I see in a facility when I take on a new client.
Broken bikes in the corner, many times there seems to be more rust on the bike
than paint. When I enquire about with whom the responsibility lays, blame flies
in all directions. Typically, when seeking answers to problems from manufacturers,
the most common redirection is to your local bike shop. First let me point out
that I have 20 plus years in the bicycle business, and this IS the foundation
of my experience. But by today's standards, coupled with the dynamics of a low
wage and slim profit margins in the bicycle industry, its tough enough to find
a qualified BICYCLE mechanic let alone one who is well versed in working on your
sub-$1000.00 pieces of fitness equipment.
If I were a owner or General Manager of a fitness facility offering indoor
cycling and I wanted a comprehensive preventative maintenance program in effect
to promote the life of my bikes, here are some of the issues I would address.
First off, is my inside guy (you know, the guy or guys who change light bulbs
and wipe down the machines) qualified to do repairs, or is he or she capable
of learning. (Are they even interested?) Second of all, when I call my local
bicycle shop, what qualifies these people to put tools to my machines? Have
they ever ridden or participated in a class? If not, how will they know what
the bike is supposed to feel like when the problem is solved?
I cannot tell you how many times I've been asked to go to a club AFTER a bicycle
shop "Tech" has been there working on a bike and after replacing parts
and generating a pretty lofty invoice, the problem still exists! Many times,
the smaller problem still lingers and expensive unnecessary replacement parts
usually surround it. When searching for a "BikeTech", at the very
least, they should be active in Indoor Cycling AND understand the relationship
between the nut and the bolt. I would also hope that there is at the very least;
a few years of experience in a bike shop that has sold the equipment you need
help with. It's just not right when a bicycle shop grabs the most available
guy in the store to come out to your club to perform field service work and
he's barely qualified to work on bicycles, let alone a piece of fitness equipment
that has a 40 pound wheel with NO handbrakes and no shift levers.
And this is the capper; my guess is the shop will be charging you just a bit
more than the $6-7 an hour they're paying the "Tech". It's a tall
order, finding a qualified "tech" to help you through your bike issues.
Do your homework, ask questions and try not to base your choices on price.
Return to Monthly Tips |
