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Bike Technician

Building, maintaining and repairing bikes

How this role makes a difference

Ever since the London 2012 Summer Olympics, the UK cycling industry has been growing. There are more cycling clubs taking to the roads on the weekends, and more people are opting for cycling as a greener, healthier, and cheaper way to get to school or work. The pandemic also motivated more people to adopt cycling as a leisure activity.

With many more bikes being used, there are good opportunities for bike technicians. As well as supporting people with maintenance and repairs, bike technicians can also be involved in building specialist bikes from scratch. In addition, they play a role in encouraging more people to choose this greener way to get around. You could be the technician who ensures people have dependable bikes for their journeys, thereby helping to reduce carbon emissions.

The kind of work you’ll do

  • Identifying problems with a bike
  • Estimating the cost of repairs and producing quotes
  • Carrying out bike services and safety checks
  • Carrying out repairs and maintenance tasks
  • Building a new bike to a customer’s specifications
  • Ordering parts and managing stock
  • Liaising with suppliers
  • Taking bookings and completing paperwork
  • Attending cycling events to provide repairs and technical support
Useful skills
Problem solving
Skills & attributes
Useful skills
Attention to detail
Skills & attributes
Useful skills
Instructing others
Skills & attributes

What you can bring to the role

A love of bikes and cycling.

An interest in understanding how things work and how to build them.

The ability to work well with your hands.

An aptitude for diagnosing problems, and evaluating and implementing the best solution.

The ability to focus, make sound judgements and accurate decisions.

A knack for dealing with a range of different people and providing good service and advice.

The confidence to describe and sell products and services that will meet people’s needs.

Basic computer skills for processing orders and other paperwork.

This role could also be right for you if you have any of the following interests:

- building, making and fixing things

- science and technology

- sports, adventures and the outdoors

£ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 , 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Average salary per year *
£ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 , 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Average salary per month *

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*according to ONS

Future career opportunities

With experience you could progress to being head mechanic, responsible for leading a team. You could also decide to be self-employed and set up your own mobile bike mechanic business, or shop.

There are also large organisations, including British Cycling, who employ specialist mechanics to support British racing teams. Alternatively you could progress to working for a bike manufacturer.

How to get into this role

There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.

But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:  

Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.

A little more about the role

Exciting features...

The range of bikes available today is bigger than ever before. You could be involved in the maintenance and repairs of road, mountain, touring, folding, BMX, cruiser, and fixed gear bikes. The popularity of electric bikes is also growing, so you could grow your electronic as well as mechanical expertise.

Other job titles...

This role can also be known by some other job titles including:

Cycle Mechanic
Bicycle Technician

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James Sandford Smith

Bike Technician

James Sandford Smith
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