Cytech courses

just looking to expand my limited knowledge and think that this would help a lot + would be useful for any job applications

anyone done them. know someone thats done them. or for that matter any other opinions......

cheers
felix

got your cheque book at the ready?

hehe birthday pressie + having a look at the gov grants + trade price

fair enough. evans is the only place iv come across who seem concerned with cytec. every bikeshop iv worked in was more interested in seeing me work on a couple bikes than any bits of paper i had.

felix, the shop must be able to sort you something out??

ok. well this is all good info thanks man.
i dont intend to work in evans. but i would really like to get some more experience and i think that it would be a better idea to do something like that than trail around/ piss off some poor mechanic with my pointless question.

so would you say yes or no as an overall thing?

the shop should be able to, most of the guys at work have at least lvl1, except the best mechanic (the self taught one...) and it was all paid for by the shop

I'd say yes yes yes =)

cos it's a qualification, and if you have it, and the other person doesn't,
you're more likely to get the job, and it'll be really helpful for you generally =)

when i say the shop i mean putney cycles where felix works btw. not evans.

olliver. have you taken the course?

cos i'm lookiing to do it all the way up to 3 and preferably soon. gap years etc. and it would be very useful

i didn't think twas evans :p
and my shop is Cambrigde Station Cycles, by cambridge station :p

I've not personally done it
although my manager did it in the past few months,
next year when i start full time i'm going to persuade her to let me do it - same reasons as you,
sorry I can't help anymore

thebikedoctor.co.uk do them:

http://www.the-bike-doctor.co.uk/academy

thanks very much mr schick. that course would probably fit in around london life a bit easier

is it something you stumbled on or do you have any experience with it?

Cytech is very expensive, and bike mechanic as lucrative career choice is just plain confused. If you can demonstrate some ability a chain bikestore is likely to give you a job and fork the bill to get you cytech qualified. Cytech 2 has wheelbuilding which is the most useful in terms of 'learning a skill' most of the rest is common sense.

doing it privatley could take up to 18 months just to get you on a level 1 course, which you need to go on to level 2, get a job at evans for a year or so and you might get a level 2

thanks very much mr schick. that course would probably fit in around london life a bit easier

is it something you stumbled on or do you have any experience with it?

I'm not a bike mechanic myself and I haven't done such a course, no. I've not exactly stumbled across it, though. I've met some of the bikedoctor guys, and they're very businesslike, they have high-profile fleet maintenance contracts (e.g., TfL), and it's partly that attitude that's definitely changing the image of mechanicking from the old one of the humble grease monkey to that of a skilled professional. It's all developing. Bike mechanics have traditionally not been highly regarded, well-treated, or well-paid, and I really would hope that, with the greater status of cycling in society that we're busy achieving, that would change.

Bike mechanics have traditionally not been highly regarded, well-treated, or well-paid, and I really would hope that, with the greater status of cycling in society that we're busy achieving, that would change.

I'd hope you're right too, but I doubt it. "Bikes are simple, any monkey can fix one." Or so the average punter on the street thinks. Then there is the cost of trained labour versus your average cost of a bike and people just aren't willing to pay what a skilled professional is worth 'cause it rapidly exceeds the value of their bike.

Sad but true.

That's definitely the current state of affairs, Adam, but let's see how it develops!

Bikes are defiantly not simple, but they're not that complicated either.

That's definitely the current state of affairs, Adam, but let's see how it develops!

After I wrote that I was thinking about car mechanics. I'd argue that in terms of skill level there is little to differentiate between a car mechanic and a bike mechanic so they should be paid similar rates. Yet people whinge and moan about how much it costs to fix their car. The difference, though, is that the average car is valued in the thousands while the average bike in the hundreds and that has a big difference on the consumer's perspective of value when it comes to repairs and maintenance.

All true, and of course there are certain simple repairs, like fixing a puncture, that pretty much everybody should be able to effect themselves.

there are certain simple repairs, like fixing a puncture, that pretty much everybody should be able to effect themselves.

Being able to fix a puncture should be a requirement of bicycle ownership, IMO. Not only that, but cyclists should be required to carry the necessary tools to fix one wherever they go*. I've fixed 20-30 punctures in London over the past 6 years; 3 of them were mine.

*Yes, I know this is OTT, but it's such a simple thing that requires so little to be carried around so why don't people do it?!

thanks again for all your help. this cycle dr thing looks pretty good (+ about a grand cheaper than the cytech....... anyone care to say one or the other?)

and yeh. i have had the barely any punctures in the last year or so. had one on a bike of mine, but that was due to an old innertube. yet i seem to have loads of family friends/ friends asking me to change a puncture. IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

possibly it should be taught under P.E. or something at school