Ladies and Bike Shops

Nhatt, paging Nhatt..

I'm sure she'll be along shortly.
As a female bike mechanic, she's told me various stories of guys coming in and asking to speak to a guy, because they don't she is capable, obviously thats not all guys.
I think Nhatt used to run female bike workshops - maybe its worth thinking about starting something up again. I get quite a few women asking me at work about bikes, because they want to get back into it and don't know what to look for - they often don't feel comfortable asking guys because they are treated with ignorance and feel a little intimidated.
I think a women's mechanic co-op is a fantasic idea.

Recently I've been boring just about everyone I know with my ideas for a women-friendly bikeshop/cafe/hang-out space that runs maintenance courses and yoga/pilates classes - basically a place that combines most of the things I enjoy doing!

Does London have anywhere like Cranks http://cranks.org.uk/ ?

You could potentially run a start-up out of somewhere like that, or even create a space like that - one that's especially friendly to women.

Nhatt, paging Nhatt..

I'm sure she'll be along shortly.
As a female bike mechanic, she's told me various stories of guys coming in and asking to speak to a guy, because they don't she is capable, obviously thats not all guys.
I think Nhatt used to run female bike workshops - maybe its worth thinking about starting something up again.

That's the thing I'm dreading, if I'm getting this attitude from the guys that own the bike shops, I can't imagine what the customers will be like :(

I think female bike workshops are a great idea (and not ones with silly gimmicks like free champagne) and I've been seriously thinking about starting one up, it would be great to do one with the collective knowledge of the ladies on the forum!

Does London have anywhere like Cranks http://cranks.org.uk/ ?

You could potentially run a start-up out of somewhere like that, or even create a space like that - one that's especially friendly to women.

woah that looks amazing! like palaeobore, I'd love there to be a place that you could just hang out, drink coffee and play with bikes!

Does anyone on here know anything about the bike cafe that has opened recently on Regents Canal not far down for Lock 7? It looks like they're doing repairs as well now. It's an interesting use of space as it's sort of garage type space under new build flats. They seem to get lots of passing trade from people using the canal path and you can see it from the road bridges as well.

I think female bike workshops are a great idea (and not ones with silly gimmicks like free champagne) and I've been seriously thinking about starting one up,

Go to the LCC with this. They've supported, encouraged and advertised them in the past, including Nhatt's I think. I reckon they may be interested in backing them and perhaps helping to organise space to run them.

Wow, these ideas are amazing, you should totally do this enid, the market is screaming out for this and sounds like ur in an almost perfect position to start this up on ur own terms

on a slight tangent, I'd love to do a city & guilds - where'd you do it? I think it'd be amazing to extend my bike-building knowledge with a professional qualification like u have. It's always been one of my dreams to be a bike mechanic

Does anyone on here know anything about the bike cafe that has opened recently on Regents Canal not far down for Lock 7? It looks like they're doing repairs as well now. It's an interesting use of space as it's sort of garage type space under new build flats. They seem to get lots of passing trade from people using the canal path and you can see it from the road bridges as well.

I did a days work there yesterday actually. They are really nice and I'd definitely recommend them. They're pretty new and still smoothing things out but they have a great space and idea for a bike shop. Apparantly they have a two week waiting list for repairs!

Go to the LCC with this. They've supported, encouraged and advertised them in the past, including Nhatt's I think. I reckon they may be interested in backing them and perhaps helping to organise space to run them.

good idea, they might have some ideas for spaces/funding etc too.

Wow, these ideas are amazing, you should totally do this enid, the market is screaming out for this and sounds like ur in an almost perfect position to start this up on ur own terms

on a slight tangent, I'd love to do a city & guilds - where'd you do it? I think it'd be amazing to extend my bike-building knowledge with a professional qualification like u have. It's always been one of my dreams to be a bike mechanic

sorry to swamp this thread :S

I did the city and guilds at cycle-systems (who also do bike doctor) and I'd definitely recommend it, I learnt so much and I feel more confident with my knoweldge too. I don't think I'd have as much courage to set off on being a mechanic without it.

I did a days work there yesterday actually. They are really nice and I'd definitely recommend them. They're pretty new and still smoothing things out but they have a great space and idea for a bike shop. Apparantly they have a two week waiting list for repairs!

Keep meaning to go and sample their coffee and cakes as I work just across the canal from them - looks particularly enticing when it's lovely and sunny.

Great thread!

look mum no hands has a female mechanic, nik/niki(?) i think she's called.

I have felt for a long time there is a big need for a ladies only bike shop which specialises in OTP stuff for women as well as custom made. With the right marketing they could make a fortune, especially if they specialised in helping the newbies put all the right kit together. I think far many women want to cycle but find the whole atmosphere in bike shops totally intimidating.

+1 oodles of times!!

Would have saved me a few hundred quid over the years.

Get a job in Evans.

It might not be the advice that you want, but I think this is good advice for anyone, man or woman, who wants to get a job as a mechanic.

Taking a course is helpful (I took two), but it is nothing in comparison to spending time in a workshop working with people who have been doing it for years.

There are some amazing female mechanics in London, but if you want to become one of these, you need to start somewhere.

I spent a lot of time setting up my own projects before just going and getting a job with a shop, and it was a waste of my time. I wasn't in the position to offer the amount of knowledge that I needed to, and without working with masters I wouldn't have been able to ask the questions I needed to.

^^^ This is a massive reality check style post.^^^

Hi !Nhattattack, thanks for your help and advice earlier. That new stem has made such a difference, I can't believe it! I particularly enjoyed the way having a bike frame strapped to the (road) side of my bike made drivers give me a lot more space than usual :-).

Subject to acquiring green coloured bits for the frame, 'Parrot' is the tentative name - male. Might celebrate with that cider your workmate mentioned - lol.

Get a job in Evans.

It might not be the advice that you want, but I think this is good advice for anyone, man or woman, who wants to get a job as a mechanic.

Taking a course is helpful (I took two), but it is nothing in comparison to spending time in a workshop working with people who have been doing it for years.

There are some amazing female mechanics in London, but if you want to become one of these, you need to start somewhere.

I spent a lot of time setting up my own projects before just going and getting a job with a shop, and it was a waste of my time. I wasn't in the position to offer the amount of knowledge that I needed to, and without working with masters I wouldn't have been able to ask the questions I needed to.

Well this is why I want to get a job in a bike shop before I do anything on my own, even though setting up on my own feels like the easiest thing at the moment. I definitely want to and need to learn as much as I can from other people.

But Evans really? I've spoken to a few ex-Evans employees and they said it was pretty awful there. And that's not really what I want from being a mechanic, working in a chainstore.

could be worth for 6-12 months perhaps? If it's for a higher purpose it could be worth having a shit time for a bit

That said, if you can work alongside a good mechanic in a good place, that sounds a lot better

So, my twopence worth as a female mechanic:

I've had bike shops tell me to my face and behind my back that they won't employ me because I'm a girl. I've had some shit experiences working as a mechanic and some great ones. I'm currently working in a lovely shop with 2 female mechanics out of the 7 or 8 that work there. Yesterday a woman brought her two little girls into the workshop so they could see that there was a woman working there. Which I found kinda funny, but also quite nice and promising.

@enid - pm me re evans (or anything else) if you want, I'm avoiding too much employment related chat on a public forum, but am more than happy to bitch/answer questions out of the public domain. good luck with it all!

One of my favourite quotes on this sort of thing is from a Simon Hoggart column a long time ago. I can't remember the exact wording, but it went roughly like this: 'For years, people used to say that women couldn't drive lorries or buses, which they now do all the time without any apparent problems.'

@enid - it sounds like you should continue looking for a job, because perhaps that's the ideal situation, but keep your mind open to going solo. Tell everyone you meet that you're a freelance bike mechanic, find a workshop/source of tools that you can use when required, print some Moo cards, register a website domain (for when you're ready) and just start doing jobs for friends, family and friends of friends. Every bit of work you pick up will increase your confidence.

I take the point made my Nhatt, but at the same time there's a lot to be said for learning by doing, and you could argue that you'll learn faster through necessity than you would under the wing of a seasoned pro. There's more than one way to skin a cat, and toiling away in Evans is not the only path to your goal.

..........There are some amazing female mechanics in London, but if you want to become one of these, you need to start somewhere.....

Nina at the Bicycle Workshop is one of the most highly respected bike mechanics around. Its not just my opinion, but also that of the frame maker of Thorn Cycles. He ONLY recommends Nina for mechanical repairs in London.

When I was a courier (back in the days of black and white TV, and the pony express, and Queen Victoria), it was the only shop that I had 100% satisfaction with, in terms of repair work.

She is pretty awesome, as was Mel (now moved onto proper enginering).
I hope someday to be that good...
I'm abut frustrated by my progress in some ways. Because everyone I work with is so pro, i feel like I'm never going to be good enough. But I've learned a lot inthe last year, probably more than inthe 6 before combined. Hopefully someday I'll be up to mel and nina's level.