Ladies and Bike Shops

http://www.lfgss.com/thread48608.html

They also run women only courses if you would prefer that. The 'normal' courses are often taught by women anyway. I work for them so I guess I am biased but there is a review of the course somewhere on the forum which I will try to dig out.

here it is http://www.lfgss.com/thread48608.html

I was thinking about doing a CTUK course; they sound fun! I like that you get to work on your own bike, and I'd rather maintain my bike myself than have to go to a shop every time I have a problem.

I think there's a discount on the maintenance course if you do some cycle training too. Has anyone tried the cycle training - is it worth doing?

I was thinking about doing a CTUK course; they sound fun! I like that you get to work on your own bike, and I'd rather maintain my bike myself than have to go to a shop every time I have a problem.

I think there's a discount on the maintenance course if you do some cycle training too. Has anyone tried the cycle training - is it worth doing?

i'd suggest doing a quick forum search, as there are plenty of peoples stories of doing cycle training to be found. most people seem to have had a really good response out of doing them, and i'm sure the LCC would be a good place to check for details of courses in your area. i think if you work or live in a borough which provides cycle training for free it's easy to get your training sorted.

should maybe do it myself, could do with a bit of feedback, and help for feeling a bit better on the road.

I was thinking about doing a CTUK course; they sound fun! I like that you get to work on your own bike, and I'd rather maintain my bike myself than have to go to a shop every time I have a problem.

I think there's a discount on the maintenance course if you do some cycle training too. Has anyone tried the cycle training - is it worth doing?

http://www.lfgss.com/thread43906.html

Indeed we have a whole forum about Cycle Training

http://www.lfgss.com/forum49.html

which includes lists of boroughs and cycle training providers. Feel free to PM me or SkyDancer if you have any other questions.
The very great majority of individuals taking up cycle training are women and, biased though I am, I think the feedback is more or less 100% positive.

As an aside, I am slightly worried that the Cycle Training forum is being over looked so if any of the women on here who want training, or have had training, want to to contribute to the training forum you are more than welcome to do so. The better word of mouth we get the more women we will see taking up training and being less reluctant to cycle on the roads. And, biased again though I am, CTUK is 50% female in its staffing and I know there is no shortage of female instructors in general so hopefully Cycle Training is something that might also play a part in overturning a lot of sexist assumptions about women and bikes.

I was thinking about doing a CTUK course; they sound fun! I like that you get to work on your own bike, and I'd rather maintain my bike myself than have to go to a shop every time I have a problem.

I think there's a discount on the maintenance course if you do some cycle training too. Has anyone tried the cycle training - is it worth doing?

I have done both the maintenance and cycle training with CTUK and wholeheartedly recommend them. My problem was my memory is rubbish and what would have helped me is having some old crappy parts lying around to practise on at home because I didn't want to take my own bike apart in case I forgot something and fucked it up.

Point to note that may not be in the threads linked to: you may well be the only woman doing the mechanic course - I was one of two, admittedly a few years ago. Not that I'm suggesting anyone should feel uncomfortable about that - it's all just people learning about bike maintenance. Just thought I'd mention it as this is posted in the ladies' forum.

That sounds great - I think it's always useful to learn more. Will, I'll PM you about this, thanks. :)

I've noticed that women riders can be less assertive, more likely to hug the kerbs etc. Perhaps that's why so more of the cyclists who are killed in London are women. But drivers do seem to be more aggressive toward female riders too though.

Finally had a chance to catch up on all the replies to this thread, it's encouraging to see that so many women (and men) are so positive about female mechanics and friendly shops.

In case anyone was interested, I was asked by the lovely people at Bobbin Bicycles to come and work for them as the assistant mechanic in their new workshop..which is very exciting! I'm really looking forward to working with dutch and utility style bikes, and hopefully creating a workshop that will be as welcoming as possible to everyone!

Wicked! Actually thought of that when I saw that they're opening up a workshop

Wicked! Actually thought of that when I saw that they're opening up a workshop

yeah, it's pretty exciting! i still can't quite believe i've landed the job.

Well done and god luck

That sounds great - I think it's always useful to learn more. Will, I'll PM you about this, thanks. :)

I've noticed that women riders can be less assertive, more likely to hug the kerbs etc. Perhaps that's why so more of the cyclists who are killed in London are women. But drivers do seem to be more aggressive toward female riders too though.

Back to this one - I see a ton of dudes hugging curbs on my commute, popping out around parked cars and then popping back around them, getting stuck behind them...

Congrats on getting the job!

yeah lady, congrats on the job, very well done :)

Congrats! I really adore Bobbins; I bought my first bike from there and the staff were all really sweet and helpful. It's exciting that they have a workshop now, hope it goes well. :)

Brilliant forum. Am a bit of a newbie to bike building and repairing and have tons more ideas of where to go with it now....

...I've noticed that women riders can be less assertive, more likely to hug the kerbs etc. Perhaps that's why so more of the cyclists who are killed in London are women. But drivers do seem to be more aggressive toward female riders too though.

i dont know how well-read this article was, but it's an interesting comment on the attitude of drivers toward perceived gender/skill level http://http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-404654/Helmet-wearing-cyclists-likely-knocked-down.html

Good luck!
Bobbin bikes are a nightmare to work on, but it will be a good learning experience.
The really awesome thing is that you will be working with Alexis, who is one of the best people on the planet.

Good luck!
Bobbin bikes are a nightmare to work on, but it will be a good learning experience.
The really awesome thing is that you will be working with Alexis, who is one of the best people on the planet.

thanks!

yeah, they are a bit of a pain, especially in the little space I've had to work on them, definitely looking forward to getting the workshop open.

really looking forward to learning as much as possible from Alexis, he seems like an amazingly nice chap.

Saw a female mechanic working at the back of Compton Cycles (Catford) the other day. She seemed fast and very confident.....more so than the male mechanic working just a few feet a away. Is she on here, or does anyone know who she is? Good to see more female mechanics IMO.