I guess so. I was curious if there is a similar projected demand in the US. I don't know if that info is on this page, but it does show the median annual wage to be $38k https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes493091.htm

Anybody with half a brain an allen wrench and an inclination can fix their own bike.

Lots of AI-proof trades that pay well. HVAC, welding, plumbing, mechanics, etc.

And you kinda need to be a pothead 🤣

gotta make money to spend money

It's not survivable in the EU. It's just that you would qualify for government assistance whereas in the US you're probably told to go live in a cardboard box. The problem is it doesn't really fix the underlying issue which is that as soon as anyone is offered a better paying job they'll disappear.

No one's going to put in the effort to get certified if the job is known not to pay very well.

No longer in the EU but UK minimum wage is comfortably survivable in most of the country. Might be fucked in London though.

I tried adjusting my own derailleur once.

Shop for me from then on.

I'm surprised when I talk to people and almost always hear that they bring their bike to a shop for maintenance and repair. I'm usually the strange one who do his own maintenance and repairs. So I can believe that most people bring their bike to a mechanic. The 90% figure still seems high though.

The full quote is, "A lot of them now will come to cycle shops for pretty much 90% of bike repairs." So not necessarily that 90% of people are coming in for every issue, but that there are people who rely on the shop for almost every issue.

I've learned a lot about bike repairs this year, and I've been volunteering as a mechanic at free bike repair events. It's been interesting going from the clueless customer asking for a "tune-up" to being the one asked for a tune-up. If you ride but don't have maintenance background you know that it's possible there might be some problematic, or even dangerous issue; but you have no idea what that might be. And if you can identify a problem, as far as you know any work you do might brake something in a way you don't understand. So I can understand people going to the shop frequently.

I think it is fairly common for the average rider in a bikeable area. Like a car sure a lot of drivers know how to change a tire, a lot fewer change the oil or brakes. Computers arent hard to build but 90% of people buy something premade.

In NL/BE it’s so bad that most settled bike shops won’t even plan your repair if the bike was not bought at that store. Why? Because there’s still more then enough work with only your own customers.

So you’d ask yourself, why don’t repair only places open? Because the knowledge required to start fixing bikes has evolved a lot with the multitude of e-bike systems, and moreover people already find the repair prices too expensive when the costs are slightly subsidized by the people buying bikes at the shop.

Around Toronto, mobile bike mechanics are quite popular, they have an entire shop in a van. But, they don't make much money because most bikes are not worth repairing and it's a seasonal job.

Well if you're volunteering, isn't that part of the problem? Stop fixing bikes for cheap. Charge people more. If cheap/free places no longer exist, you can make money as a bike mechanic.

That's just capitalism for you.

That's because rent prices are extremely high, not because the salary is low.

Not until you get drafted as mechanic on one of the big bicycle Formula 1 teams like red bull or McLaren OH WAIT

A reading from the book of the prophet Scott Biram:

Well you can spend all your life makin lots of money, but only Jesus gonna save you honey

I just imagine brake cables incorrectly routed into the riders helmet, every time they apply brakes it smashes their face into the handle bars

I do it all myself and just follow guides very slowly. Haven't had a problem in 7 years, not everyone that does DIY is a moron.

I can lube a drivetrain but I cannot and I repeat cannot tune one. I tried and fucked my trek bike up. All the tutorials aren't helpful to me

I have been into 2 bike shops to ask if they stocked any chain wax. First one (Halfords) had no idea what that was and didn't stock it. The second (Local independent) immediately knew what I was asking about when I mentioned drip on being used to top it up between immersion dipping it in melted wax, just didn't have any stock of what I was specifically after.

Fair enough as it was a pretty small shop. But I know who I would trust more.