Well here we are. After 26 years of working in bike shops, I’ve opened my own bike repair business based in Essex, Vermont. The goal is to create a fast and convenient (and safe - this is 2021 after all) way to get people back to riding.
By offering at home (or office or trailhead) service, we are able to keep things as safe as possible from a COVID standpoint. Always masked and gloved, with plenty of disinfectant, and no need to go into a store, you can hopefully relax about at least this one aspect of life during the pandemic. Plus no schlepping your bike to and from a shop gives you more time to focus on the fun parts of life.
The global pandemic has been terrible in many ways, but one silver lining that has come from it is that more and more people have been getting outside to exercise and recreate. Vermont has always been a leader in outdoor recreation, and that trend has continued in 2020 and looks to keep going in 2021 and beyond. For the bicycle industry, this has put an incredible demand on bike dealers, distributors, and manufacturers, resulting in some very long lead times on new bikes and bike repair parts. This is where having an experienced bike mechanic can really help you get back riding sooner, as that experience has taught me all sorts of tricks keep bikes working until replacement parts become available. Ask me about my trail side bike repair of a snapped chainstay while at the bottom of Sidewinder trail during a Kingdom Trails Vermont. In addition, as a mobile mechanic, I’m not particularly tied down to one brand or distributor and therefore have more access to parts than a traditional shop.
I could go on more about the challenges facing the bicycle industry, but other people have done it before and probably put it better than I have. Plus does it really matter to you why your bike can’t be fixed? Probably not that much - you just want to get back to riding up
Ap Gap or down Florence as soon as possible. Wheels on Wheels is here to help.
