A waste of £150

[winjim]

I quite enjoy building bikes so I thought I might get properly into it, get qualified and build a few to sell on. More as a hobby than actually to make any money. So I've just taken Cytech theory level 1. What a pointless waste of money. I don't know any more about bike maintenance than before. The course is badly written and the assessment is laughable. I would say it was a waste of time as well but it only took me my lunch hour to do it. Very disappointing, I should've called it quits after the free trial but I decided to press on. Shame, I could've spent the money on some new hubs or something.

I think rather than continue with the Cytech practical I might come knocking on @Graeme_FK 's door for some Velotech training. It looks a bit more up my street, more actual mechanics rather than H&S or customer relations. And as I am a Campagnolo fanboy...

 

[Pat "5mph"]

If you are experienced you won't enjoy the Velotech bronze, the first level, it will be too easy for you.
I went for a bronze/silver combined (it was the only option at the time), 2 full days 9.30 to 4.30. Cost me 100 plus 200 ILA founds.
Managed to pass the bronze, but it was intense for me: as it is not something you can go home and practise from one day to the next, really to pass you should already be proficient.
I did a few free courses too, from bike shops and local, council founded, cycling hubs. Found this easier as I could go home, think about it, have a tinker.
Of course if a paper qualification is important, you need to start from the obvious bits.
Ah, afaik on the Velotech one only works on hybrids/mbikes, never road bikes, somebody who did the Gold told me.

 

[lpretro1]

try spending your money at The Bike-Inn http://www.bike-inn.co.uk/
u can di a very comprehensive 1 week course there

 

[NeilnrLincoln]

Is it necessary to have a qualification to work on other peoples bikes? I consider myself a pretty proficient cycle mechanic. I build my own bikes & maintain my own and all the families bikes. Over the last year or so I've had people locally bringing me bikes to service & repair, should I have a qualification (and/or insurance) to be working on other peoples bikes?

 

[Levo-Lon]

You need a certificates for everything these days..'job creation'' by govt

Ive been looking to change my job for 2,3 yrs now 'winter blues no work' and its all you need 'this or that'
even if i wanted to do what ive been doing for over 30 yrs i need a load of certificates to work on a building site..even though i spent years working on sites with labourers under me.

if a lot of places simply gave people a month to show their ability rather than needing a piece of paper maybe the skills gap would be filled eaiser...just a thought..

example, ive been operating small excavators jcb type diggers machines for years, but a guy with no experience and a few days training at Bercham Newton will get the job..

i really do feel that a lot of these jobs advertised with the 'we gurantee an interview after training' is a complete con as You pay to train..
driving instructor jobs with a 37k earnings carrot LOL ,now that should be a legislation avenue the powers that be need to tackle, lots pay a lot of money to find this new job is actually a very expensive con trick.

 

[TreeHuggery]

Is it necessary to have a qualification to work on other peoples bikes? I consider myself a pretty proficient cycle mechanic. I build my own bikes & maintain my own and all the families bikes. Over the last year or so I've had people locally bringing me bikes to service & repair, should I have a qualification (and/or insurance) to be working on other peoples bikes?

im not qualified to say... but would suggest insurance..... just thinking that if i'd taken my bike for servicing and it was nicked while there, unless it was being done as a favour, i'd be expecting to claim off their insurance....... and I'm saying that as a small business person, who gets really frustrated with the paperwork I need to fill in, and the frustration of putting things in place that nibble away at my profit.....

 

[Poacher]

Wasn't "getting red of all the red tape which strangles enterprise" part of the tory manifesto?

 

[bikeman66]

You need a certificates for everything these days..'job creation'' by govt

Ive been looking to change my job for 2,3 yrs now 'winter blues no work' and its all you need 'this or that'
even if i wanted to do what ive been doing for over 30 yrs i need a load of certificates to work on a building site..even though i spent years working on sites with labourers under me.

if a lot of places simply gave people a month to show their ability rather than needing a piece of paper maybe the skills gap would be filled eaiser...just a thought..

example, ive been operating small excavators jcb type diggers machines for years, but a guy with no experience and a few days training at Bercham Newton will get the job..

i really do feel that a lot of these jobs advertised with the 'we gurantee an interview after training' is a complete con as You pay to train..
driving instructor jobs with a 37k earnings carrot LOL ,now that should be a legislation avenue the powers that be need to tackle, lots pay a lot of money to find this new job is actually a very expensive con trick.

Totally agree! I see exactly the same thing going on in the building trade down here on the Isle of Wight. There's obviously some sensible rules and regulations out there, but it's never been more difficult to earn a living due to needless red tape and paperwork.

On a similar note........ is it actually a legal requirement to have certified qualifications to organize small cycling groups and lead them on rides? Have been toying with the idea of trying a small scale cycling holidays business (mainly to lessen the amount of time I have to subject my body to the physical stresses of the building trade), but if it is laden with red tape, then.............

 

[Levo-Lon]

Yes you need certificates for that..lol if money is involved..

 

[lpretro1]

Is it necessary to have a qualification to work on other peoples bikes? I consider myself a pretty proficient cycle mechanic. I build my own bikes & maintain my own and all the families bikes. Over the last year or so I've had people locally bringing me bikes to service & repair, should I have a qualification (and/or insurance) to be working on other peoples bikes?

There is no requirement in the cycle trade to have any qualification but if I was a customer then personally I'd be happier knowing someone working on my bike possessed one - and something better than a Cytech level ! However, if you are working on other people's bikes you really ought to have insurance - third party liability as a minimum to cover you in the event of something going wrong after you've worked on a bike. If you are taking payment for it this should be declared to HMRC

 

[winjim]

If you are experienced you won't enjoy the Velotech bronze, the first level, it will be too easy for you.
I went for a bronze/silver combined (it was the only option at the time), 2 full days 9.30 to 4.30. Cost me 100 plus 200 ILA founds.
Managed to pass the bronze, but it was intense for me: as it is not something you can go home and practise from one day to the next, really to pass you should already be proficient.

Of course if a paper qualification is important, you need to start from the obvious bits.
Ah, afaik on the Velotech one only works on hybrids/mbikes, never road bikes, somebody who did the Gold told me.

I think I would need to do at least gold really to get the most out of it. I'll have to see if they'll let me skip bronze and silver. I'm surprised they don't work on road bikes, given their association with Campagnolo, but I would like experience of all types of bike really. As a wise man once said, a bikes a bikes*.

Is it necessary to have a qualification to work on other peoples bikes? I consider myself a pretty proficient cycle mechanic. I build my own bikes & maintain my own and all the families bikes. Over the last year or so I've had people locally bringing me bikes to service & repair, should I have a qualification (and/or insurance) to be working on other peoples bikes?

I think necessary is a strong word. I'm happy that I can build and maintain a bike to a level that I'm happy with. However, if I'm going to sell the bikes on, it would be nice for the buyer to have a bit of confidence that I've done a good job. Not long ago there was someone on CC looking for cheap groupsets to put on imported frames. One of the things they got asked was if they were Cytech qualified. Plus I'd like to do the course for my own interest anyway as there are probably things I can learn. I'd like to know how to properly check a frame for alignment for example, and to have someone check my wheelbuilding.


*If you get this joke, congratulations, you've been paying attention.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Agree @winjim on the sell bikes that are fit for use..

Saying that ,ive bought at least 5 bikes from a large main dealers and had to wait for the bikes to have a Full PDI before i could take the bikes home..

They all had faults when i checked them at home.

faults found..
most had wonky bars..how hard is it to set handle bars.
over tight headsets..bars wont fall side to side ..
gears not indexed..
soft tyres..50psi on road bikes with Inflate 120 psi on the tyres...
mountainn bikes..forks with no air in them..soft shock..
calipers not aligned..
Long brake hoses..

you do wonder how these ' bike mechanics' get passed..
yes i know it down to the workshop manager and the lazy worker, but most faults would and could hurt a novice who has no idea..

 

[Gravity Aided]

You can but half imagine what I see from time to time coming out of Wal*Marts here in the States. The liability they carry must be awesome, because the mistakes made in the initial assembly of what is, to start with, a sh*te bike from China, are the stuff of legend. I worked last year for a charity that fixed up bikes for folks who had no money for something better. We'd see a few hundred cycles , fix them up for give-away, then the guy who ran it would be collecting them again, from police agencies and disposal companies. I would help out again this year, but I may have even yet more hours at work.

 

[TreeHuggery]

Agree @winjim on the sell bikes that are fit for use..

Saying that ,ive bought at least 5 bikes from a large main dealers and had to wait for the bikes to have a Full PDI before i could take the bikes home..

They all had faults when i checked them at home.

faults found..
most had wonky bars..how hard is it to set handle bars.
over tight headsets..bars wont fall side to side ..
gears not indexed..
soft tyres..50psi on road bikes with Inflate 120 psi on the tyres...
mountainn bikes..forks with no air in them..soft shock..
calipers not aligned..
Long brake hoses..

you do wonder how these ' bike mechanics' get passed..
yes i know it down to the workshop manager and the lazy worker, but most faults would and could hurt a novice who has no idea..

yeah don't get me started on Halfords....

 

[Pat "5mph"]

On a similar note........ is it actually a legal requirement to have certified qualifications to organize small cycling groups and lead them on rides? Have been toying with the idea of trying a small scale cycling holidays business (mainly to lessen the amount of time I have to subject my body to the physical stresses of the building trade), but if it is laden with red tape, then.............

Your area may differ, here if we want to take people out for bike rides we need to get a ride leader certificate, which is actually a quite basic one day course.
Also we must have insurance. This if you want to work with a local authority, or if you belong to an affiliate group to the CTC, like my ladies group.
We do pay our own insurance as a group, the training was free provided by Cycling Scotland.
When I work for my local authority my insurance is paid by them. They needed a more detailed certificate, a 4 day course, that was paid by them.
I think it is also good practice to have your own personal CTC or BC insurance, in case you have a mishap while not working on a ride.
There is paperwork required if you work for local authorities, risk assessment and other.
If you are self employed, you will need liability insurance, I guess the insurer will want a certificate.
You will also need a first aid certificate, and you should be confident in basic bike repairs, you will be responsible for beginners and will have to be able to take them back to base if something happens.