Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

by **eliza** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 5:36 pm

hi all,
does anyone know any women bike mechanics in brisbane?
or any apprentice women bike mechanics?
or anywhere that might take on an woman apprentice?
cheers,
e

by **BNA** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 11:40 am

by **dant** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 11:40 am

eliza,
I think there may be one at 99 Bikes Underwood. I have seen her out the back and her hands suggest very hands on. She may not be the best as I took in a bottom bracket with powdercoat on the threads and she didn't think it could be chased and faced. Took it to Riders on Kessels and they did it the same day no problems.

Having said that, she did try to help a lot and had great customer service. the other guy out the back didn't suggest to her that it could be done either so maybe they just haven't had much exposure to that problem.

But if you are looking for a place open to female mechanics then that may be a starting point - and close to you too. Maybe just pop in a few times to see if she is in. I would like to think that if you know bikes, love them and can fix them then you will get a job.

Best of luck,
Adam

by **eliza** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 2:24 pm

hi adam,
thanks loads.

i will check out 99 bikes... for the ever elusive woman bike mechanic!
e

by **mikesbytes** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 6:41 pm

Hi Eliza, I'm assuming you are thinking of becoming a bike mechanic. I would say that the main reason that most bike shops don't have female bike mechanics is because there are so few female bike mechanics. Why don't you just let all of the bike shops know that you want to become one and see what happens.

by **eliza** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 8:36 pm

hi mikesbytes,
thanks for your post.
sure, i think it'd be great to be a bike mechanic, although that's not the main reason i started the thread...
mostly i'd just like to learn a lot more about how i can fix/modify bikes.
and i think it'd be great if all the other people out there who wanted to do likewise could...

it seems to me the basic mechanics of the bike are pretty straightforward, and that, in my opinion, is a big part of it's beauty, on multiple levels.
unfortunately i don't know if there's so many folks out there who realise that... instead there's a whole mytique around bike repairs.
and people stop riding bikes simply because they have something like a flat tyre and they can't be bothered taking it in (the thought of fixing it themselves maybe not even occurring to them).

anyhoo...
recently i've been trying to get my foot in the door at a bike shop... unfortunately though i think my efforts are going to lead to nil.
most of the reason i want to get some experience is to help enable other people to work with their own bikes, which i think is so worthwhile and rewarding!!

and... through my experience with this shop i did feel a bit of the macho effect going on: there are no women working there and, well, the rest of the experience is probably no more that what is usual in mainstream oz culture...

anyway, this got me thinking in terms of how great it would be to set up bike workshops for women.
why only women? to create an environment in which women can work with their own bikes, which they (anyone!) is more than capable of doing, without paternalistic and patronising boys over their shoulders
(and trying to crack onto them)
so... to hatch my evil plan, it would probably be helpful to have someone on board who knows more than me,
hence my post, looking for a woman bike mechanic!!

oh, and of course a fringe benefit would be to meet some super cool women cyclists and build the cycling community more!

by **griffo1962** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 1:46 pm

eliza wrote:hi adam,
thanks loads.
i will check out 99 bikes... for the ever elusive woman bike mechanic!
e

I think that is Lea Harley, she's a really good Downhiller too.

by **mikesbytes** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:41 pm

Hi eliza, my club does the occasional womans mechanics days.

Cludence is your girl on this forum, why don't you PM her.

by **eliza** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:30 pm

mikesbytes wrote:Hi eliza, my club does the occasional womans mechanics days.

Cludence is your girl on this forum, why don't you PM her.

cheers...
what does "the occasional women's mechanics days" mean though?
does that mean for women mechanics? or for women who want to be mechanics? or for men who want to be women mechanics? and what does occasional mean? i.e. when's the next one? and, also, what happens within them?

by **issycf** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 10:05 am

Hi Eliza,

Did you end up getting in touch with any female bicycle mechanics in Brisbane? I am interested in becoming a bicycle mechanic and would like a supportive atmosphere to learn in. Of course this does not rule out being taught by a man either. A place that cares more about the quality of the work rather than who is doing it would be good, and somewhere that would be willing to give a newbie a go.

Cheers,

Isabelle