Phil (ascentale)Next from @pete:
Q2. Have you ever had a job in the 'bike industry' (i.e anything cycling-centric)? How did it work out? If not, have you ever considered it?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
Sam Whited@ascentale @pete @bikenite A2. Just as a bicycle mechanic; as much as I love mechanic work, I do get tired of perpetually being unable to make basic payments for things (and I've been lucky, the shops I've been at mostly provided health insurance, but most don't have any benefits at all). It is the best job, but I do wish there were some other job in the industry that made a tiny bit more money that I could do.
Moz@sam @ascentale @pete @bikenite A2: at least in Australia minimum wage is ~$25/hr (~$US15) and we have public health services etc. You can live on it, but raising a family is hard (people do!)
I'm more into the mental challenge side of bike mechanicing, give me the Nihola that's riding funny over yet another cheap MTB that needs a new drivetrain any day. Luckily the shop I worked in was the "that's weird, go to those guys" shop for the city :)
@moz @ascentale @pete @bikenite yah, I'm jealous. In the U.S. minimum wage is $7.25 USD* an hour (and has been since the 2000s) and healthcare costs twice as much as anywhere else (and you have to pay for it personally if your job doesn't provide it). This whole place really is a shit hole (even before you get to the fascist takeover and 1933 Germany vibes) and I'm getting more and more bitter year over year. It's not a good place to be.
* Federal. Some states have their own.
AmgineWay bitd I would work on my bike at a bike co-op in Minneapolis, MN. The best thing about the place was was how the workers were so stoked about what they did.
And they owned the place. That is, it was a co-op, they were all members, they got an extra vote at the AGMs, helped do the day-to-day decision-making. Most of 'em volunteered, so others could earn more wage.
Still a happy-place memory for me.
@Amgine @moz @ascentale @pete I'm even more jealous of that :) My pipe dream has always been to start a worker-owned bike shop (or any co-op really). I'm glad to know there's a shop out there doing it!
@sam @Amgine @ascentale @pete the Ceres Bike Co-op in Melbourne spawned the shop I worked at. It's still going after the shop shut down.
Glowworm and Omafiets both grew out of the Sydney University Bike Coop, although Glowworm has since changed hands.
It's not especially uncommon in my experience. But good bike ships in general are usually part of a community.
It starts out small, a bike stand & some tools, maybe at a park after the weekly ride, a few like-minded friends, Then you're calling local co-op and organizers, collecting catalogs, organizing weekend maintenance demonstrations.
It has to be a side gig, at first. Talking to other bike shops to take jobs they don't have time for, maybe. Riding around with thumbtacks and business cards. Craig's List ads.
It's work & study. But it can happen.