We surprised Mechanic Dan Large mid-way through day 8 of supporting Team Thin Energy in the Race Across America.

“Exhausted.” That was Large’s first response to the predictable opener.  Despite that, with 7 or so hours left in his odyssey, the chat was upbeat.

PBMA members will likely be familiar with Large from his many presentations at Technical Workshop and CABDA seminars and his resume of neutral, team, event, shop, and individual professional support is exceptional.  Ask him.

Large is one of 14 support personnel taking care of criterium racing legend Rahsaan Bahati, roadie Rudy Napolitano, triathlete Alex Isaly, and MTB rider James Cowan (getting on a time trial bike for the first time).  The team benefits the Bahati Foundation, Rahsaan’s decade old organization dedicated to improving young lives through cycling safely.
The plan was to finish the Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD route in 6 days.

Diligent maintenance around the clock has led to almost no mechanical setbacks to the team, who have both TT and road bikes at their disposal.  All of the team are on tubeless road tires and, with an incredible zero flats, the systems have held up well.

The original plan had Large, the sole mechanic on the crew, rotating into the RV the riders sleep in.  In actuality, the sleep that he has snuck in has mostly been in the car with his crew chief taking over the wheel.   A follow car is required by RAAM from sunset to sunrise and Team This Energy are flat-out racing with two riders exchanging short (originally 30 minutes but the situation has been fluid) road stints for 6 hours and then resting for 6 hours.
​
If Rahsaan were to ask in Annapolis, “Large, will you be on this crew again next year?” he was quick to reply with a “YES!”  “With the same solid crew, I would definitely do this again.”  Maybe with more than 6 hours in the RV.

More information at: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/team-thin-energy-raam

PBMA Technical Workshops return for a third season
 
Following the success of six technical training workshops, the PBMA has announced the continuation of coordinated manufacturer-direct training, with 4 events planned from October 2019 to February of 2020.
 
Kicking off later this year in Cleveland(October 14thto 16th) the workshops now start midday Monday and wrap up on Wednesday evening, featuring a manufacturer bonus day on Thursday where some manufacturers will conduct additional training geared towards advanced technical training and/or sales training on their latest products.
 
The PBMA reconfigured the schedule to allow for some expanded education opportunities; where there was a 90-minute session before, you will now see those vendors taking advantage of a 2-hour session, giving them a bit of breathing room to cover a bit more on the technical side.
 
PBMA intends to offer its certification testing Monday morning prior to the start of the workshop and also Wednesday and Thursday once the event has concluded.
 
The workshops continue in December in Salt Lake City (December 2 to 6) and then head east to Austin in January and then journeys north to Hartford in February to wrap up the Spring of 2020.
 
PBMA President James Stanfill said, “Balancing event dates and locations is a real challenge. We never want to overlap with other events and we want to ensure we are making our training events accessible to people in different regions each year.”
 
Registration is now open for the all four events. PBMA members pay $250, non-members $400. The registration price includes daily morning and evening breaks, three lunches and a catered reception in addition to direct access to all the participating vendors. Already on board for the upcoming training season are DT Swiss, Enduro Bearings, SR Suntour, Magura, Industry Nine and Pedro’s. 
 
The PBMA hopes to announce the final participating brands as well as confirm the Austin dates in the coming weeks.

In addition to the technical training the PBMA is placing emphasis on providing Mechanics and Service Managers important tools for profitability; attendees will participate a few sessions focused on selling service and setting an appropriate labor rate.
 
A tradition since the inception of these hands-on training events, the PBMA is providing the opportunity for 4 individuals per location to attend these workshops for no charge. These scholarships are 100% funded by theCABDA Expo in order to provide a diverse group of attendees the opportunity to attend, including those who are in need of financial assistance. Scholarships include workshop registration fees, lodging and a stipend for travel and food.

To register or apply for a scholarship please head to:
https://www.probma.org/pbma-technical-workshops.html

Most membership materials and orders will be delayed as we re-inventory and move our Texas warehouse to a more functional facility. We should resume shipping in a couple weeks.

Many folks I meet through the PBMA ask and wonder how I got here. I used to conduct a teaching session at the USA Cycling Bill Woodul Race Mechanics Clinic "career development", I showed a timeline resume and talked with those folks about the various things found within in... so at that time, everyone I encountered knew how I got to be there in front of them. For this I figured some folks might like a deeper look into what made me who I am.
 
I cut my teeth in the early 90's as a junior racer and a shop rat... I started by basically begging for a job in Tucson so I could afford to race my bicycle, even back then entry fees for a high school kid were really steep. Luckily my mom saw to it that cycling was a thing that kept me out of trouble and made sure I was able to get to races and still make the (passing) grades at school.

After about 10 years of working in the shop, racing in the US and abroad I was tired. Tired of being a mediocre racer and tired being maxed out of earning in the bicycle shop. I wasn't poorly paid but I didn't feel I was financially rewarded or gaining anything by staying there.

I quit with nothing lined up and no prospects. I put together a resume and started applying all over the place. I had a few interviews, some things were interesting, others not. I interviewed at Blockbuster Video (keep in mind at this time this was a Forbes Fortune 500 business owned by Viacom Entertainment with 9,000 "brick and mortar" retail locations). This interview was intense and with more than one person, something even the business classes in college didn't train me for. I didn't get hired on the spot and took at job at Dillards who I had also interviewed with and made me a job offer... The day I started at Dillards, Blockbuster called, I quit Dillards that day - what a horrible place to work (critical after 3 days of working in a mall, I know).

Some may be laughing a bit, other hopefully are wondering why... it's real simple. Blockbuster offered me a starting hourly position that paid me almost double what I earned as a manager of a pretty busy and high volume bicycle shop in little old Tucson Arizona, two weeks paid vacation, paid on-the-job training, a company matching 401k and a fairly flexible schedule, they were open from 10a to Midnight daily after all!.

I did real well there. I received some really good schedule management training which went right along with forecasting business, I learned how to read and write a budget, I learned people management and loss prevention. Over my 5-year history there I learned more than I did in any school, got paid really really well, managed 100's of people, fired probably just as many. I even made some lifelong friends.

For those still laughing:
When I left I was running up to 10 stores which had an average of 10 employees each and grossing a million dollars per location, this "district" as they called it was one of the most successful in the entire region of Arizona (and the western states)and if you do the math was simply cranking out rentals and video equipment sales.

Eventually my passion for cycling caught back up. I left Blockbuster with a pretty good package of compensation at a good time, a couple years later the store closing began, the writing was on the wall and I and others saw it coming. There were shops and other things that filled the financial void until I really got back into the bicycle world.

After a short stint in Phoenix working at a pretty high end shop which appreciated quality and qualified employees (oh yeah, during those 5-years outside the industry I kept my hands dirty with Mavic SSC supporting all the races around the USA, it was a perfect use of my paid vacation time!), I got a job at Cannondale, working on their photoshoot and driving a demo truck all around the USA supporting shops, events and athletes. 
 
I worked with the Liquigas team and got to meet all those kids who became and are now superstars, I went on to work at USA Cycling in their Athletics Department, managing teams for PanAm and World Cup track events, going to Worlds and supporting our nation's elite athletes.

I left there to work for Specialized Bicycles in their Bicycle R&D Department which allowed me to again work with their elite athletes and teams, see some of the latest innovations and put my thinking skills to the test. My boss there (Mike McAndrews) challenged me all the time to do better and be better, the guy that runs the place did the same, I worked on his bikes and provided him feedback on the products the company was producing, talking about complex to simple things.

Cycling is my passion and my life, today I work for my own companies (yes, more than one) to make ends meet and support the mission of the PBMA. I do race and team support, I share my opinion with owners and managers. I reflect on all I've done and the 30 or so countries I've been lucky enough to visit.

I would not be here today without having left to get the things I wanted as a person, to become a manager, to understand how business and retail work. Some may laugh or snicker but the things I learned outside of our industry are the exact things that we need to start doing inside of our industry if we are going to survive the future. Blockbuster didn't adapt... they tried to, but it was 3 years too late.

I encourage you, if you made it this far, to join the PBMA and let us help you with the future!

The PBMA has conducted two surveys with questions around the diverse culture that makes up the workplace, anyone reading or viewing this page may reuse the information for non-profit purposes and with proper citation of the source.

​These surveys were simply intended to gather some information. The PBMA has been criticized for not supporting diversity and for hosting a hostile environment on Facebook now titled "World Bicycle Mechanic Forum". In a group of 10,000 people, the loudest are always heard the most, perhaps it reflects poorly on us, but it is a valuable resource for many using it. When we see things happening that don't reflect a professional or proper image of cycling, we have a team of moderators in place that take necessary action as soon as possible.

To date the PBMA, in association with organizations such as CABDA, has been able to invest between $5,000 and $10,000 in ensuring our workshops include those underrepresented with travel stipends, housing, meals and tuition. We've also made sure those underrepresented have had the opportunity to grow and learn through supporting other initiatives financially.  We do not advertise these facts, because as an industry, we shouldn't necessarily be proud of needing to create these opportunities separately. The PBMA is dedicated to lowering whatever barriers we can.

We've included some comments from the survey conducted last year so you can read and see how people talk and feel, these comments aren't representative of the PBMA's visions or thoughts, we simply feel it is important to share. We've left time stamps and dates so you can see trends in the individual comments and perhaps relate comments to one another from the same survey taker.

Traditionally February is one of the slowest months of the year for bike shops. Jospeh Nocella of 718 Cyclery and Jeff Latimer of Gus’ Bike Shop were brainstorming ideas after Bike Shop Day. They wondered how shops could work together to encourage customers to bring bikes in for service during winter months? Enter “Fix Your Bike February”.
 
The concept is simple, just encourage your customers to bring their bikes to you in February for service and create some promotions around the idea. The hope is that this will gain traction not only with shops, but with parts vendors as well to grow into an annual promotion. 
 
 “Every spring we get swamped with bikes coming in for tune ups.  Shops can use #fixyourbikeFeb to remind customers to bring bikes in for service now.  That way they are out riding a well tuned bike instead of standing in line on that first warm Saturday in the Spring”  said Jeff Latimer. 
 
Here are a few ideas that can be used to encourage customers to bring their bikes into your shop for February:
 

• Hold a class or series of classes focused on bike repair
• Feature your mechanic(s) in your social media posts
• Post repair tips 
• Post photos of unique builds and parts upgrades
• Create some specials on parts

 
To help generate interest and keep a consistent message please:
 

• Reference “Fix Your Bike February”  in your marketing and emails.  
• Use the hashtag #fixyourbikeFeb 

 
Joe Nocella remarked,  ”I think that Fix Your Bike February is a great compliment to and in the spirit of Bike Shop Day. It focuses on what makes the local bike shop special, and highlights the value we bring to our customers. The Internet isn't fixing or maintaining your bike”
 
To register your shop as a participant and get a copy of the logo to use in your marketing, please send an email to jeff@gusbike.com
 
About Fix Your Bike February
Inspired by “Bike Shop Day” as created by 718 Cyclery in Brooklyn, NY.  Fix Your Bike February is a project of 718 Cyclery and Gus’ Bike Shop in North Hampton, NH.  For more information please contact Jeff Latimer via email  jeff@gusbike.com

Fix your Bike Day Press Release courtesy of Jeff Latimer

Our final interview of 2018 features Chris Kreidl, Operations Manager for Unior USA.  As Operations Manager Chris handles the day to day operations for the US Importer for Unior Tools including sales, marketing and customer service. Chis was also one of the very first mechanics to join the PBMA!

So Chris, how did you get started in the cycling industry?
I was youngish, had no drivers license, and my commute to university was too far to walk.  So I rode.  As a full time student with no job commuting through Milwaukee winters, my bikes never lasted long.  Being a poor college student I couldn't afford to pay for parts and labor to fix what the winters did to my bike so I got a job at a shop near the UW-Milwaukee campus (Chris says Hey! Bikesmiths!) and never looked back.

Your career turned to race mechanics, how did that happen and why was that something you wanted to do?
While watching highlights from the Tour de France I saw a video of a Mavic Neutral Support mechanic standing on top of a moving car doing something with the saddle on a bike racked up on the roof.  I thought that looked pretty sweet and wanted to do it.  A friend had gone through the Bill Woodul Clinic the year prior and recommended it to me if, for whatever reason, that was the sort of thing I wanted to do with my life.  And it was.

You've been all over the place, worked tons of races.  Whats your favorite race and why?
Contrary to what many cycling fans might think, my favorite races are the ones in the Middle East (Tour of Qatar, Tour of Oman...).  As race mechanics we spend a lot of time in crappy hotels eating pretty crappy food.  These races have the best accommodations I've experienced as part of a bike race, and that makes the job that much easier.  Aside from that, following the races through all the little villages along the route, it's pretty cool seeing an entire town come out to cheer the race on.  I've been through small villages in Oman that have had better spectator turnout than a lot of races in the US will ever see.

You have a new roll in the industry, now you've hung up your suitcase.  What parts of your background helped you get this new position?
A few things!

A large part of my role is marketing, or increasing brand awareness and hopefully turning that awareness into tool sales.  Cycling teams are marketing vehicles for the companies that sponsor them.  It's our job as team staff to make sure we're representing our sponsors to the best of our abilities and doing what we can to provide value to them.  It would be nice to think that companies that choose to back a team are doing so out of goodwill and totally authentic reasons, but that's not the case

The other thing I had to offer Unior was credibility.  I've made my living working with tools and I like to think I developed a reputation as a pretty good mechanic. Since I relied on the tools in my tool case to help me make that living I was somewhat choosy with what I would spend my money on.  Good tools help a good mechanic do good work quickly.  I think my reputation as a mechanic helps lend credibility to the Unior offerings, and that was attractive to my new bosses.

Looking at the future, what's going to be important for the "bicycle shop"?
Service, without a doubt.  The Internet undeniably has led to changes in bicycle retail.  Online retail and discount outlets aren't going away, but as the saying goes "the Internet can't fix your bike."  

Reputation and credibility are going to be important as well.  The Internet hasn't just made cheap parts accessible.  It's made information accessible.  Nobody gives a second thought to reading Yelp reviews on a restaurant they're thinking about for dinner or an auto repair shop when they have a CV-joint go bad.  Why should picking a bike shop be any different?  In a time where there are fewer and fewer shops I think it's going to be important to be able to provide better service (customer relations and mechanical aptitude) than the next guy(or gal).

Lastly, openness to change.  It's easy to dog on eBikes and I've been known to joke around with my friends about fatbikes.  I however haven't relied on customers coming into my shop to keep the lights on.  It amazes me that I still see retail employees dissing whatever new development there might be in cycling.  That is lost income potential if there ever was any.

Educationally as a mechanic, what's important to you?
Providing good service means staying up to date.  Being prepared to properly address whatever comes into the work-stand is important.  I don't want to ever be in a position where I have to think about saying "I can't fix that" or "I don't know how" -- I want to be able to say "no problem, I've got this" and be confident in saying those words.  

When Shimano DA9100 was introduced I insisted on finding a way to get into "Interbike East" because they were going to be there doing a seminar on the installation process.  It was important to me to have at least seen the product ahead of time so when I was faced with building 115 team bikes I'd go in with some semblance of an idea of what was going on.  Even if I later had to look up the S-TEC videos to refresh my memory, at least I wasn't seeing these parts for the first time when I was faced with building team race bikes.

What are the most important traits you've found to be beneficial as a mechanic?
Time management - there is always something to do, being efficient with one's time helps get as much done as possible in the time available.
Ability to think critically - such as building 115 bikes with product new to me, I've found that even when faced with something I've never had my hands on if I stop and take a look at how I think it should work, often I can make it work.
Ability to switch off - no matter how good we are, there is always more to do.  After years of insisting on working non-stop every day, all day.  Finding time for myself has become more and more important.  Doing something outside of cycling helps me stay motivated and get the most out of the time I do spend working.

​Kevin Oliveira’s path as a Professional Bicycle Mechanic began at Montclair Bikery in NJ, has looped the globe a few times, and now finds him in that storied outpost of North Americans in pro cycling, Girona, Spain.
 
Bikery owner David Adornato was amenable to Oliveira taking weekends to work races, knowing the kind of value it added to his shop, as well as realizing that it may help retain a good mechanic. Pitting for the Goguen dynasty (as RACE CF in 2013) immersed Oliveira in the ways of cyclocross race support and he supported a Junior National Champion, Peter Goguen, at Boulder that year.  The team also took Kev to Tour de l’Abitibi, giving him his first real road stage race experience.  
 
Like many, it was not until Oliveira had some solid experience that he attended the USA Cycling Bill Woodul Clinic in Colorado Springs to attain a Race Mechanics License.  There, he met Andy Stone.  Stone would give Oliveira a shot with Novo Nordisk Pro Continental team, the break of a lifetime.  That gig moved Oliveira to Atlanta, inasmuch as a race mechanic lives anywhere.  

Two years with Novo Nordisk lead to the Head Mechanic spot at Jelly Belly Pro Cycling and a move to California.   Lachlan Morton’s Tour of Utah win was Oliveira’s biggest to date, and he can be seen, iPhone camera out the window, in the famous photo where officials allowed the team car to follow Morton onto the finishing straight in Park City.
 
Oliveira credits Stone and Ian Sherburne, of BMC, for driving home the value of attention to detail. 
 
As for the uncertainty of a career in this line of work, Oliveira relishes the challenges. He has established Oliveira Velo Support to keep him busy with Service Course and Trailer consultations and installations, as well as private client support during racing’s down time.  
​
Likewise for all of the travel, Oliveira has this advice, “The Power of Language...always bend a little bit out of your comfort zone, try the local language, study it before you go, the internet is your friend for this, learn some local slang just to try and fit in and show you try. Then keep at it and you’ll get it, man.”
 
That’s also at the center of the “Yo CHILL” lifestyle that Kevin Oliveira espouses and teaches.  It is rarely about relaxing, but always about making sense, interpreting accurately and processing calmly.  

2019 will see Oliveira working from Rally Cycling’s new Service Course in Girona, which he designed and outfitted with help from Jose Sousa for custom frame racking. 
 
Find Kev at a race next season – maybe he has a little something for you.

images ©DistractionManagement and ©Veloimages

Driven by an industry wide need the Education Summit is focused on providing a brand agnostic platform for competitors to come together and share successes and struggles in addition to pointed presentations revolving around mechanics training.
 
The Summit will take place prior to CABDA West San Diego at the Hilton Del Mar and registration is now open.  Space is limited to 50 participants.
 
The summit aims to achieve an agreed upon minimum level of proficiency for bicycle mechanics and work towards varied levels of training for mechanics within the cycling industry. An additional outcome will be the formation of the initial Bicycle Technology Council, a committee focused on industry technical education.
 
PBMA’s President James Stanfill says: “we want to create a safe space for competitors to come together and collaborate.  Chemistry teachers from Stanford and NYU certainly get together and share ideas, theories, successes and failures, why can’t we do this in our industry?  We’ve reached out to key partners such as Quality Bicycle Products to help us bring the industry together.”
 
The Summit kicks off with a welcome reception on Monday January 14thfollowed by a full day of talks on the 15th, concluding with CABDA West’s opening reception the evening of the 15th.
 
Key presentation topics include:
Continuing Education for Mechanics                                Industry Professional Development
Understanding How Mechanics Learn                               Leveraging Education for Success
Manufacturer Direct Training                                             Industry Standards
 
Firm commitments to attend have already been received from Quality Bicycle Products, Barnett Bicycle Institute and United Bicycle Institute who have each agreed to take part in key session discussions.
 
The cost to attend is $250 and includes a kickoff reception, breakfast and lunch.  Attendees are invited to also attend CABDA’s Kickoff Reception following the conclusion of the workshop.
 
A complete schedule, topic descriptions and registration information can be found by visiting www.BicycleTech.org
A list of participating companies can be found at the bottom of the page.

PBMA’s Bicycle Mechanic Certification was initially rolled out in September at Interbike with about half the participants achieving a passing mark. PBMA’s President James Stanfill said, “Our team had to sit down and debate whether the process was too hard. At the end of the day, and with input from education professionals, we agreed that our certification is based on process and safety and we are happy with where we are today.”
 
The in-person testing involves essentially the mechanic demonstrating their proficiency at safely assembling a bicycle. They are given a bare frame (custom-built compact units by United Bicycle Institute), a SRAM group, and all the Park Tools necessary to build up the frame with the main components of a road bicycle. Each element of proper installation, torque spec, and attention to detail are scored individually, with a particular emphasis on safety. A 90-minute time limit is given to complete the build, with a 92.5% or better required score to pass.
 
Overall, PBMA Bicycle Mechanic Certification is a two-part process. Members and Non-Members alike must complete an online exam with a passing score of 90% or better.  The online exam is then followed up with an in-person practical exam conducted in front of PBMA instructors.
 
To start the certification process, interested mechanics should visit: https://www.probma.org/store/p49/PBMA_Certification_.html
PBMA Members receive $150 off the $200 cost to become certified. 
 
PBMA is also hosting an educational summit during CABDA West with the goal to unite educators within the cycling industry and create a leadership platform focused on how technical education can be delivered and tie into generalized standards industry wide.  Part of this summit is focused on training others on the PBMA Bicycle Mechanic Certification process.  Details on the summit will be available next week for parties interested in attending.
 
Certification at CABDA is limited to 6 people per session with sessions being available:
Monday January 14th(9a, 12:30p, 3:30p), Tuesday January 15th(2p), Wednesday January 16th(6:30p), Thursday January 17th(10a, 1p, 4p), Friday January 18th(9a, 12:30p, 3:30p), and Saturday January 19th(9:30a).   Future dates and times will be announced soon for PBMA’s Philadelphia Technical Workshop and CABDA Chicago.
 
CABDA is free to attend for dealers (brick and mortar, mobile and service-only alike).  To register for CABDA, please visit https://events.american-tradeshow.com/CABDA