 PBMA is excited to introduce our newest Mechanic of the Week, Chris Bondus, of WD-40 Bike and Tinshed Sports in Nederland, Colorado!
For those of you just tuning into #mechanicmonday, this is where we feature one mechanic each week, chosen at random from nominations submitted the week before. It’s all about mechanics supporting fellow mechanics – even behind the scenes, where we are proud to say that our Mechanic of the Week is presented by none other than Abbey Bike Tools and the Friar himself! Chris has been working as a pro mechanic for over a decade, both in shops and out on the road with WD-40 Bike. In that time, he’s driven tens of thousands of miles and worked on tens of thousands of bikes. Not only does Chris put everything he has on the line for anyone he works with, but he also goes out of his way to educate them along the way. Chris has become a mentor for cyclists and mechanics of all levels, by selflessly passing along his knowledge in terms that anyone would understand. Knowledge is so important within the cycling industry because there are so many different types of bikes and riders and different ways to do thing, and we are fortunate to have individuals like Chris who help us share that knowledge with the world. In the words of one of Chris’s former coworkers at WD-40 Bike, Chris is featured today “because he’s a smart, successful businessman and one hell of a mechanic and friend to the people of our industry.” Congratulations, Chris, and thank you for all that you continue to do for cycling and cycling mechanics! For everyone reading this at home, we encourage you to join the #MOTW conversation: Post a picture of YOUR favorite mechanic and tag us @probicyclemech, #probma, or #mechanicmonday, or nominate him or her to be featured in next week’s post! PBMA is excited to introduce our newest Mechanic of the Week, Gilberto “El Bike” Linares, Master Mechanic and mentor extraordinaire at Playtri in Colleyville, Texas!
For those of you just tuning into #mechanicmonday, this is where we feature one mechanic each week, chosen at random from nominations submitted the week before. It’s all about mechanics supporting fellow mechanics – even behind the scenes, where we are proud to say that our Mechanic of the Week is presented by none other than Abbey Bike Tools and the Friar himself! If a picture is worth a thousand words, then all of the ones we’ve seen of Gilberto already say more than we ever could about his love of cycling and cycling mechanics. Gil began working on bikes over 35 years ago in his native El Salvador, where he and his wife ran a very successful bike shop and team program. As if managing both a family business and a pro team wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Gil also mentored countless mechanics and athletes in Central America, and he has continued to mentor up-and-comers in the US since his family relocated to Texas. One of Gil’s greatest mentees happens to be his wife, Delmy, a former PBMA Mechanic of the Week and the brain behind nominating Gil to be featured this week! Delmy says that one of the things she most admires about Gil’s practice is his honesty; he focuses on the customer first and foremost and will always try to repair something before replacing it. We are in awe of the transnational impact that Gilberto has had on our industry, and we look forward to following his and Delmy’s continued adventures! For everyone reading this at home, we encourage you to join the #MOTW conversation: Post a picture of YOUR favorite mechanic and tag us @probicyclemech, #probma, or #mechanicmonday, or nominate him or her to be featured in next week’s post! Working as an events mechanic is a blast. In my job for DT Swiss, I get to travel to festivals, races, tours, gravel grinders, etc, all over the U.S. (plus a couple of events in Canada). Once I show up in my Sprinter van, I get busy demoing our wheels and fixing broken stuff so people can keep on shredding the gnar (or asphalt). It's so awesome to work outdoors, helping nice people and being an ambassador for a great brand — I wouldn't trade it for the world. However, the flip side to road life is that, at times, there is the Monkey in Space phenomenon. Last month, not only did I get to return to Earth, but I got to touch down in Biel, Switzerland, at the DT Swiss magical motherland where wheel dreams come true. I knew I was in for an authentic European adventure when I spotted these dudes in the Frankfurt Flughafen (see, I even learned the German word for airport on this trip).   From there, I few to Zurich and hopped on a train to Biel. It was absolutely freezing and the clouds never lifted, denying me the stunning view of the lake and mountains that I was told was just beyond the fog. But that's okay, it's something to look forward to next time (which I hope happens during better weather for riding). Here's a photo of the building that they obviously took in the summertime. The lobby has some fun displays for people to ogle... and who doesn't like a nice nipple collection?  In case you didn't know, the very original company that eventually became DT Swiss began in the 1600s, drawing wire for things like chainmail. The company as we know it today began in 1994, making bicycle wheel spokes — then expanding to hubs, nipples, wheels, rims, shocks and suspension forks (yes, really!).  Now, DT Swiss has subsidiaries in the USA, France, Germany, Poland and Taiwan. I got to meet folks from almost every office during my visit (here you can see the two gents from the German office, Thomas and Jan). Due to a travel snafu with one of my coworkers (hence I'll offer this Public Service Announcement: don't try to fly outside the U.S. if your passport has six months or less before it expires), I had to quickly prepare to give his presentation during the International Marketing Meeting. It detailed our sponsorship of Whistler Mountain and the Crankworx event, which I managed to deliver to a roomful of strangers without too much sweating or "ummm"-ing. That said, I certainly won't expect any public speaking requests to come my way anytime soon.  Next I joined a group of mechanics in the Service Center for technical training. I was the only American (and female) in a room full of folks from all over the globe. The training was delivered in English, to my relief, and then we all got our hands on various jobs, like replacing a spoke in the new DICUT hubs.  Luckily, the Swiss love to take frequent breaks, where everyone mobs the coffee machine and enjoys a fresh croissant. I'll definitely miss that when I'm driving in the boonies and can't even find a damn Starbucks. During one of the evenings, a bunch of us drove to nearby Grenchen to check out the velodrome. I was a bit lost with all the announcing done in Swiss-German (not the same as "high" German, in case you were wondering), but it was still a lot of fun to watch.  Finally, I got one afternoon to poke around Zurich before flying home to Colorado, where I felt compelled to take some sort of Henri Cartier-Bresson inspired street photo before hustling off to the Flughafen.  I have to say, I was really pleased to meet so many of my international coworkers. Prior to this trip, I had only met one of our Swiss owners, Frank Böchmann, who slaughtered us at Go-Kart racing after Interbike last year. Speaking of which, don't waste time having high hopes while racing a guy who cut his teeth driving on the Autobahn.
In the end, I learned a ton from our global meetings, topped up my technical knowledge, and really got a feel for the Swiss approach to making well-designed, quality products. Speaking of which, Biel is a hotbed for watchmaking. The DT office is surrounded by factories for Rolex, Omega, Swatch, etc. I narrowly escaped coming home with a new watch... you can guess which one I could have afforded. Now that I'm back in the States, I am off to Frostbike and then the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you out on the road! - Marty C   PBMA is excited to introduce our newest Mechanic of the Week, Phil Pattengale, owner and mechanic at The Kickstand Cycling & Fitness in Sturgis, Michigan!
For those of you just tuning into #mechanicmonday, this is where we feature one mechanic each week, chosen at random from nominations submitted the week before. It’s all about mechanics supporting fellow mechanics – even behind the scenes, where we are proud to say that our Mechanic of the Week is presented by none other than Abbey Bike Tools and the Friar himself! Phil Pattengale has been turning wrenches in some form for as long as he (or anyone) can remember. He has at least 60 years of automotive experience – from working on his Cushman scooter as a teenager, to his car in high school, to rebuilding his 1956 Triumph TR-3. Phil and his wife opened The Kickstand bike shop in 1981, so he counts himself as having been a bicycle mechanic for “only” 36 years, but we’re pretty sure he’s just being modest! Of course, we can’t tell Phil’s story without his wife of over 50 years, Carol Ann. The two of them are inseparable partners in life, business, and sport. When Phil and Carol Ann celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2014, their three adult children wanted to send them on a cruise, but they had other ideas. The Pattengales planned an extensive bike trip over the span of several long weekends, with the goal of visiting family and close friends in Michigan, Indiana, and (with a car trip for part of the way) Kentucky. Phil and Carol Ann are so well-loved in their Michigan community that their trip was documented by the local newspaper, and their employees at The Kickstand donated time so that the Pattengales could take a week off to ride the longest sections of their route. We are so inspired by Phil and Carol Ann’s devotion to cycling and to each other, and we are proud to feature them today. If being married for over 50 years and running a successful bike shop together wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, putting in that many miles on a tandem and still speaking to each other afterwards certainly is! Congratulations Phil and Carol Ann; we wish you many more happy miles! For everyone reading this at home, we encourage you to join the #MOTW conversation: Post a picture of YOUR favorite mechanic and tag us @probicyclemech, #probma, or #mechanicmonday, or nominate him or her to be featured in next week’s post! In her own words...
I am an events mechanic for DT Swiss, so that means I travel to races, festivals, bike tours, etc., where I let people try the wheels through our demo program, as well as repair any of our products on attendees' bikes. Most of what I attend are mountain bike events, but I also hit a few longer road tours. It's a lot of fun to see how much people enjoy trying the wheels, and of course I love to help people get their own equipment rolling again. I got into mountain biking in 2000, through friends who ride. It's since become a major passion to develop my skills and to experience trails all over the country. I'm part of the PBMA because I believe in helping other mechanics succeed, and raising the level of the industry as we all work together to do it. Even though we may approach things differently or have different career paths, we all share the goal of making bikes more fun, reliable and safe to ride. We might as well take advantage of the benefits of working together to make our industry more professional and profitable. I am optimistic about our industry's future, since I think a lot of the success of bike shops (and thus many other aspects of the industry) will fall on the shoulders of skilled bike mechanics, who I know can carry the load. As shops redefine themselves around their service offerings and their community involvement, they can thrive during the changes occurring in the product sales model we've all become used to. You'll hear more from Marty this year as she will be a regular contributor to Life on the Road, a monthly PBMA blog about the traveling circus of the cycling industry.  PBMA is excited to introduce our newest Mechanic of the Week, Jimmy Awad, of Paul’s Cycling and Fitness in Winston-Salem, North Carolina!
For those of you just tuning into #mechanicmonday, this is where we feature one mechanic each week, chosen at random from nominations submitted the week before. It’s all about mechanics supporting fellow mechanics – even behind the scenes, where we are proud to say that our Mechanic of the Week is presented by none other than Abbey Bike Tools and the Friar himself! Jimmy Awad has been working professionally as a bicycle mechanic for eight years, but he’s been riding his whole life. Jimmy excels at anything technical, from shop work to trail conditions. In the words of one colleague-turned-friend, “Jimmy is the rare combination of great mechanic and great rider, all without attitude.” His first love was downhill, but he’s recently been exploring the world of cyclocross with the same enthusiasm. Jimmy’s co-workers say that although he is much younger than many of them, they all try to be more like him, because Jimmy treats every customer like he or she is his best customer. Jimmy’s attention to detail is second-to-none, and he is able to put “literally anyone” at ease in his shop – from experienced cyclists and visiting pros, to parents with young children, to recreational athletes looking to improve their cycling game. We are proud to feature Jimmy today, and we are grateful that our sport and our profession have someone like Jimmy to represent us in the historic city that is now home to so many USA Cycling championship events. Congratulations, Jimmy! We hope you will display your certificate proudly at your workbench in Winston-Salem. For everyone reading this at home, we encourage you to join the #MOTW conversation: Post a picture of YOUR favorite mechanic and tag us @probicyclemech, #probma, or #mechanicmonday, or nominate him or her to be featured in next week’s post! |
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