Hub City Cycles

With the right tools in place, plenty of know-how, and a genuine enthusiasm for bicycles, John LaFrada can diagnose and repair the majority of bike issues that come his way. As a professional bicycle mechanic, he works on repair jobs or rebuilds daily at Hub City Cycles, Nanaimo's community bicycle shop. We're a not-for-profit co-op, so that means that we are not owned by any one person, we're owned by over 800 people who are members. We repair bikes, we sell bikes, we teach people how to fix bikes. We don't have new bikes, I think that's a big part of what makes us different. Educating members about bicycles and maintenance in-store or on location, and running youth and community workshops are just some of the goals of Hub City Cycles. But those are goals that are hard to meet while they're short-staffed. Earlier this year, we had to shut down all of our community work, basically. We don't do workshops anymore, we don't attend community events. The only thing we do right now is work in the shop, which is not really what a community bike shop is all about. It's been a long search, but the team wants to find someone who will truly be a good fit at the shop. We're not just looking for someone who wants a job, we want someone who wants to be committed to our cause. The team here has been searching for the right employee for more than a year now. Someone who is good with the public and has mechanical aptitude. We're in the process of refurbishing this beautiful conalabat One of the best parts about this bike is that this frame will be around 20 years from now, providing the owner doesn't crash it too hard. We've been looking for a mechanic with experience, but that has not materialized. And so for the right candidate, Hub City Cycles is offering a little bit of added incentive. We are offering a bursary for someone to get training at a bike mechanic school. Everybody knows how to fix their bike chain, but what are some of the key experiences or opportunities that someone would learn? When I went to my bike mechanic school, I really didn't know what I knew, and I didn't know what I didn't know, and I kind of wanted to find out. So I came out of that with a really much more clear idea of what I needed to work on, then just get more experience and the more time you do something before you get at it. It's not just about knowing how to fix bikes, it's in a sense It's problem solving as well as knowing the compatibility of different parts and frames, the empowerment that people would feel, I think, It just gives you that empowerment to diagnose it within a minute. Okay, well, that's not going to work. Yeah, you'd be We want someone to be a bike mechanic and to be able to fix bikes, but there's a lot more responsibility that goes along with that. Probably half the day I am not fixing bikes. I am dealing with customers. I am doing administrative stuff. I'm promoting events, organizing workshops, that sort of thing. So it's not just about fixing bikes. There's a lot of other responsible abilities that come with the position. Hub City Cycles is encouraging people with a love of cycling, a mechanical interest and a passion for community work to apply for the position. Visit hubcitycycles. ca or drop by the shop at 12 Lois Lane for more information to check out their shop or to get an enthusiastic helping hand with your bike. In Nanaimo, I'm Jocelyn Matwy.