Community Hire Bicycle Mechanic Apprenticeship

About the Role

We are looking for someone to assist with the day-to-day running of a social enterprise project that has a total focus on delivering innovative cycling accessibility to the community, to ensure those least likely to believe that cycling is for them, are inspired to get on a bike. Duties include servicing and repairing customer bikes.

Wage

• £14,560 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age
• National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices

Hours

• Monday to Saturday, 8.00am - 4.00pm on a 5-day flexible working rota that can be tailored to suit the right candidate.
• 35 hours a week

Start date

• Monday 3 August 2026

Duration

• 1 year 6 months

Positions available

• 1

What you'll do at work

The bicycle mechanic’s role is fundamental to our daily operation and will be critical to our long-term success. You will be essential to ensuring customers get the best experience and feel part of their community hub.

The role will work both autonomously and alongside other volunteers at our social enterprise. The candidate will have the opportunity to expand the brief as the project expands its own offering.

We need someone who is passionate about delivering a new local cycling project, for the good of the wider local community and its residents.

Ultimately, we want to establish a network of club service centres embedded in local communities to serve as many ordinary residents as possible. This is the sincere ambition.

Basic & more advanced mechanic duties will be ordinarily required to include (in order of likely magnitude):

• Service and repair customers’ bikes
• Build and check new bikes ready for customers
• Refurbish traded-in bikes for inclusion in fleet
• Build and check new bikes ready for inclusion in the community fleet
• Maintain a clean, safe and tidy workshop
• Liaise with partners as required before, during and after servicing
• Create and maintain written records of work undertaken and carried out to ensure a safety audit trail of the community fleet

Personal qualities

• A good command of spoken and written English, with the ability and personality to advise our wide variety of customers
• Overall, the desire to be part of a long-term project that makes a difference to a community and to take greater responsibility as we grow
• Good team player who is looking forward to working with team members and sharing successes and failures together as one
• A passion for fixing things and start-ups
• Pass in GCSE English & maths preferred but not obligatory

Where you'll work

179A Chase Side
Enfield
EN2 0PT

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

ACTIVATE LEARNING

Training course

Bicycle mechanic (level 2)

Course contents

• Use specialist bicycle diagnostic equipment to identify fault and formulate a plan to solve the problems; identifying when it is uneconomical to proceed.
• Use cycle workstand correctly to safely and securely hold a bicycle on the appropriate part of the frame.
• Service a cup and cone type hub, identifying worn parts and correct replacements.
• Remove and replace sealed cartridge bearings using appropriate tools.
• Service cable operated brake systems, correctly sizing and routing cabling using the correct spare parts and torque settings.
• Bleed hydraulic brake systems.
• Service derailleur gear systems, correctly sizing and routing cabling using correct spare parts and torque settings; straighten a derailleur hanger.
• Tap the crank arm threads.
• Identify the different standards of cranks and bottom brackets; remove and replace crank arms, bottom brackets and tap and face the bottom bracket shell.
• Identify chain wear; assess compatibility issues, taking account of chain line and correctly split and install a quick link based chain.
• Tape road handlebars.
• Remove and replace a set of forks, taking account of the correct way to cut a fork steering column to size. Hydraulic fork servicing, disassemble and clean stations and cartridges and re-grease properly.
• Remove, replace and service a headset, taking account of sizing standards.
• Perform alignment checks to a bicycle frame.
• Hand-build a wheel of differing complexities (for example, from simple 3-cross to manufacturer specific wheel systems) in the patterns required for non-disc, front disc and rear disc to the required tolerance and correctly dished and tensioned.
• Set up and adjustment of internal gears.
• Conduct quality assurance check of build or repair work completed.
• Complete handover once completed build or repair is finished, including advising on further and future work required, changes to operation, required on-going maintenance and complete paperwork as appropriate.
• Serve customers or clients on any required area of the store; refer them on to a more senior colleague or to ask for help; seek after market sales.
• Communicate via suitable means with customers (telephone, text, email, social media) in order to ensure good service is maintained.
• Use catalogues (hard copy and online) to identify parts and order to fulfil customers needs.
• Use manual system and workshop diary and complete any associated paperwork.
• Deal with complaints, following employer and manufacturers policies.
• Identify when something has failed or is not fit for purpose.
• Maintain proper tool maintenance and general workshop cleanliness and tidiness.