Rise of do-it-yourself bicycle repairers: ‘It goes faster here than at a bicycle repair shop’

Mathias Hansebout started with bicycle repairs at home in Schaarbeek about three years ago under the name Dr Velo. And that turned out to be a success. “People came to drop off bicycles at our house,” says Hansebout.

It soon turned out that the home studio was too small and the Schaarbeeken resident started a shop and studio where two people worked. “It is quite a bit of work now. It is becoming a lot, but we are looking for solutions for that.”

The range of bicycle repair shops is particularly large in Etterbeek, Ixelles and Brussels City, in contrast to Laeken, Anderlecht and Molenbeek. But there is hope, because at adult education center Syntra they are now seeing great interest in bicycle repair training courses.

Training on the rise

“We see that this training is very popular among the group from 30 to 65,” says Nicolas Blancquart, director of Syntra Brussels. “Our studio is currently a bit too small to welcome more students. Next year we will move to Gare Maritime, where we will set up a studio that is three times as large as here.”

In addition to Syntra, other training centers and bicycle shops also train Brussels residents to become bicycle repairers. Yet the number of vacancies remains high. That is why Decathlon is joining forces with the Milocs training center to train Brussels residents for free. No fewer than 190 candidates had registered for this, eight of whom were able to follow the training.

“I was really looking for a career change,” says student Charlotte Barbier. “I have a degree in music, but it was difficult to get a job. If this goes well, we will sign a part-time contract. That is ideal for me because it allows me to continue with music and at the same time have something stable .”

Do it yourself

There is also a rise in do-it-yourself workshops. There, Brussels residents have access to materials and guidance to repair their bicycles themselves.

“We are actually an addition to the regular range of bicycle repairs and bicycle repair shops,” says Pieter Torbeyns, bicycle mechanic in Cyclo’s repair workshop. “We want to teach people to repair their bicycles themselves. From the customer’s point of view, a quick repair may be possible here that would not be possible immediately at a bicycle repair shop. On the other hand, the offering here is really different and we do not do the same thing. type of repair than a seller or private bicycle repair shop.”