Australian Mountain Bike — December 01, 2017

40 -AMB

Money spent on learning about bike

mechanics can easily pay off in the long-term,

as well as getting you back up and running

if things suddenly go wrong out on the trail.

That’s where a company like BMTI (Bicycle

Mechanic Training Institute) in Sydney’s west

comes in - offering short courses in bike

maintenance, servicing and repairs.

“Do you want the bike to tell you that it’s

broken and needs to be taken to a bike shop

to be fixed? Or do you want to be able to do

the preventative maintenance and servicing

machines in tip-top shape, BMTI

also run professional training for

existing and aspiring bike shop

mechanics.

And Silvy is hoping the Cert II and

Cert III courses – recognised by

the government – will help raise

standards across the industry. He

started the company around six

years ago having previously had

to travel to Colorado in USA to get

proper bike mechanic training at the

Barnett Bicycle Institute.

“We’re the only registered training

organisation (RTO) in NSW

accredited to issue qualifications in

bicycle mechanics,” Silvy explains

from BMTI’s base in Penrith.

Elsewhere around the country

the likes of TAFE SkillsTech in

WORDS BY NEIL MARTIN PHOTOS BY ROBERT CONROY

YOUR

REPAIR

and just take it to the shop for the

most serious problems?” says BMTI

founder Kevin Silvy. “And when you

think that people spend a lot of

money buying a bike, maybe even as

much as $12,000 or more – and they

all have service components. To keep

the bike running optimally you need

to service it regularly, but just having

a little bit of knowledge can be great.

“It could even be as simple as being

able to use a chain checker so you

know when to change the chain. If

you don’t do that, the worn chain can

affect a lot of other components and

then you might be looking at quite a

lot of money in terms of repairs or

replacements,” Silvy adds.

As well as courses for individuals

just looking to keep their own

Given the fact you can easily spend thousands

of dollars buying a sweet mountain bike – it

seems to make sense to know how to look after

it properly and avoid costly repairs.