Originally Posted by
Bill Kapaun
The thread title states "Professional". If you work for a shop, your job is to make them $.
I'm so slow, the shop could pay me 1/2 minimum wage and struggle to justify me.
I do it as a hobby. I wouldn't want to turn a hobby into an occupation. You ruin a hobby.
That's the difference. Anyone with some decent hand to eye coordination and manual dexterity can fix a bike and do a great job. But a Professional does it quickly and accurately the first time.
I was a Professional Watchmaker. Before my accident I could do a complete service in a hour, to two hours for a complicated movement. But even then I was still trying to save time because I was constantly backed up.
When you fix something all day every day you build up muscle memory and eventually speed up.