Any REI Bike Techs out there?
10-17-20, 05:08 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Any REI Bike Techs out there?
Are any of you Bike Techs at an REI Store? I worked at store #124 for almost 9 years. What a fun place to work at. I really loved it there, but I had to quit when my wife and I relocated to Hawaii. If they ever build one here I will be the first in line to apply for a job. You can't make a fortune there but I was nearly retired anyway.
10-17-20, 09:31 PM
#2
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A friend was an REI bike tech. Good one too. She moved on to another career in health care but still does some bike work, mostly wheel building. I'm about to take some rims, hubs and spokes to her for building up. I managed to bung three rear wheels this summer, so clearly my haphazard approach to tweaking wheel wobbles without checking spoke tension, etc., ain't working. She has the tools and know-how.
10-17-20, 09:43 PM
#3
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Thread Starter
I moved to Hawaii and there are some good bike shops here, but wheels are one of my hangups on bikes and I always like to build my own. I think that most wheels that come on bike are inadequate so, I make them the way I want. On each of my bikes I actually have two wheelsets. I am in the process of building a new set for my new touring bike with White Industries CLD Hubs and their G25A rims. Since I don't work in a bike shop any longer, I bought everything I need to build and repair bike wheels and I enjoy doing it. I pretty much have an entire bike shop in my garage.
10-17-20, 10:07 PM
#4
Senior Member
We have an REI here in Fresno, I have bought a few things from them, and when I have had interactions with the techs they were always friendly and helpful. I enjoy shopping there.
10-18-20, 02:40 AM
#5
Newbie
Thread Starter
Rei
I always enjoyed working on people's bikes and having a conversation about it with them. I also taught bike repair and other wilderness subjects in classes at night. My favorite part of the job was giving the customer a little more than what they expected. A little extra cleaning or a tweek here and there to really make it perfect, above what was requested on the work order. We had the latitude to pretty much run the shop the way we wanted to and I enjoyed the customer service aspect of it.
10-18-20, 01:27 PM
#6
Senior Member
I always enjoyed working on people's bikes and having a conversation about it with them. I also taught bike repair and other wilderness subjects in classes at night. My favorite part of the job was giving the customer a little more than what they expected. A little extra cleaning or a tweek here and there to really make it perfect, above what was requested on the work order. We had the latitude to pretty much run the shop the way we wanted to and I enjoyed the customer service aspect of it.
10-18-20, 02:24 PM
#7
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I worked in REI as a tech off and on for a few years. I learned more good technique from the Certified Tech there in my first three months than I had learned in the previous four years of working in other shops.
10-18-20, 05:53 PM
#8
Full Member
An ex-mechanic of ours left and went to REI. They sent him to Barnett's Institute in CO for two weeks, which is supposed to be pretty much standard procedure. You gotta admire that commitment to quality training.
10-18-20, 06:16 PM
#9
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Nice stool...
I moved to Hawaii and there are some good bike shops here, but wheels are one of my hangups on bikes and I always like to build my own. I think that most wheels that come on bike are inadequate so, I make them the way I want. On each of my bikes I actually have two wheelsets. I am in the process of building a new set for my new touring bike with White Industries CLD Hubs and their G25A rims. Since I don't work in a bike shop any longer, I bought everything I need to build and repair bike wheels and I enjoy doing it. I pretty much have an entire bike shop in my garage.
10-18-20, 09:38 PM
#10
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Vjbknife,
I have relatives on the Hilo side and hope you are enjoying the "Big Island". I have been an REI member for many years and always like the merchandise as well as the customer service that I receive, it feels like you are in a store with a group of great people.
I had a "friend" borrow my red and green spanners and lose them. I checked the website and it indicated stock at my local store, when I went in that evening there were none to be found.
When I asked the tech about the stock and mentioned they were on the net and supposedly in stock. He checked the computer and sure enough, they showed up....he went into the work area and pulled some of his "extras" and told me to enjoy the rest of my evening.
Best, Ben
I have relatives on the Hilo side and hope you are enjoying the "Big Island". I have been an REI member for many years and always like the merchandise as well as the customer service that I receive, it feels like you are in a store with a group of great people.
I had a "friend" borrow my red and green spanners and lose them. I checked the website and it indicated stock at my local store, when I went in that evening there were none to be found.
When I asked the tech about the stock and mentioned they were on the net and supposedly in stock. He checked the computer and sure enough, they showed up....he went into the work area and pulled some of his "extras" and told me to enjoy the rest of my evening.
Best, Ben
