Originally Posted by 50PlusCycling

I wonder why it is that there is a need for bike co-ops. A bike is not an expensive, hard-to-find, difficult-to-repair machine. Bike mechanics are not highly skilled relative to other specialists, and, as a result, are not highly paid, and most bicycle repairs are not too expensive for even starving students to afford, unless they are spending all their money on a new smart phone every year, or eating out at fast food restaurants regularly. As a former bike mechanic myself, I know that some 90% of bike repairs are simple and routine. Tires/tubes, lubrication, brake and derailleur adjustment, occasionally cable or chain replacement, and that's the most of it.

What is the effect of bike co-ops on the cycling economy? First, they drive down the wages of bike mechanics who are already earning barely more than minimum wage, and they put pressure on bike shops, which, in most times, earn barely enough to pay their overhead. You will never get rich as a bike shop owner even under the best of circumstances.

Here in Japan every household has a bike. Far more Japanese commute by bicycle than Americans. Japanese people are practical and economical, they don't spend money unnecessarily, yet I have never seen a bicycle co-op in Japan. In Japan, if you want a bike, you buy one. If you need to get your bike repaired, you take it to a bike mechanic. Bike mechanics in Japan are as poorly paid as American bike mechanics, and repairs cost about the same.