Cycle bump keeps bike mechanics busy
Rising petrol prices and the appearance of cycle lanes are getting more people on bikes, repairers say.
Allan Proudlock of Proudlock Cycles in Frankton says he’s seen more business this year compared to any since Covid-19.
It may have something to do with the increasing cycle lanes around the city, he says.
At Go Eco say they’re “flat-out helping people fix their bikes” and have a list of people wanting a second-hand set of wheels.
Hamilton City Council has had increased focus on supporting pedestrians, cyclists, and scooting, including through projects co-funded with NZ Transport Agency.
The council had set a $33.3m Transport Choices budget but in January the government said it wouldn’t help fund 13 Hamilton projects.
Go Eco bike mechanic and community advisor Jacob Lawrence says the infrastructure is enabling more people to get on their bikes to commute, as opposed to just a hobby.
“I think part of the demand as well is that it's just getting more and more expensive to have a car,” Lawrence said.
“Part of the project of creating these cycleways is not just to have little bits here and there where it's like, ‘oh, it's nice to cycle around this block or whatever’, but it's connected pathways that can take you across the whole city.
“Once it's all connected, you can get anywhere you need to on a bike safely and in a way that's much more enjoyable than sitting in a car in traffic.”
The team of eight employees and volunteers at Go Eco teach people how to fix their bikes as part of the mission to make biking more accessible.
Lawrence said one thing kept people from riding: “what if they get a flat tyre when they are out, it's a 10 or 15km back home”.
The team also fixes old bikes and donates them to community centres, schools, or places where people need them.
“Part of the problem I've been having at the moment is there's a lot of people wanting to come in looking for bikes because they need some way to get around.
“But I'm flat-out helping people fix their bikes,” Lawrence said.
Buying brand new bikes was out of reach for many and some were more interested in second-hand or old bikes as it was easy to maintain.
The team was the busiest in February. “Even a couple of weekends ago, we had like 15 people in about three hours.
“So I think the numbers will continue to increase.”
Hamilton supports Love to Ride’s Aotearoa Bike Challenge, held every year in February.
In 2024, a total of 936 people from Hamilton logged a ride for the challenge and the participants collectively recorded 165,893km cycled during February.
About 849 Hamiltonians participated last year and collectively recorded 188,045km cycled during February.
However, Lawrence said, safety was still one of the biggest concerns.
At Proudlock Cycles, Proudlock said more people were interested in buying cycles as funding was put towards making cycle lanes more safe.
Customers who knock at the second-hand cycle and repair shop, that has been in business since 1932, are return clients or those looking for a bargain.
Proudlock said good new bikes were expensive and the cheap ones were not durable. And people were not interested in repairs either - about half the people who own bikes throw it away when it becomes surplus, the other half donate it, he said.