New industry analysis has warned that Europe’s bicycle industry will need to recruit 105,000 more bike mechanics by 2032 to meet growing demand. That additional requirement equates to 60 per cent of the current workforce, of which there is alreay a shortfall of around 45,000.
The report, published by the NextGen Mechanics initiative and European Cycling Industries (ECI), contains the first estimate of demand for cycle mechanics built from the employment data of cycle retailers themselves.
It concludes that while Europe employs around 175,000 cycle mechanics, around 45,000 more are already needed to meet current demand with the shortfall only poised to grow in coming years.
It says that ongoing growth in e-bike market share, leasing and fleet models and aftermarket services – as well as a rise in overall cycling levels – is expected to generate demand for a further 61,000 mechanics by 2032.
The report says that the shortage is already having an impact, referencing Shimano’s State of the Nation 2026 survey of 25,000 respondents. This found that 121m Europeans are cycling less because they can’t get their bikes serviced and that 7.6m have stopped cycling altogether.
The changing nature of the industry is also a concern. The report states that in many cities with high e-bike uptake, unregulated garages and mobile mechanics fill the gaps left by overstretched workshops.
Those working in this informal repair market often lack technical knowledge or access to certified parts, and they may also be willing to work on modified e-bikes that established workshops would refuse to touch. Combined, these factors significantly increase safety risks.
The report says the greater complexity of modern bikes is an issue for other reasons too. It says the work increasingly resembles other technical trades, particularly automotive and light electric mobility, “Yet cycle mechanics are rarely treated in the same way.”
> Kwik Fit e-bike repair service targets online buyers and fleet operators
In short, low pay, long hours and growing technical demands have resulted in significant churn.
The report says: “If the sector continues to rely on low wages and informal progression, it will keep losing experienced staff to better recognised technical roles.
“If, instead, cycle maintenance is positioned as a modern technical profession, with standards, accreditation and working conditions comparable to other mobility trades, it becomes a more attractive long-term career.”
Ties Van Dijk, who works on advocacy and strategy at Shimano, commented: “We know from talking with bike shops that the workshop matters more to their business every year, and they cannot find the people to staff it. We convened NextGen Mechanics to understand the problem properly and are pleased to collaborate with ECI, who are ongoing to try to solve it, because no single company can fix this alone.”
> Shimano is trying to figure out why Europe has a “critical” bike mechanic shortage
Industry body ECI – which was formed in January 2026 following the merger of Cycling Industries Europe (CIE) and the Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI) – is now looking to partner with Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers to develop a standardised, replicable European training framework for bike mechanics.
ECI CEO, Paul Walsh, commented: “A bicycle that cannot be repaired is a bicycle that stops being ridden. This is not a problem for bike shops alone, but also for the wider cycling ecosystem. Europe’s capacity to train and retain qualified bicycle mechanics is falling behind demand, with an impact felt by both consumers and businesses.
“This undermines a fast-growing European industry and limits the return regions and cities see on their cycling infrastructure investments. European Cycling Industries is honoured to take forward the recommendations in Shimano’s report, on behalf of the entire industry.”
Such is life in 2026, AI also gets a mention. Mario Nava, Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission, told the ECI’s summit in Brussels: “Bicycle mechanics is something that can’t be replaced by AI.
“Bike mechanics are a job of the future, and we will need many more for the future, as many more people will cycle.”
28 thoughts on “105,000 more bike mechanics are needed in Europe by 2032 – and the shortfall is already changing how people travel, report claims”
Whilst I don’t doubt, and empirical observation supports, the fact that more mechanics are needed, are there really 120 million Europeans who cycle less because they can’t get their bikes serviced and 7 million who have given up cycling entirely because of the lack of mechanics? That sounds more like the sort of thing people would say in a survey as an excuse for not cycling as much as they feel they should rather than solid evidence. In my experience if people actually like cycling they will go further afield to find a mechanic if a repair is needed, learn to fix it themselves or get a mate (usually me!) who knows a little bit about bikes to help. It’s only a hunch but I suspect that people who say they don’t cycle because they can’t find a mechanic would probably find another excuse not to cycle if that one wasn’t available.
@Rendel Harris the “cycling less” is a pretty ill-defined concept. If my bike suffers a major mechanical that makes it unrideable and my LBS is short staffed so can’t fit me in a for a week, then I will cycle less because of a mechanic shortage.
@Steve K Good point, I know some people who will take their bike to the LBS to get a new tube fitted if I’m not available and so might miss a day’s commuting as a result, so yes it may well not be quite as dramatic as the figures suggest.
@Rendel Harris for the avoidance of doubt – I can change a tube 🙂
I operate a one-man bike repair business and I can attest that demand is increasing. This year is my 5th being solo and I’ve had about 30% increase in all metrics compared to last year (# of clients, profits, etc.) and I can barely keep up. I refuse all work on illegally modified bikes, etc., but I could make even more if I didn’t. As mentioned in the article, I don’t know why young people would want to get into the trade now as the knowledge and skills required keeps on increasing but the pay is still rubbish – anyone with sufficient skills can find a much better-paying job. The bike and component manufacturers could help by not making everything different on every model. Websites like road.cc could help by including in their bike and component reviews how easy the bike/part is to repair and how standard it is, and downgrading when that aspect is poor.
@Chris RideFar If you can barely keep up, while at the same time you “the pay is still rubbish” then you really should increase your prices.
My LBS, the mechanic is incredibly skilled. And I’m aghast at how little they charge for labour sometimes – not much more than minimum wage (before even considering the shop overheads!). I have sometimes had to encourage them to charge me more, a lot more.
If you’re a skilled mechanic, your time is worth a _lot_ more than minimum wage! If you’re run off your feet with work, the market is clearly telling you to _charge a lot more_.
Please, charge more!
@Paul J Thanks, I totally agree, and I’m going to be reviewing my rates along with many other aspects over the winter season. The first 4 years after going solo were gradual growth or stable (I had 10 yrs prior experience working in larger shops); I’m not sure why things exploded over the past 6 months, probably various factors.
@Chris RideFar I’ll be tempted to do this once I retire. As long as I make beer money and it doesn’t take all my time, I’d enjoy doing it.
@andystow Don’t forget that you have to deal with the clients as well as their bikes (most of whom are fine, but it’s an aspect to the job that most people don’t consider). Plus, people will generally come to you with the problems that they can’t fix themselves, so there’s rarely an easy/straightforward job; with the crazy ideas the product designers have these days, there are a lot of frustrations and lost time.
@Chris RideFar it can’t be worse than volunteering at the bike co-op.
@Chris RideFar I think because the over complexity of what bikes have become over the last decade it puts off many who may of been prepared to service their own bikes in the past but are now not so confident.
Disc brakes are the obvious one for me. Its no longer a simple task of swapping a brake cable and putting in new pads, there is the bleeding, cutting of hoses, fitting barbs etc, its 3 new tools just for that 1 job if your needing to replace the parts. Even bleeding alone put off many, cos if you mess it up youre left without functioning brakes. a simple cable pull is easy to see and understand. hydraulics can be poor but you dont know until you come to use it and it can just fade and become spongy mid ride. Thats before we get into internal routing, headsets, the million and 1 different BB standards etc.
Over a number of years I got fed up with not being able to get bikes serviced without having to wait weeks, and parts not being stock, or having to wait for online deliveries. I ended up setting up my own workshop at home, and went on a Cytech course to fill the gaps in my knowledge. I try and keep a number of consumable parts in stock (tubes, tyres, chains, cassettes, BBs, etc) and service my bikes as and when they need it, as well as doing odd jobs for family, friends and clubmates.
Since then a new LBS has opened in town who are really good, and I take bikes there for stuff I can’t or won’t do, and to support a small business, but still have the convenience of being able to fix or service any of my bikes when they need it.
@mark1a this is great!
But surely “I ended up setting up my home adjacent to a very well-equipped workshop (complete with hot and cold running beverages, it’s own pavé…)” ?
@mark1a there must be something new, perhaps featuring in some pictures?
I’m thinking of getting an absolute black 4 piston press.
But I also wouldn’t mind something for using on a single piston, for cleaning and working in lube when servicing that’s far quicker, with a squeezey lever. Any suggestions? The frame repair and new front mudguard stays make access difficult with the wedge of the park pp1.2.
@ktache
I’ve got a Sumart UBB-20 for resetting single piston calipers, it has magnetic washers to sit against the pistons, and you can wind a threaded wedge to separate them.
I recently replaced the two gear cables and two brake cables on my wife’s 20 year old bike in about 20 minutes. It takes me all afternoon to bleed the brakes on my bike. While the new bikes are nicer to ride, they are are total PITA to service. That’s progress.
@Aluminium can Re progress – no it’s not!
I imagine the 105,000 figure is the estimate for the top of high season., not the number of full-time jobs.
The trouble with this job is that you are overworked for 4 months a year and then don’t always work enough to stay in the black for the other 8. So many mechanics may need another job for the rest of the year, but then they can’t keep up to date with the industry. Catch 22.
@tomlew That’s one (very insignificant) positive effect of global warming – I’ve noticed that the busy season for bike mechanics is now longer than it used to be. Obviously, I would still prefer it if global warming wasn’t happening.
Maybe Shimano should allow EVERYONE to create FREE Acct and login to lessons and database and NOT just those already employed in a shop!
The article was good but didn’t give any links to companies that do training courses. I have tried to find training courses for basic bicycle maintenance in Portugal and Spain but hit a complete brick wall and finding one’s in the UK was challenging too ! Why does the cycling industry make it so difficult for people to do basic bicycle maintenance courses
What a load of rubbish.
There are too many bike mechanics around as attested by the fact that many of them have shut down over the past couple of years as they can’t make a living due to having no pricing power.
People who claim they can’t cycle because they don’t have access to a mechanic are making stuff up… Likely means they couldn’t be arsed to buy a tyre pump or some other nonsense.
A 2 minute YouTube tutorial teaches anyone how to change a tyre, inner tube, brake pads, chain etc… If I can do it anyone can because I am useless at all manual jobs.
Perhaps there is a shortage of people willing to work on e-motorbikes, but that’s a whole different story separate from cycling.
@jackcycles “If I can do it anyone can because I am useless at all manual jobs.”
Well, presumably some people would prefer not to spend their time on something they can get others to do cheaply * so they can spend it elsewhere eg. opining online…
* Another Schrödinger effect: bike maintenance is simultaneously too expensive (“20 quid to pump the tyres up?!”) and not expensive enough (given what the hourly rates for bike mechanics seem to be / cheapness of many parts).
@chrisonabike I think you missed the bit of the story that claimed people couldn’t access a bike mechanic, regardless of price, due to there being a big shortfall in the profession.
Which clearly doesn’t make sense given what you and I have both written.
@jackcycles no, that logic doesn’t hold up. But you seem to have missed the main thrust of the article about growing demand?
Perhaps because it started “Europe’s bicycle industry” that caused you “fnord blindness” to the rest?
The gulf between what people in the UK consider reasonable to pay for cycle transport and eg. motor transport may explain those closing cycle shops. But then the concept of “cycle transport” is not yet in vogue in the UK, despite being increasingly appreciated in neighbouring countries.
Oh, I think road.cc readers are well aware there’s one that you’re really good at.
@Rendel Harris your missus hasn’t been gossiping again has she?
I feel a regeneration is imminent… put the mods on standby!