Our Interview Tasks - The Results

[@Hambini]

It's quite refreshing to see this level of technical detail. Most of the bike shops I deal with are totally incompetent. They don't know what a DTI is and use the little black bars on the truing stand to get it straight - totally forgetting about the dish.

[@Mapdec]

Most forget its a 4D process. Lat, rad, dish and tension. Just do one at time. A good builder has an eye on it all.

[@ondmedai5417]

But they are also likely to deal with a lot of customers who dont want to pay much money for their repairs. Therefor they decrease the quality of the repairs and try to get an Quick and dirty fix for the customer. Sure there are some people willing to pay for excellence but most just want their bike to function more or less and are not willing to pay big bucks.

[@Bonky-wonky]

This is like kicking a bee’s nest but I do wonder whether this level of perfection is actually noticeable for anyone except for a few world tour riders.

[@Mapdec]

@@Bonky-wonky yes. It means safe, confident and predictable handling, braking and shifting.

[@Hambini]

@@Bonky-wonky You probably wouldn't notice it because you wouldn't realise your wheel bearings lasted longer. The benefits at an immediate level are less road noise through he bars and you get less power loss because of vibration. It is small but it's there.

[@JMcLeodKC711]

You: what’s the correct ignition timing for a 1965 Bel-Air 450, with a 4 barrel carb. Mona Lisa Vito: It’s an impossible question. Vinny: Watch this

[@StanEby1]

Interesting and instructive. Helps us self-guage too. Thanks.

[@BikechainShopManager]

28 on the TM-1 equates to ~1700 newtons. The max tension Shimano says that spokes should be at for a front WH-RS170 is 1400 N. Pretty sure that's what wheel you've got there but even if it's not I can't find any Shimano doc that says that any front RS wheel should be above ~1400 N

[@Mapdec]

Just a random wheel from the classroom I used for the vid. It’s probably been rebuilt by students at least a dozen times. Just a prop. Kudos for looking it up.

[@markokompic7617]

Great work! This just shows the state of bike industry - I consider these questions to be fairly easy, and although I am not a mechanic (I just work on my bikes), I could solve it all without a problem.

[@wrongusername]

My thoughts exactly. If the average pro mechanic can't answer these questions, it does explain why the service in bike shops is so bad.

[@edscoble]

The question are extremely important as in the old days people have it in their head, but nowadays with a staggering number of components and techniques involved, it would not be seen “cheating” to look up information just to make sure they’re doing it correctly, I caught quite a few out who genuinely believe it is a sight of weakness to not know the product off their head but in reality, it mean you’re not keeping up with the modern development of the bicycle workshop.

[@edscoble]

One of the most important thing I look out for when I interview people for my workshop is torque wrench. A surprising number of them don’t use them, or that much for what seemed like a minor components.

[@oftankoftan]

I had an offer for a job as an assembly mechanic for a large corporation. I asked if they used torque wrenches. The rep said no, and that it's not necessary if you have "wrench experience". They sell carbon bikes. I declined the job offer.

[@edscoble]

@@oftankoftan in layman’s term; you make the clicky click noise.

[@edmoconnor]

Brilliant interview process, I got some of right!

[@Monkey_slapping_keys]

Worked in Eng maint for years and doing a lot of my own bike work and I wouldn't get most of them, I do know what a DTI is at least. Need to spend some time on wheels I guess, I work to 2 thou at work so it should be a quick pickup. Thanks for the insight.

[@daviddjerassi]

Fantastic you answered the question your self Mapdec is NOT the usual bike repair shop its many grades above that you are Bike / cycle engineers.

[@Neil_down_south]

Fascinating to see the amount of skill and knowledge involved. I'd like to see the actual charts/pressure calculator just for geekiness. Links would be much appreciated. Thanks for all the great videos, glad to see subs are growing.

[@JoeW71]

I'm curious to know how much weight you put onto the personalities of your candidates as far as fitting to your shop culture? Good test. I mostly knew what you were talking about and have used a dial indicator for truing a wheel (motorcycle.)

[@Mapdec]

About 75%

[@JibbaJabber]

Nice test. Very informative and challenging. I would of got 4 out of 5, since I've been doing my own maintenance for ages and have a Physics and Teaching degrees, :) Would have found the mtb terminology tricky since never really had a mtb - no space (or cash)! Anyway, great stuff - more challenges please. 👍👍👍👍

[@urouroniwa]

I also found the quiz fun. I think I would have done alright because basically "I don't know", but I'm good at googling :-) Oddly the one I could get right off the top of my head was the last one, which is a bit weird I guess. I've just hung out on reddit long enough to see that question asked a lot 🙂

[@chucktalks63]

When you mention about adding the DS and NDS tensions together and dividing by two to get the overall tension of the wheel this really only works for front rim brake wheels. As you know rear wheels have different tensions on the spokes and it is *mostly* the drive side spokes that you care about being in tension.

[@Mapdec]

It’s not a measurement in isolation. The task was to describe the wheel and determine sufficient tension had been met. Ideally the average should sit nicely in the middle of the range and would be a good indicator that spoke length was correct

[@chucktalks63]

I understand what you mean, it just didn't make a lot of sense in the context. If you are building a wheel to 1200N of spoke tension then the DS will be at around that mark, and the NDS will likely be around 800-900N ish on the NDS for a rear wheel. Doing what you said in the video would show the overall average is 1000N, so you could say the wheel is low in tension.

[@tomrengert1221]

I certainly would have struggled with the fork question, I have the TM-1 chart as a lock screen picture 😂.

[@stefannewels1823]

If the commute wouldn't be that long... Greets from Germoney 👍

[@byc1013]

I got all those questions correct.

[@wrongusername]

Interesting video! With that tension meter you actually need to be sure it's calibrated. Maybe it was out of scope of the assignment. But that is at least a question the applicants should pose. A while back i called many of the local shops, and none of them had the means to calibrate spoke tension meters.

[@Mapdec]

We just keep 4 on rotation. When one goes off, we just replace it.

[@mwhittle91]

If i wanted to change my carear and become a mechanic what would be the best way in? Ive done the cytech level 1 theory but wondering if this is the best path?

[@Mapdec]

If you are young enough find a national apprenticeship. If not than the Cytech L2 is the very basic prerequisite for most roles.

[@JMcLeodKC711]

Just thought of another test. Have them do some assembly where at least one adjustment has a torque rating stamped on the part. If they don’t reach for a torque wrench, that’s the test.

[@lisashiela9137]

That was great. You would think that more bike shops would be using youtube to promote their inventory and services since it's absolutely free. It seems that most shops here in my area, Florida United States, are still hypnotized by facebook and rely on that as their sole go to advertiser.

[@Mapdec]

KZbin is hard. Really hard.

[@Schabo1234]

That is why getting good mechanics is so difficult ! Lot of knowhow and experience needed.....but the salary is poor. Feed a family ,buy a house etc.Nope ! Try to study get an engineer degree & more doors are open ! Geetings from Germany

[@bendardania]

Answer to 3 is tricky… pirelli 28 not really sure you want to use them hookless. As a matter fact answer to that question should be you should never ever use 28 hookless on a zip Firecrest. I can install them bare hand. Enve is ok. Enve ses hookless is the only wheel that I can’t install STR‘s bare hand. As much as I appreciate the level of detail and understanding that a potential mechanic of yours needs to have to work in your shop, unless they’re mountain bikers, or they race mountain biking as kids any new person that comes to your shop and has that interview will fail. There are senior mechanics that would fail your questionnaire. But I understand your shop is more of a high-end, more of a type of a place where one would truly benefit in their future career.

[@Mapdec]

They are to use at the correct pressure. Weird thing is, I really don’t think our shop is that special. We just follow instructions, to the letter.

[@bendardania]

@@Mapdec you don’t know that, tech is too new to be able to say that Perelli tires or any tires in size 28 should fit a 25 mm internal rim, you don’t know that. there’s not enough study to assure anybody that is safe to ride them. I highly recommend you stay out of hookless debate, you simply don’t have the capability or understanding that they work…. bullshit information on manufactures website for hookless rims size 28 is madness. Enves website has information for riders up to 240 and more for size 28 tires…. Come on man… wtf. I would love to see the real human test riders they used to pass compliance at 30 miles per hour descending or sprinting on the drops… answer is none.

[@Mapdec]

@@bendardania 303s is 23mm. Mechanics follow instructions written by engineers. Everything on this channel relating to hookless is promoting that we follow those instructions and not guess or assume things.

[@bendardania]

@@Mapdec let’s revisit this post and this response in 2 years time. Will se if instructions from SRAM were accurate or not. I believe I am right. By the way I personally use 28 tires on 25 internal enve ses. Would I sell it to anyone or let anyone use my bike with 28, never! Zipp firecrest is 25mm and sram does recommend to use 28, on f…… 25mmm internal!!!!!!!!

[@Mapdec]

@@bendardania my response will always be to follow instructions. If the instructions change, so does our practice it’s really as simple as that.

[@russellbaker4256]

Did any of them spell compatable correctly?

[@Mapdec]

😂

[@neilk22]

Bike shops need to be regulated or certified for this level of competence. They aren’t, and they’re quick to sell you a £10k bike but no one in the back who can QC at this level.

[@Mapdec]

Very true. To get accounts with big brands depends solely on the size of the order you place.

[@feedbackzaloop]

The best interview IMO is to ask mechanic bring their bike and tell what has been done and what would they do differently.

[@mikekelly1771]

You should put the tyre on backwards and see if they notice. You'd be surprised how many people miss this.

[@Mapdec]

I famously missed this on camera too. 😂

[@aljaliah6868]

Talking about tyre pressures , which is an interesting technicality that many overlook , what should I pump my tyres at ? I am just over 100 KGs , running tubeless Vittoria Corsa Control G2.0 TLR on Mavic Cosmic (65 mm) wheels bought new in 2020 (in case spec changed). You have pointed this out in a previous video and there seems to be a lot of variables that decide the pressure of the same tyre from one wheel to the next so not equal across the board.

[@Mapdec]

There is not enough info here really. The current Mavic Cosmic 65 are 19mm TSS. They have a pressure chart in their user manual. You should be ok with a 32mm tyre, but check the side wall as some tyres this width do not display max pressure for TSS on the box for the wider sizes. they can sometimes be below 73psi.

[@aljaliah6868]

@@Mapdec I knew I missed something , mine are 25 mm and the clearance is about 2 mm on each side , the bike is a PINARELLO PRINCE 2015 (an early Dogma 65.1?) ? Yes, I wrote 60 for the Mavic wheels but they are actually 65. My question is what pressure would they have to be at ?

[@aljaliah6868]

@@Mapdec I am running them at 70psi and I am wondering if they need to be at 60?

[@Mapdec]

@@aljaliah6868 are they TC or TSS rims

[@aljaliah6868]

@@Mapdec I can still see one sticker saying 622 X 19TC if that’s what you mean

[@TheNationalTrails]

Shimano XT M8100 shifter/derailleur with Sram 12-spd X01 lower jockey; added .25mm spacers to fit Shimano cage. Sram XX1 12 SPD chain with Absolute Black 30t 3mm offset Oval and a Sram XD 1295 cassette... Hmm... Surprisingly proper. Not exactly advertised. Yet, solid and true to mountain biking.

[@TheNationalTrails]

Your shop is such a great place! Just made that comment to keep the essence of your dialed expertise light and driven. The groupset specification isn't exactly on the road map, yet it's example of being in the road long enough to make a blue print. Respectfully, your videos sure do seem like blue prints. Thanks again and enjoy the road ahead.

[@Mapdec]

Thank you

[@RichChh]

As a 'fix it myself' home mechanic, I would have failed this test, in part because I've believe that 11 speed chains are narrower than 9 speed chains, so wouldn't shift as cleanly because the derailleur was designed for a wider chain... shrug

[@Mapdec]

That range is from Shimano Cues that is bassed arround linkglide rather than hyperglide chains.

[@walterstevens8676]

All that knowledge and they'll be paid sh$t

[@Mapdec]

Hopefully we are trying to improve that. I think first we need to demonstrate our value.

[@simonleeofficial]

If I ran a bike shop I wouldn't want any customers who can't build their own wheels 😂😂

[@edmundhodgson2572]

Since disc brakes, if the wheel goes around in the frame, you're to go! I wont be applying.....

[@Mapdec]

😅

[@JonathanBays]

Wow things have moved on these days. In my day the wheel true check in a service was much simpler just pluck the spokes listen to the sound for any way out and check the radial and lateral true just quickly against the brake block. Not quite as detailed or accurate and less reliance on special tools which we just didn't have and couldn't afford.

[@carl90210]

Is a dislike of the big brands on the job spec? 😉

[@Mapdec]

A dislike of poor quality on high prices is.

[@s1alker564]

a lot of knowledge required for a job that pays near minimal wage here

[@Mapdec]

Quite a way off minimal wage

[@_Zane__]

Hookless rims 😬

[@wearejames1]

Hookless, no thanks, why would you want to remove the bead that keeps the tyre on..... just to see if you can get away with it????😬🤕

[@JMcLeodKC711]

Shame on you mixing PSI and kg

[@Mapdec]

😂

[@stevegoodfellow3423]

We've been going metric inch by inch for a long time 😁

[@JMcLeodKC711]

I think you used the wrong comparison operator. You said “less than 0.20” but displayed “>0.20”

[@Mapdec]

Doh 😩