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ABOUT

ABOUT Christopher Wallace:

 

Bicycle Guild's founder Cristopher Wallace has been teaching Bicycle Education for over 30 years.  His infectious sense of humor, genius level bicycle/science knowledge base and effective communication skills have made him a respected teacher and consultant.  He is a founding member of the Youth Bicycle Education Network and a League of American Cyclists Instructor.  He is a bicycle activist and is well known in the Chicagoland cycling community.  He has trained many local cyclists to be top notch bike mechanics and teachers.  Wallace's background as a former Science Teacher contributes to his unofficial title "the Mad Scientist of Bicycling."   

His classes and workshops focus on both practical and technical aspects of cycling.  The practical classes include Winter Cycling, Bike Safety, Bike Commuting, Riding for Novices and Bicycle Racing.  Wallace is also a Certified Master Tech and teaches lay and professional classes from basic Fix a Flat, to Advances in Hydraulic Systems. His application of physics and chemistry improves the understanding of Brake service both  to increase stopping power and reduce shop labor time. From Assembly to more advanced technical workshops in Bicycle Wheel Building and Frame Building, every class focuses on improving quality of service and reducing time it take do perform procedures 
He offers training to Professional Bike Mechanics to increase profitability, reduce mental and physical fatigue, and improve quality of life for a healthier professional experience in the bicycle industry.

 

 

Christopher's passion for over 30 years has been the bicycle; riding, wrenching, manufacturing, learning,  creating new ideas, teaching.  He has worked in bicycle shops around the country, he is a certified master bicycle and ski technician for a national corporation that has a focus on reducing liabilities through accountability programs.  He is a certified trainer for a rapid assembly corporation. He is a bicycle vocational education teacher for public and private schools, he worked for years as a class room teacher in behavior modification schools. He has volunteered and been hired to teach after school bicycle education programs and written manuals for adult volunteers, peer to peer training, and novice education programs.  He has taught Park Tool School for years, Christopher created a more comprehensive program that is easy for mechanics to implement. He is a silver smith and teaches advanced bicycle lug design and cutting. He has reinvented the wheel, twice. He created a pneumaphillic solution to help hydraulic brakes increase stopping power on bicycles, cars, motorcycles, and trucks. He has trained some of the best bicycle educators in Chicagoland, Alex Wilson of West Town Bikes, many volunteers at Working Bikes and the Recyclery, most of the Cycling Sisters core teachers, and teachers at Chicago Velo Campus. He is a certified Master Bicycle Technician from John Barnett's School. He is a certified League Cycling Instructor. Christopher is one of the founding member of (YBEN) Youth Bicycle Education Network, He created the Bicycle Guild to improve bicycle service centers quality, speed, safety, and profits. With the Bicycle Guilds program (LBD) Local Bicycle Dealers service centers will increase profits and reduce fatigue in your mechanics. There are many more benefits, We would like to share our experience to improve your experience in the industry.

 

Experience:

 

  • CABDA Chicago Area Bicycle Dealers Association Service School Trainer at Menta Vocation Centers in Hillside and Aurora.

  • Bikes for Chicago Mayors office of Workforce Development-Lead Teacher 

  • Chicago Velo Campus Build to Own Program-Lead Teacher 

  • Blackstone Bicycle Works Director

  • Bicycle Action Project Manager/Trainer/Writer

  • St. Louis Bicycle Works Lead teacher/Writer

  • REI Bicycle and Ski Certified Master Technician

  • YBEN Youth Bicycle Education Network founding member

  • HSF Certified Assembler Trainer

  • Menta Special Education Behavior modification specialist

  • Bicycle Guild Founder


Training and Certifications:

  • Barnett's Bicycle Institute- Certified Master Technician

  • CABDA Service School Instructor Training

  • HSF Assembly Trainer Program

  • Advanced Wheel building training from Dietrich Rolf, Wheel Smith, DT, Winkle Wheel, Quentin.

  • Hydraulic fluid systems concepts RSI

  • Disc Brake -AMP

  • League of American Bicyclist LCI League Cycling Instructor

  • Rock Shock Service School 

  • Sram Shock Training

ABOUT The Bicycle Guild:

 

The Bicycle Guild came about when we found the need for Local Bicycle Dealers (LBD's) to help service areas become profitable. We looked at and combined professional mechanics training programs, industrial mechanics efficiency training, Lean - Six Sigma processes, and corporate accountability procedures to build best business practices for LBD's service centers. 

We created Mechanics training focused on quality, modern efficiency methods, and accountability procedures. When all three are combined, profits increase.

We started by listening to Bicycle Shop Owners comments that assembly time and repair time are too long, resulting in labor costs that are too high to make a profit. We have heard owners talk about how the build quality is not consistent and some bikes need to be tuned by a second mechanic before a test ride can occur.  Quality needs to be elevated and efficiencies need to be created to make effective mechanics profitable. In our program, We have combined time reduction methods and tools, with highly accurate mechanical skill training with accountability systems to create this unique training program.   

The Bicycle Guilds Professional mechanics training is based on programs created for professional assemblers, bicycle mechanics schools, and corporate accountability standards. Bicycle Mechanic schools have trained mechanics to be quality technicians. Our program takes those skill to a more profitable level by organizing every effort to increase each mechanics output and reduce work. Effective mechanic efficiency skills reduce fatigue increase quality, and increase earnings. After all we are not in business to under earn. 

To be highly effective, Technicians need to be highly train mechanics, with skills, tools, and procedures that produce the highest efficiency practices, All three systems need to complement and be designed to work together to produce fast quality service that is correct the first time.  We have created training that marries mechanical competency, with efficiency and accountability to produce a highly effective and profitable mechanic. 

There are beliefs that experience will make you more efficient, this is true that you can half your time with experience. In the Bicycle Guild training we cut foot steps and organize every effort made by a mechanic to reduce time even more and increase quality. With today's bicycles using thinner metal and carbon fiber parts, the bicycle industry is recommending torque wrenches to achieve a measurable torque value stated by a manufacture. Is your shop able to integrate torque values into a build and reduce time it takes to complete an assembly? We can show you how. Our program is here to help you succeed in business. 

Feel free to ask question, we what to help.

Christopher Wallace
Bicycle Guild
A Holistic approach to training

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