A Cytech-qualified bike mechanic in Wrexham, with a lifelong love of what bikes can give people.
 

I’m Ioan, the person behind The Friendly Bike Mechanic. I’m an independent, home-based bike mechanic in Wrexham, North Wales, working on everything from everyday commuters and children’s bikes to road, cyclocross and race bikes.

But my relationship with bikes started a long way from Wrexham.

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Bikes have always meant freedom
 

I grew up in Saint-Hubert, Québec, on Montréal’s South Shore.

As a teenager, I used to leave my parents’ house on my bike and ride all the way into Montréal — to the Old Port, Sainte-Catherine Street and the heart of the city.

Coming in from the suburbs, that felt incredibly grown-up. I could get somewhere completely under my own steam, find a spot amongst thousands of people who didn’t know who I was, and just be there. There was something wonderful about that sense of anonymity and freedom.
 

I wasn’t a racer. Cycling wasn’t about watts, results or expensive equipment. I just loved riding my bike.

It made my world bigger.
 

That feeling has never really left me.

Why that still matters

A bike can mean different things to different people
 

That freedom doesn’t have to mean riding all the way into a big city.

For one person, a bike might be the thing that gets them to work every morning. For somebody else, it’s their first proper bike and their pride and joy. It might be a child discovering how far they can go, somebody pottering around a campsite, a rider heading out for a Sunday road ride, or a young racer lining up on a start grid.
 

Those bikes might be worth very different amounts of money, but that doesn’t make one more important than another.
 

That’s a big part of why I enjoy keeping people rolling.
 

The right thing for the right rider

The right thing for the right rider

Being a good mechanic isn’t just about knowing how to fit parts. It’s about understanding what somebody actually needs.
 

A commuter who absolutely needs their bike to get to work every morning might be better served by something tough and dependable like a Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Someone enjoying relaxed rides around a campsite might be much happier on something like a Panaracer Pasela.
 

And if we’re talking about a cyclocross race bike, then we might be discussing Challenge tyres, tubeless setups, tread choice, pressures and race conditions instead.

The point is the same in every case:

the right part is the one that works for the rider and the way they use their bike.

I’m happy talking about Shimano, SRAM, SwissStop, Praxis, Continental and performance upgrades, but I’m just as happy finding a sensible, dependable solution for somebody’s everyday Carrera.
 

Every bike matters

I work on Carreras, hybrids, commuters and children’s bikes. I work on road bikes, cyclocross bikes and race machines.

The price of the bike doesn’t determine how seriously I take the job.

Sometimes the most important bike I work on is the one somebody needs to get them to work on Monday morning.

Sometimes it’s somebody’s first proper bike and they’ve saved for months to buy it.

Sometimes it’s being prepared to race on Sunday.

If the bike matters to you, it matters to me.
 

I love a good deal

Good kit doesn’t always have to mean spending more

I genuinely get excited when I find a good deal.

I work with a range of cycling suppliers, and one of the things I enjoy most is finding good equipment at sensible prices and being able to pass that value on.

Sometimes that means finding a better tyre than somebody expected for their budget. Sometimes it’s an upgrade that will genuinely improve the bike. And sometimes the best advice I can give is that you don’t need to replace something at all.

I’m not interested in selling somebody the most expensive option simply because it costs more.

I’d rather help you spend your money on something that actually makes sense.
 

Bikes beyond the repair stand

Cycling is a big part of my life beyond fixing bikes

My involvement in cycling goes well beyond servicing and repairs.

I run Sundorne Racing School and spend a lot of time around grassroots cycling, coaching, young riders and racing. I’ve seen bikes being used in just about every way imaginable — from somebody learning basic skills to riders preparing for serious competition.

That experience inevitably feeds back into the mechanical side.

It helps me understand why reliability matters to a commuter, why a seemingly small change can make a road bike more enjoyable, and why the details become particularly important when a race bike is about to be pushed hard.

 

Where your money goes

Your bike helps support young riders too

The Friendly Bike Mechanic also helps me put something back into cycling.

The money I make through the business helps support Ethan and other young riders with the costs and opportunities that come with racing and rider development.

I won’t always be able to beat the cheapest internet-only price for a component, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.

But when you have your bike serviced by me, or buy equipment through The Friendly Bike Mechanic, you’re supporting an independent local mechanic and helping young riders get opportunities to train, race and develop.

I’m very proud of that.
 

Tell me about your bike

You don’t need to know what’s wrong with it.

If it rattles, rubs, squeaks, slips, won’t stop properly or simply doesn’t feel right, tell me what it’s doing and we’ll take it from there.

And if you already know exactly what you want — whether that’s a new set of tyres, an upgrade, a tubeless setup or race preparation — that’s fine too.

Your bike. Looked after properly.