Rolling Wrench
The Complete Guide to Launching and Scaling a Mobile Bicycle Repair Business
by Jerome Baxter
non-fiction
Turn your wrenching skills into a thriving mobile business. From van setup to customer acquisition, this is your field-tested playbook for repairing bikes at your customers' doorsteps.
About this book
The bike shop is dead. Long live the mobile mechanic.
Every weekend, thousands of cyclists park their bikes in a garage because they don't have the time or tools to fix a squeaky drivetrain or a flat tire. They need you. And you need a roadmap to turn your repair skills into a profitable, sustainable business that doesn't chain you to a shop counter.
Rolling Wrench is the first comprehensive guide to building a mobile bicycle repair service from the ground up. Whether you're a seasoned mechanic tired of the shop life, a cycling enthusiast with a knack for fixing bikes, or an entrepreneur looking for a low-cost, high-margin venture, this book gives you the exact systems to launch, operate, and grow a service that brings the repair shop to your customer's doorstep.
Inside, you'll learn how to design a mobile workshop that fits your vehicle and budget, master the art of on-site repairs with minimal downtime, and implement pricing strategies that maximize profit while building customer loyalty. You'll navigate the legal and insurance maze with ease, develop marketing tactics that make local cyclists think of you first, and discover how to scale from side hustle to a full-time fleet. With real-world examples, checklists, and hard-earned advice, Rolling Wrench is the blueprint for a business that offers convenience, quality, and a personal touch that no brick-and-mortar shop can match.
This isn't just a guide—it's the start of a new chapter for your career and your life. Stop waiting for the perfect location. Start rolling.
Reader Reviews
Amanda Moore
★★★★★I picked this up because I've been dreaming of leaving the shop, and the opening chapter nailed the Saturday dread perfectly. The business systems and checklists are genuinely useful, and the pricing advice is solid. But I found the middle sections repetitive, and the marketing chapters felt dated—very 'post on Facebook and call it a day.' Also, for a book about mobile repair, there's surprisingly little on handling weather or awkward apartment buildings. Good starting point, but not the complete roadmap it claims to be.
Jennifer White
★★★★★As a weekend warrior who's fixed friends' bikes for fun, I appreciated the clear breakdown of what tools you actually need for a van setup. The legal and insurance chapter saved me from a lot of headaches. That said, the writing is a bit preachy—the manifesto in chapter one goes on forever, and I skimmed a lot of the 'mindset' talk. The real-world examples are helpful, but I wish it had more on dealing with difficult customers or when to say no to a job. It's decent, just not the life-changing read the blurb promises.
Edward Johnson
★★★★★I've been a mobile mechanic for two years, so I bought this mostly to see if I was missing anything. I wasn't—but I still learned a few good tricks, especially the pricing tiers and how to batch jobs by neighborhood to cut drive time. The checklists at the end of each chapter are worth the price alone. My only real gripe is that the author leans hard on the 'bike shops are failing' narrative, which feels exaggerated; shops still have a place. Overall, a practical, no-BS guide that I'll keep in the van for reference.
Carol Ramirez
★★★★★This book gave me the push I needed to quit my shop job and start my own mobile service. The opening chapter hit me right in the gut—I've been that mechanic saying 'we can get to it on Tuesday' way too often. The step-by-step on building your workshop from a used van was exactly what I was looking for, and the marketing tips actually got me my first five customers within a month. I've recommended it to three friends already. If you're serious about owning your time and helping riders, buy this. You won't regret it.