Traveller bike shop is starting to make strides
By Maurice Garvey
AN AWARD winning Traveller bike mechanic shop in Clondalkin are starting to make strides, and hope to expand the business model further down the road.
Crossbar Bikes on Cloverhill Road, are part of the Clondalkin Travellers Development Group - initially set up four years ago as a local bike men’s shed.
Crossbar Bikes on Cloverhill Road
Since then, the crew have undergone training and slowly built up the bike repair venture successfully.
Last year, Crossbar Bikes won a City & Guilds gold medal award in London, which was recognition for the hard work put into the concept.
A number of CE scheme participants in the community group are qualified City & Guilds bike mechanics.
Stephen Browne, from Clondalkin Travellers Development Group, said they want to grow the shop through new initiatives.
“We are starting to grow the bike work shop, trying to raise awareness of it in the wider community. The location of the shop might be a bit difficult, in that it is not as accessible as other places.
“There are a lot of Travellers involved, although it is open to all. We have City & Guild qualified bike mechanics, and some are going to become qualified in electric bike training. There is only a select few types of these places in the country.”
In terms of building the venture, Browne said participants are looking at rolling out a number of new initiatives.
This includes providing training for residents in “a bike-building programme”, and possibilities of renting out bikes for seasonal events, such as weddings and ice-cream bikes.
For further information contact crossbarbikerepair [at] gmail [dot] com or phone 6230900.
