Anybody with half a brain an allen wrench and an inclination can fix their own bike.

Lots of AI-proof trades that pay well. HVAC, welding, plumbing, mechanics, etc.

I guess so. I was curious if there is a similar projected demand in the US. I don't know if that info is on this page, but it does show the median annual wage to be $38k https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes493091.htm

In NL/BE it’s so bad that most settled bike shops won’t even plan your repair if the bike was not bought at that store. Why? Because there’s still more then enough work with only your own customers.

So you’d ask yourself, why don’t repair only places open? Because the knowledge required to start fixing bikes has evolved a lot with the multitude of e-bike systems, and moreover people already find the repair prices too expensive when the costs are slightly subsidized by the people buying bikes at the shop.

I tried adjusting my own derailleur once.

Shop for me from then on.

The full quote is, "A lot of them now will come to cycle shops for pretty much 90% of bike repairs." So not necessarily that 90% of people are coming in for every issue, but that there are people who rely on the shop for almost every issue.

I've learned a lot about bike repairs this year, and I've been volunteering as a mechanic at free bike repair events. It's been interesting going from the clueless customer asking for a "tune-up" to being the one asked for a tune-up. If you ride but don't have maintenance background you know that it's possible there might be some problematic, or even dangerous issue; but you have no idea what that might be. And if you can identify a problem, as far as you know any work you do might brake something in a way you don't understand. So I can understand people going to the shop frequently.

I'm surprised when I talk to people and almost always hear that they bring their bike to a shop for maintenance and repair. I'm usually the strange one who do his own maintenance and repairs. So I can believe that most people bring their bike to a mechanic. The 90% figure still seems high though.

I think it is fairly common for the average rider in a bikeable area. Like a car sure a lot of drivers know how to change a tire, a lot fewer change the oil or brakes. Computers arent hard to build but 90% of people buy something premade.