Bicycle technician Owen Wright keeps the wheels rolling

As one traverses Half-Way Tree Road in St Andrew, it may be easy to miss Paul's Bicycle Repair Shop which is close to the Holy Cross Catholic Church.

But a closer look inside and you will see bicycles stacked up waiting to be tuned by the master repair technician Owen Wright, who has been doing this for 53 years.

Wright told THE STAR that initially he dreamed of becoming a phone line technician with the then Jamaica Telephone Company. But after spending hours watching his late uncle Aston Beans making bicycle wheels, that eventually captivated his attention.

"When I was a child, I used to play with toy cars and I used to sit at that very window there [pointing to the window] and that time the workmen were over there so in the shop and they used to tune bicycle wheels and dem ting deh. So, seeing my uncle doing all this thing, it take years to develop his skill. Building a [bicycle] wheel is not easy to do, it involves constant looking," Wright shared. He joked that at first, he was not inclined to pick up his uncle's craft but was drawn to it through spiritual ordination.

He shared that his first task to repair a bicycle came when a motorcyclist crashed into a pedal cyclist along the busy thoroughfare in Half-Way Tree.

"I was trying to tune the bicycle and it wouldn't come out. What I had to do was tune down the entire wheel, straighten the rim and build it back. It took me about an hour and a half. I was the only one that could do it because everybody was thinking of straightening the rim just by beating it and pressing it out. But they were just fatiguing the spokes. So, the only way now to bring back the wheel was to build it over," he said.

Wright admitted that a repair can take two hours, with the common defects being the wearing down of the hubs or issues with wheels. Armed with his chain breaker, as opposed to the traditional hammer and nail, Wright demonstrated how he repairs a broken chain link in less than five minutes.

He smiles through his mask while marvelling at his work. Other implements such as the truing stand and owning wrenches were used to spin the wheels and straighten the bicycle's rims.

Now with the introduction of electric bicycles, the 60-year-old told the news team that there is an even greater need for bicycles. He cited the health benefits that cycling gives to the human body, including the improvement of cardiovascular health. Because of this, Wright states that his job as a repair technician is not threatened by technology.

"You need movement, so therefore, if you're just going to think about electric [bicycles] threatening the craft, then you are just killing the art of exercise. Bicycles are for pedalling purposes, to strengthen your legs. So in a sense, you only killing your own longevity. It is necessary to do more exercise and electric bicycles don't bother me," he said.

From his training through courses at Penn Foster College in the United States coupled with on-the-job knowledge, Wright stays committed to his career. He fixes up to 12 bicycles a day.

Wright told THE STAR that one has to have a grasp of mathematics, a keen eye to detail, problem solving skills and a broad knowledge of bicycle makes and models to do the job.

His future plans include improving the physical appearance of his shop and finding willing and interested apprentices to teach the craft.