“Quand on partait de bon matin, quand on partait sur les chemins” (“When we set off early in the morning, when we set off down the lanes”). The French singer Yves Montand loved his bicycle. So do you. And this new year, you're determined to get into bike rental, whether classic bikes or e-bikes. “Yes, but”, says that little voice in your head. What if you needed training, or a diploma, to open a bike shop? Lokki helps you silence the gremlin that crushes your plans.
Bikes, two-wheelers, bicycles, roadsters, tandems. You dream of nothing else at night. An ocean of spokes. A tsunami of wheels. A cascade of helmets, from the most stylish to the lightest. An avalanche of rims in every colour and size, hanging from the ceiling of the beautiful shop whose decor you have already pictured down to the last detail.
Because your mind is made up. In 2023, you are opening your bike shop. For some, it's the wish to finally make a living from an all-consuming passion for two wheels, born when, knee-high to a grasshopper, you took your first tumbles on the bends of the family driveway.
For others, it's entrepreneurial instinct, the wish to invest in a sector you know is growing. It's true that this “cycling transition” has become hard to ignore: it began about ten years ago and literally exploded with the Covid crisis (bike rental included, by the way).
Bike rental, a growing market
“2021, the year of the bike”, was the headline two years ago from Le Monde journalist Olivier Razemon, author of the blog “L’interconnexion n’est plus assurée” on sustainable mobility. He pointed out that bikes had never been talked about, or worked on, so much all over France. But why all the love? According to the journalist, the boom comes from a combination of 3 factors:
- A surge in demand from citizens wanting a lifestyle that is less costly for the environment, which led to the emergence and structuring of the Pro-bike movement, aiming to make cycling accessible to everyone.
- Massive investment by the French State (national cycling plan, building bridges, cycle lanes, junctions and dedicated bike parking) but above all by elected officials such as Nicolas Mercat, Boris Ravignon or Isabelle Lesens. Proof that cycling is on everyone's mind, an Alliance for cycling was set up in June 2022, bringing together users, local authorities and businesses. Its goal is to promote the economic, social and health potential of cycling.
- A growing number of studies, analyses and academic papers on the subject, such as urban planner Clément Dusong's thesis on the rise of cycling in the Paris suburbs, or the guide “Rendre sa voirie cyclable” (making your roads bike-friendly) by Cerema. These works champion an “ecological transition based on calm sobriety” and aim to identify the opportunities in this thriving sector.
Do you need a diploma to open a bike shop?
So no, you haven't taken the wrong road. The bike, e-bike and bike rental markets are booming. But to open your bike or e-bike shop, do you need a diploma or training?
No need to keep your heart racing any longer. The answer is no. In France, no training or diploma is required to open a bike shop. You are free to open this kind of shop just as you could sell anchovies from Uzbekistan. The only rules that apply to your project are in fact those of any retail business:
- market research,
- competitor analysis,
- business plan,
- choice of retail concept,
- choice of legal structure for your company,
- location of the premises…
Training, an asset when opening a bike shop
That said, if you don't want to look clueless when a Tour de France fanatic asks where your bike frames come from, if you think “VAE” only means the French scheme for turning work experience into a diploma (it is also the French abbreviation for e-bike), or if you want to repair your bikes yourself, there are training courses dedicated to the bike trade, which in France you can fund through your personal training account (CPF). For example:
- Sup de Vélo, which offers training programmes (with or without a diploma) for managers, sales staff and technicians, as continuing education or work-study (apprenticeship contract).
- Institut de formation de vélo, which trains cycling instructors and guides as well as bike mechanics. Very useful if you want to offer more than plain rental, such as sightseeing rides or sports outings.
- CNPC, a school entirely dedicated to sports retail and industry (several campuses in France), which trains future technicians, sales staff and managers for the sports sector, through initial training, work-study or continuing education.
💡 Note: make sure the course holds the Qualiopi label (the French quality certification for training providers) and don't hesitate to call the training centre to find out more about the curriculum and the diplomas awarded. It is also worth contacting former students via social networks to check the training centre is reliable.
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