Gratitude for Team

Our team is core to what we do at Wheel Wranglers, and our EMPOWER internship program with Coombs Outdoors is a huge part of that! We partner with Coombs Outdoors to offer a bike mechanic focused internship with competitive wages, dedicated mentorship and an opportunity to learn a variety of professional and bike-related skills. The EMPOWER program is for high school age participants to prepare for life after graduation and explore career opportunities in the outdoor industry.

We were honored to work with our interns Erik and Karla in 2022 and Manny and Alex in 202!

We have designed a core curriculum for our internship program that builds on skills from basic mechanic principles to high level skills like brake bleeds. On the first day, Wheel Wranglers interns build a bike right out of the box with a dedicated mechanic mentor. Test riding the bike and bedding in the brakes after completing the build is an immensely satisfying and powerful moment! As bike mechanic interns, Erik and Karla learned key foundational skills like completing thorough safety checks, making shifting and braking adjustments, supporting customers with bike problems or rentals and being active teammembers and leaders.

One powerful moment this summer was supporting Erik in building his very own first personal full suspension mountain bike. It was amazing to see Erik apply skills he learned, like setting suspension, routing dropper posts and navigating tricky shifting adjustments to his own personal bike. So cool!

We are grateful for our partnership with Coombs Outdoors and for the opportunity to learn and work alongside some amazing interns!