HOW TO: Get a bike mechanic to come to you

Awkward to get your bike to a bike shop? In BC, sometimes the bike shop can come to you. Mobile repair vans don't do roadside assistance, alas, but they can still save a touring trip. Here's how it works.

You might have biked past one of the big red Velofix vans, like I did, and wondered whether they'd be any use mid-tour. I stopped to ask. Mitchell from velofix Vancouver gave me the low down, then posed for photos in his rolling workshop.

Mitchell standing in the back of the velofix van, surrounded by tools and parts drawers — Mitchell in the velofix Vancouver van: repair stand, wall of tools, parts drawers

How it works#

1. Find who serves your area. Skim the list below. Most of BC's mobile mechanics cover one metro region each.

2. Book online. Every outfit here takes bookings through its website: pick a service, say what's wrong, choose a time. It's an appointment, not a rescue line. Depending on the season they may have an opening tomorrow or be booked up for weeks, so give them a call to check.

3. Give the van somewhere to park. Home and office are the usual spots, but a hotel or campground works too. If your bike limps into town mid-trip, phone and ask: if the schedule has room, they may come to you on short notice.

4. Hand over the bike. The van is a complete workshop. Stay and chat while the work happens, or walk away and come back to a fixed bike.

A few more things Mitchell told me about the Velofix vans: they stock a fair amount of touring bike parts, they work on e-bikes, and prices are similar to a bike shop's, with a bit more white-glove service for the difference. That matches what riders say online.

Velofix Sprinter van parked at a curb, wrapped in a giant chainring graphic — The tell: a Mercedes Sprinter wearing a giant chainring

Why this is worth knowing as a touring cyclist#

Mid-trip, it means you don't have to figure out how to limp a broken bike across a strange town. Before a trip, it means the tune-up happens in your own driveway.

Who comes to you in BC#

Vancouver and the Lower Mainland
- Nootka Bicycle Co. — strong on e-bikes; texts you before arriving
- The Bike Stand
- VanCycle — a full shop in a truck, parts and accessories included
- Nomadic Mechanic — based on the North Shore
- Velofix — two territories: Vancouver and Richmond and Fraser Valley and Tri-Cities
Sea to Sky
- Nomadic Mechanic — covers the corridor
- True Mobile Bike Mechanics — Squamish to Pemberton, mountain-bike specialty
- Velofix Sea to Sky — West Vancouver to Whistler
Okanagan
- On A Roll — Kelowna
- McGeeCycle — Kelowna
- Velofix Okanagan
Greater Victoria
- Velofix Victoria and Capital Region

We didn't find mobile mechanics in every region: nothing surfaced for Vancouver Island outside Greater Victoria, the Kootenays, Kamloops, or the north. If you're headed somewhere not listed here, search "mobile bike repair" plus the town name, and tell us what you find so we can add it.

Velofix van with rear doors open showing the workshop inside — Book online, and this parks outside your door

Accurate as of August 2026. Thanks to Mitchell for the tour and the photos.