Pierre, former paramotor teacher becomes bicycle repairer

Some people think about it, others do it. Pierre Fritsch has just changed his life. It’s even the second time. Portrait of an adventurer who now wants to practice a useful profession in accordance with his ecological awareness.

“This is me at 30, in a suit and tie. I traveled the world as a salesperson. I went to Pakistan, five to six times a year, to sell chemicals, to China too, the same number of times, I had a terrible carbon footprint!” confides Pierre, facing a photo stuck in his brand new bicycle repair and reconditioning workshop in the heart of Strasbourg.

After business school and having worked in all kinds of professions in this field, Pierre Fritsch changed his life for the first time in 2003. He opened a paramotor flying school in Brumath. Immediate and lasting success. 20 years of introducing delighted customers to flying. Every winter, he left alone for hiking raids in Mauritania. For a month, he walked alone in the desert and filmed his African adventures.

Then covid and the energy crisis made him review his copy. “Customers became rarer and this motorized sport no longer corresponded to my awareness, in the field of the environment.”

So, once again, Pierre takes the plunge and decides to change everything. He trained as a “Technician, cycle salesman”. “It’s the hardest diploma I’ve ever had to pass! I had to study every evening for two hours to learn the names of all the types of derailleurs, the dimensions of the wheel axles, a multitude of things, you can’t imagine everything you need to know to repair a bike!”

And here he is in his boutique workshop called “Vélo Saint-Thomas”, at the entrance to Petite-France. “I made it as simple as possible, as I am next to Place Saint-Thomas.“The first customers slowly discovered this address, in the little rue du Well. But apparently, word of mouth spread quickly. Marie was one of the first customers.”It’s super convenient, I live around the corner. Previously I had to go quite far to get my bike repaired and now it’s nearby. There, I’m going away for a few days by bike, he was able to make the last minute adjustments, very available.”

Others arrive pushing their bicycle, an inner tube to replace, a wheel to reveal, brakes to review, the requests are varied and nothing discourages Pierre. “Where someone else would probably say that you have to throw away the wheel and buy a new one, I have my little tips for repairs.”

And before returning a bike to its owner, Pierre always tests it, a quick ride to check everything and adjust it again if necessary. Finding a job that has meaning for him and others seems to be on the right track.

Pierre Fritsch also offers a few bikes for sale in his shop, but only bikes that he has reconditioned. “I have no intention of selling new bikes. We don’t need to bring them from the other side of the planet. I am convinced that there are enough bicycles to repair in the cellars of buildings and barns in the countryside. You just have to spend time on it, and my pleasure is to bring these two wheels back to life.”

Now his carbon footprint, in free fall, makes him smile. At 56, he changed his life for the second time. “Now, every morning when I go down to my shop, I am happy. And I see that my customers are happy too. Some come back just to tell me “the bike is great” I know that now I’m doing a useful job.”