The Bike School

“I’ve really enjoyed being able to work with my hands, and learning skills that I can use in real jobs.”

— Ryan, A Bike School Intern

Modern Youth Workforce Development in Knoxville, TN.

The Bike School is an industry-leading, paid youth workforce development program. The mission of this program is to provide job training in basic bicycle mechanics, sales, and amazing customer service to young people in Knoxville.

The Bike School operates year round at the Two Bikes headquarters located at 118 South Central St. Knoxville, TN. The Bike School offers a unique opportunity for local youth to learn valuable customer service skills and develop a passion for working with their hands.

City of Knoxville

The Empower Knox program produced a video feature The Bike School in 2023. In the video, the Two Bikes Knoxville Mechanic Instructor, Tanh Cao, talks with a Bike School intern, Connor, about his experience in the program.

Do you enjoy working with your hands and learning by doing?

The Bike School allows youth staff to develop a basic understanding of mechanics as they work through a series of units including safety, tools, cleaning, brake systems, drivetrain systems, and more. Youth staff are each provided 3 bikes that they work on simultaneously which allows them to practice each skill in multiples before moving on to the next skill.

Students will also learn:

  • understanding and using point of sales systems

  • inventory management

  • customer service

Tanh Cao, Instructor

FAQs

  • To enroll in the bike school you must be a current high school student in Knox County (ages 14-18).

    Everyone is welcome to The Bike School regardless of race, ethnicity, gender expression, and sexual expression. Come learn about bikes, y’all!

  • 120 hours.

  • Summer: Tuesday - Thursday 10 AM - 6 PM

    Spring/Fall: Tuesday & Thursdays 4 PM - 6 PM, Saturdays 10:30 AM - 3:30 PM

  • $15/hour

  • Every two weeks.

  • At this time we can offer freedom passes for the bus and a bike, depending on availability.

  • Nope, sorry but just one internship per kiddo. We want to involve as many different kids as possible, so for now we can’t allow repeats.

  • For sure! Experience like this one is great to include on resumes and college applications.

  • Currently we have the capacity to offer 16 120-hr internships per year.