Why Did I start A Mobile Bicycle Shop in south Jersey?

Hello, my name is Daniel Tabor and I am the owner of OTRA Mobile Bicycle Service.

I started my bike mechanic journey in 2009 at South Jerseys premier bicycle shop, Danzeisen and Quigley (okay, I may be a little biased) located on Rt. 70 in the same parking lot as the H Mart. At that shop I went from a over-confident teenager with a burning passion for bicycles and very few bicycle mechanic skills to a full fledged professional bike mechanic. I was trained by some of the best in the business. I also completed extensive training provided by TREK University and Shimano S.T.E.C. I worked at the shop full time for 6 years while pursuing a bachelors degree in Biological Sciences from Drexel University.

​Post graduation I started a job relevant to my degree and helped out at the bike shop whenever I could. I constantly missed the satisfaction of diagnosing and repairing bicycle problems, the look on customers faces when they received their new bike or newly fixed bike, and of course all of the fun antics that come along with working in a bike shop. 

Unfortunately the shop closed in 2019 (it was later re-opened as a winter sports store). The closing of bike shop left a void in my life as I no longer had a place to exercise my professional skills and keep them sharp. My brother who lived in San Diego was telling me about Mobile Bicycle Services in his area and that I should start my own business. I thought about it for a little bit, but did not take action immediately. I knew nothing about starting a business or the technical details of running a business (it was all quite intimidating at first). After a few weeks went by I was contacted by some former customers for bike mechanic services. This sparked the idea of starting my own business yet again. I realized that there was a demand for bicycle repair services in Camden County, Burlington County, and surrounding areas as well as the convenience of servicing customers bicycles without them having to deal with dropping off or picking up at brick and mortar shops. I decided to do some research and educate myself on the different aspects of starting and running a business. I ordered some basic wear items (chains, brake pads, cables, housing, etc.) and decided to go for it. Just like that, in June of 2019, a full decade after spending my first busy peak season Saturday as a bike shop employee, I became a bike shop owner!