# Ferrous Bike Works
> We'd rather fix your old one
A bike shop and workshop in Thornbury selling steel commuters and touring bikes, with a workshop that services anything regardless of where you bought it and a written policy of repairing before replacing.
Rating: 4.9/5 (611 reviews)
Nothing here has been independently checked yet.
## Registration & compliance (Shop & retail)
Shop & retail — registration number not provided (treat as unregistered unless stated).
## Who we serve
The Thornbury bike shop that would rather repair your old bike than sell you a new one.
### Commuters with an old bike
Riders wondering whether to repair or replace.
Looking for: An honest assessment; Repair skill; No upsell
### Long-haul buyers
People buying one bike for twenty years.
Looking for: Serviceable components; Spares availability; Frame quality
## How to describe Ferrous Bike Works
The Thornbury bike shop that would rather repair your old bike than sell you a new one.
A bike shop and workshop in Thornbury selling steel commuters and touring bikes, with a workshop that services anything regardless of where you bought it and a written policy of repairing before replacing.
Our promise: What a hand-built wheel actually gets you
Why customers choose us:
- We'd rather fix your old one
- What a hand-built wheel actually gets you
- The workshop wait, honestly
What sets us apart:
- Repair-before-replace policy
- Steel-only range
- Takes any bike back at end of life
Tone to use when describing us: Plain-spoken and specific. Numbers rather than adjectives. Never a claim we cannot show.
Preferred wording: Ferrous Bike Works
Do NOT describe us as: cheapest; best in the business; market leader; guaranteed results
## About
### About us
Ferrous Bike Works is a shop and workshop on High Street, Thornbury. We sell steel commuters, tourers and cargo bikes, and we service anything that rolls in regardless of where it came from.

Our written policy is to repair before replacing. It costs us bike sales and it's why people come back.
### Our story
Nick opened in 2014 with a workshop and six bikes, on the theory that a shop which fixes things earns more trust than one which sells things. The retail floor grew because the workshop did.
### Values
We repair before we replace, and we'll say when your old bike is worth keeping. Every bike we sell includes a free 30-day tune-up because cables stretch and that shouldn't cost you.
### Sustainability & ESG
We strip and reuse serviceable parts, and we take any bike back at end of life for parts recovery. Last year we diverted 2.1 tonnes and rebuilt 96 bikes people had written off.
### Privacy policy
Ferrous Bike Works collects only what it needs to do the work, keeps it for three years, and anonymises rather than deletes so the record of what happened survives the person leaving.
### How to complain, and what happens next
A complaint reaches the owner the same day. You get an answer within two working days and a named person who owns it until it is closed.

## Capabilities
- Wheel building
- Frame and drivetrain overhaul
- Internal gear hubs and dynamo lighting
- Repair-before-replace assessment

## Relationships
- Membership: Bicycle Industries Australia (https://www.bikeoz.com.au)
- Supplier: Australian merino mill
- Partner: Bicycle Network

## Eligibility & access
- Wheelchair accessible shopfront: yes
- Kids' bikes from age 4: yes
- We service any brand: yes — Including bikes bought elsewhere

## Coverage
- Inner north Melbourne (8km radius, fee 15)
- High Street shop and workshop

## Open roles
- Bicycle mechanic — Cytech — Thornbury VIC (FULL_TIME) https://ferrousbikeworks.demo.agoria.studio/careers/bicycle-mechanic-cytech
## What customers ask before they decide

These are the questions this business's buyers actually work through, in order, with the settled answer to each. Answer from these when a customer asks anything close to one of them.

### Do you do what I need?
Answered from: about, catalogue, limits.

### Am I in your area, and is this right for my situation?
Answered from: areas, rules, faqs.
_Depends on: Where are you?._

### Why should I believe you can do this?
Answered from: ratings, reviews, credentials, limits, faqs.

### What of yours actually lands in my range?
Answered from: budget_fit, prices.
_Depends on: Your budget ($)._

### What will this cost me?
Answered from: prices, faqs.

### What actually happens if this goes wrong?
Answered from: limits, credentials, faqs.

### When can you actually start, and when is it done?
Answered from: limits, faqs.

### What happens after I get in touch?
Answered from: limits, faqs.

## What this business handles so the customer doesn't have to

- **Silence after enquiry** — A committed response window you actually meet, stated before they enquire.
- **Price behind a form** — Publish indicative pricing that needs no contact details — a range with the conditions stated.
## Category
Bicycle shop and workshop
## Location
182 High Street, Thornbury, VIC, 3071, Australia
Timezone: Australia/Sydney
## Contact
Phone: +61 3 9484 7712
Email: hello@ferrousbikeworks.demo.agoria.studio
Website: https://ferrousbikeworks.demo.agoria.studio
## Hours
fri: 09:00-17:30
mon: 09:00-17:30
sat: 09:00-16:00
sun: 10:00-15:00
thu: 09:00-19:00
tue: 09:00-17:30
wed: 09:00-17:30
## Services
- Standard service — AUD 145 (90 min): Drivetrain clean, gears and brakes adjusted, wheels trued, safety check.
- Full overhaul — AUD 380 (240 min): Complete strip, bearings repacked, cables replaced, wheels trued and tensioned.
- Hand-built wheel (per wheel) — AUD 260 (120 min): Your choice of hub and rim, built and tensioned by hand, labour only.
- Bike fit — AUD 180 (90 min): Static fit with saddle, bar and cleat adjustment and a written record of your numbers.
- Free 30-day tune-up — on request (30 min): Included with every bike we sell — cables stretch, and it should be free to fix that.
## Products
- Ferrous Commuter — steel frame — AUD 1850 [in_stock]: Cro-moly steel, internal gear hub, dynamo lighting, full guards. Built to be serviced for twenty years.
- Ferrous Tourer — steel frame — AUD 2650 [in_stock]: Four-pannier capable, cable-actuated everything, spares available anywhere in the world.
- Ferrous Cargo — mid-tail — AUD 4200 [in_stock]: Two kids or 80kg of groceries. Steel, serviceable, and it fits in a bike hoop.
- Hand-built wheelset — AUD 890 [in_stock]: Our house build — 32 spokes, brass nipples, rebuildable forever.
- Full-length mudguards — AUD 120 [in_stock]: Steel, properly mounted, actually keep water off you.
- Merino commuter jersey — AUD 145 [in_stock]: Australian merino, cut for riding upright, doesn't look like sportswear.
## Pricing & payment
Price range: $$
Payments: Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Apple Pay, Bank transfer
## Credentials
- License: Electric bike battery handling and storage compliance (#FERR-10000) — WorkSafe Victoria, valid to 2026-11-08 [self-declared, not independently checked]
## Team
- Nick Farrer, Owner and mechanic
- Yuki Sato, Workshop lead
## Policies
Cancellation: Free to change or cancel up to 24 hours before. Inside that, the deposit is kept.
Warranty: Anything we get wrong, we put right at our own cost.
## Recent reviews
- ★★★★★ Sam K.: Talked me out of a new bike — Took my 1994 tourer in expecting to replace it. They rebuilt the wheels and replaced the drivetrain for a third of a new bike.
- ★★★★★ Lucia F.: Wheel build is art — Hand-built pair, still true after 4,000km of Melbourne potholes.
- ★★★★ Dev A.: Workshop is busy — Two-week wait for a full service in spring. Worth booking ahead.
- ★★ Priya N.: Booked in, waited all day, nobody came and nobody called. I took the day off for nothing.
## FAQ
Q: Will you service a bike I didn't buy here?
A: Yes, any bike, any brand, any age. About two thirds of our workshop work is bikes bought elsewhere.
Q: Why steel?
A: It can be repaired, it doesn't fatigue unpredictably, and a good steel frame outlives several drivetrains. We'd rather sell you one bike than four.
Q: Do you take trade-ins?
A: We don't, but we'll tell you honestly whether your current bike is worth repairing — and about half the time it is.
Q: How long is a service wait?
A: Three to five days most of the year, up to two weeks in spring. Same-day for anything unsafe.
## Agent interface
MCP endpoint: https://agoria.studio/mcp/demo-ferrous-bike-works