‘Bicycles are a kid’s first taste of freedom’

Attorney Melvin Belli has been riding bicycles since he was eight years old and while many kids eventually give up their bikes in favor of cars or trucks, Belli has done the opposite: he’s a professional bike race mechanic, who  helps other cyclists if their bike breaks down during a race.

“I’ve always been mechanically minded,” Belli said. “I used to take my bikes apart in the middle of the living room and succeeded in putting them back together with fewer pieces. I had a chance 20 years ago to go the United Bicycle Institute to be professionally trained as a bike mechanic and from there I got a bunch of jobs working on bikes at different bike stores – all while practicing law.

However, in 2013 he did take several months off from the law to help launch the Bay Area Bike Share program that’s now known regionally as Bay Wheels.

“A friend was named general manager of the bike share program and asked me to work as the head mechanic,” Belli said. “I was responsible for the initial rollout of 700 bikes at four or five stations – making sure they were all assembled, safe and prepped. So, I put together a team and got them all ready-to-roll.”

Today, Bay Wheels serves 550 stations with 7,000 traditional and hybrid electric bikes.

Belli’s mechanical abilities mean he’s a busy man.

For example, at the 2021 USA Senior National Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Belli “rode around in a car all day” helping racers with bike repairs.

“The driver and mechanic follow behind the lead group in case someone has a mechanical problem,” Belli said. “Basically, the mechanic sits in the car bored out of their mind until someone yells ‘service’ and the car abruptly stops. You get out and decide what tools are needed and if there’s a flat what kind of wheel is needed. A good wheel change takes about 10 seconds.”

Then the mechanic jumps back in the car and the driver races to catch up to the group they were following – the advent of disc brakes means the racers could be as much as a half mile ahead, he added.

Belli also worked as a mechanic at the Tour of California and the Tour of Utah – two of the most prominent US bicycle races.

When Belli was at the 1995 San Francisco Bike Fair, he saw a poster for the famous Kamikaze Downhill and said, “I’m going to do that.” It was one of the few times he’s raced.

The Kamikaze Downhill is a mountain bike race that’s held at Mammoth Ski Resort in the Eastern Sierra.

In addition, he’s worked for component manufacturers SRAM and Shimano.

As an experienced bicyclist, Belli brings a unique perspective to bicycle crashes, describing his hobby as “an extension of my law practice, where I help my client’s get justice. Everyone deserves fair compensation for their losses.”

Belli defends bicycle crash victims nationwide because “bicycle accidents happen everywhere.”