By his own admission, Steve Hassell lives and breathes bikes.

They’ve been a constant feature of his life for more than 40 years.

Right from the age of seven.

It’s seen him race at national and world championship level in BMX and mountain bike events.

For the last 30 years, he’s worked as a bike mechanic for the likes of Ken Prescott (Pokesdown), Bicycle World (Longham) and Primera Sports (Charminster and Parkstone) .

In March last year, he jumped ship – or more accurately bike – from Primera after 16 years and launched his own business.

Bournemouth-based Superior Velo Tech (SVT) offers a range of services, from custom builds, wheel wraps and race prep to servicing, e-bikes and everything in between.

Steve, 49, said: “I always knew, down the road, where I wanted to go.

“Bill Temple (Owner of Primera) is a great guy and helped me a lot over the years but I wanted to do my own thing.

“I left in March last year thinking that I was going to have a few weeks off and get some bits and pieces in place.

“But the phone started ringing immediately and before I knew it, it was full on.”

Steve, a father of two, uses a 4.5 x 3.5 metre Swiss log cabin as his workshop.

He’s invested several thousands of pounds in tools and equipment.

He said: “The work has come from word of mouth, social media and recommendation.

“My hours are 8am until 6pm Monday to Friday but customers can drop off or pick up from 7am in the morning up until 10pm at night.

“It’s working really well.

“I don’t work weekends but if I have someone competing at a national or international level, and they call me Thursday or Friday morning and say: ‘Steve, we’ve got a problem’ then, somehow, I need to make sure that we get it sorted for the Saturday or Sunday race.”

To date, SVT has 41 Google reviews, all five star.

Comments include:

• “Steve really does go above & beyond when he works on your bike. The years of experience working on high end bikes shows as he is so meticulous and professional. Nothing is too much trouble.”
• “An excellent service from a guy that takes pride and care in everything he does from start to finish. Meticulous attention to detail and a super nice guy too. Always takes time to explain everything and give great advice.”
• “Superior Velo Tech services are well above every bike mechanic or bike shop I’ve ever visited. Steve is the most knowledgeable and meticulous tradesman I know and the prices are really reasonable. It is just Superior.”

Steve said he was very grateful for the support he’d received from family and friends including his dad, Maurice; step mum Diane, partner Amanda, close friend Terry Marsh and accountant, Cheryl.

He said: “Down the line I’d possibly like to move into a unit and take someone on.

“But I’m not rushing.

“It’s about getting the job done professionally, but with passion, while building the reputation.

“I was umming and ahing about doing my own business for about three years before eventually leaving. My colleagues at Primera said I’d be there for life.

“The response to SVT has been really good.

“I probably should have done this years ago.”

• superiorvelotech.co.uk