Bicycle cooperative

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Assisted-service bicycle repair at the Sopo Bicycle Cooperative in Atlanta, Georgia.

A bicycle cooperative ("bike coop"), bicycle co-operative ("bike co-op"), bike kitchen, or community bike shop is a non-profit assisted-service bicycle repair shop. Precise definition of these terms is difficult, since some charge fees, all have slightly different goals, and diverse histories. Generally they are not-for-profit organisations or social enterprises.

Ordinary people bring in bicycles needing repair or maintenance; volunteers teach them how to do the required steps. The users learn repair skills which are useful both for breakdowns on the road and for at-home repairs. Co-ops also sell new and used bike parts and a few charge for repairs. In addition, they may provide other services, such as selling refurbished bikes and offering formal group bike-repair classes.

Costs to users

Shop time

Some bike co-ops charge users a set fee of between US$5 and US$20 per hour for "shop time" — for the use of their space and tools. They tend to waive the fee for low-income users. Other co-ops use a pay what you want strategy: they request that each user make a donation.^[1]

Co-ops with lower overhead costs are often more relaxed about cost recovery. For example, one co-op inside a large "community environment park" in Australia exists rent-free. That co-op charges about US$10 for a one-year membership, which includes unlimited shop time.^[2]

Parts

The cost of new or used parts is normally extra.

Locations

Some early bike co-ops started out on the west coast of the US; the Bike Kitchen in San Francisco has now spawned several other workshops in the USA. Another early self-help bicycle workshop in Austria was the Fahrrad.Selbsthilfe.Werkstatt founded in 1983 in the WUK, a formerly squatted factory in Vienna.

Bike co-ops can now be found worldwide. The Bike Collective Network wiki includes a list of hundreds of co-ops scattered throughout a few dozen countries.^[3] The list is sorted by country and by province/state.

References

↑ See, for example: "Frequently asked questions » How much does it cost to fix my bike at Bike Pirates?". Toronto, Canada: Bike Pirates Bicycle Club. Retrieved 15 January 2013. "How much does it cost to fix my bike at Bike Pirates? That depends on you. [...]"
↑ See http://www.thebikeshed.org.au/ and http://www.thebikeshed.org.au/WhatIsCERES.aspx.
↑ "Community Bicycle Organizations". Bike Collective Network wiki. Retrieved 15 January 2013.

External links

Bike Collective Network: An umbrella association of bike co-ops and other organizations. (Flagged by Google for malware as of 13 December 2013.)
Community Bicycle Organizations: A list of bike co-ops worldwide, sorted by country and by province/state. (Webpage down as of 13 December 2013.)
International Bicycle Fund community bike programs directory. Many of the groups in this directory, though not all of them, are co-ops.
Belgian network
Wiklou, French network
Francophone network
Belarus network

v t e Cycling

General	Bicycle Bicycle dynamics Bicycle culture Bicycle performance Glossary of cycling History of cycling History of cycling infrastructure Indoor cycling Offroad cycling Road cycling

Utility and slow recreation	Artistic cycling Bicycle commuting Bicycle messenger Bicycle rental/hire Bicycle sharing system Bicycle touring Bicycle transportation engineering Brevet Challenge riding Freight bicycle Icebiking Rail trail Road cycling Utility cycling Vehicular cycling

Sports-related cycling and fast-paced recreation	Bike trials riding Bicycle racing Bicycle motocross (BMX) Cross-country cycling Cycle speedway Cyclo-cross Cyclosportive Freeride Goldsprint List of cyclists Mountain biking Road bicycle racing Track cycling Triathlon U.S. intercollegiate champions

Health, safety and infrastructure	Active travel Bicycle-friendly Bicycle law Bicycle parking Bicycle safety Bicycle transportation engineering Cycling advocacy Cycling hand signals Cycling infrastructure Lane splitting Segregated cycle facilities Vehicular cycling

Other	Bicycle cooperative Bike registry Clothing-optional bike ride List of bicycle brands and manufacturing companies List of films about bicycles and cycling Sustainable transport

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.