Calgary Journal Online

Community bike shops have space, tools and know-how to help you maintain your ride

Spring is here, and you decide this is the year to get out in the sun, enjoy the fresh air and get some exercise on a bicycle.

Digging through the garage, you wrestle a rundown bike from a tangle of lawnmowers and snow shovels. Clicking the chinstrap of an old helmet closed, you mount the trusty steed…only to find that it won’t shift gears properly.  Before leaving the driveway, the ambition to cycle is dashed.

Ken Leigh-Smith takes advantage of the space at Good Life Community Bike Shop in Eau Claire Market to put the final touches on a his newest baby.

Photo: Holly Hofmann/Calgary Journal

“She thought she got a good deal,” Cousineau says, “until she tried to ride it.”

Thinking she needed a whole new wheel, the girl came into the shop, her spirits deflated.

But it was merely a flat tire, and a mechanic at Bike Root showed her how to fix it herself right there on the spot.

The idea behind Bike Root, says co-founder and co-ordinator Lance Ayer, is to have a shop open to absolutely anybody.

The membership costs $10 and gives members access to tools, workspace and the expertise of volunteer mechanics.

“Basically, everyday is a workshop. Stop by and we’ll help you fix everything,” says Ayer.

Across town in the Eau Claire Market, Good Life Community Bike Shop co-ordinator Shannon Woloshyn explains how the non-profit organization not only tries to save bikes from going to the landfill, but also hopes to empower people through training.

“The idea is to get people riding and keep them riding,” says Woloshyn, noting how lots of people abandon bikes they can’t afford or don’t know how to fix.

Good Life memberships are by donation, and everyone is welcome.

“You can have someone who uses their bike to collect bottles working next to someone who has a $500,000 house,” Woloshyn says.

Similarly, at Bike Root, Ayer says that coming through the door are diehard cyclists stopping by to tune up, novices eager to learn the fine art of bicycle repair, and people of every skill level in between.

Also, since bicycles and parts are donated, the shops are able to sell them for cheap while making a bit of profit to sustain the organizations.

A bike typically costs anywhere from $10 to $100, though it may need a little love and attention.

But co-ordinators at both Bike Root and Good Life say you’ll find everything you could possibly need to get a bike into riding condition at the shops.

In fact, Ayer tells of a friend who pulled a 1970s cruiser from the Bow River. Covered in rust, not a single moving part worked properly when it came into the shop. Within a week or so, it was stripped down and riding smoothly.

Cousineau says she rescued an early ‘90s Shimano Deore from the “bike graveyard,” the pile of donations at Bike Root. Within 40 minutes, she swapped the handlebars and had herself a new commuter bike. It only cost her $40.

Both shops also offer workshops monthly, including sessions for women only.