Thousands of people in the Seattle area daily mount their bikes as a means to get around. Biking is one of the most efficient forms of transportation, however there are significantly more people with bikes than there are bikers. This is due to how slow biking is as opposed to driving, and also because many bikes are simply not functional.
A bike in disuse falls into disrepair. Owners of such machines usually lack the know-how to maintain them, and visiting a bike shop for a professional mechanic to tune and repair it is often prohibitively expensive for something many people view as a pastime.
For those who rely on bikes, however, the need to regularly service their ride is much more pressing, and the Bikery exists to ensure the knowledge and tools required for keeping bikes on the road are readily available to anyone. It is a donation ran co-op located at 845 Hiawatha place S Seattle, this community of bikers is knowledgeable and helpful to everyone.
A glance into the store may be overwhelming at first to the inexperienced. The volunteers are happy to help, directing riders to the appropriate tools for their needs and teaching them how to carry out repairs or modifications.
I visited the Bikery with my younger brother and father. We had a flat tire and a very bent wheel. A patch easily repaired the tire, while the wheel necessitated a more tedious process to make it round, called truing. A typical bike shop will charge $20 to true a single wheel, while the Bikery asks just $5 dollars an hour.
Components are exceptionally cheap, and priced individually by volunteers at the time of sale – allowing low prices for those in need. They also sell refurbished bikes built by the volunteers for very cheap.
Those with particular interest can sign up to shadow the volunteer mechanics on their shifts, and it is this pool of students from which new volunteers are sourced.
The shop is open Saturday and Sunday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.