Action 1: Expand Community Bike Shops
Community bike shops provide bicycle ownership and repair options that are available at low-to-no cost, and support bicycling opportunities for a diverse group of users.
Bike Walk Tompkins collaborated with RIBs and dozens of skilled volunteers to refurbish over 30 bikes for a community bike sale in August 2020 helping meet local demand for affordable bike ownership options. (Photo: Bike Walk Tompkins)
About This Action
Community bike shops are dedicated spaces in a community where people can find used bikes and parts and have access to bike maintenance tools and expertise at low-to-no cost. Shops rely on donations of used bikes to refurbish or strip for parts, and a robust collective of people to fix bikes and provide maintenance support. By building community through programming and relying primarily on donated items and time, community bike shops can foster a more inclusive and supportive environment as compared to the fee-for-service model provided by existing retail bike shops. A network of community bike shops can supplement each others’ programming and develop new opportunities to reach an even wider group of underserved users.
Recycle Ithaca’s Bicycles (RIBs), a program of the Southside Community Center, has been Ithaca’s community bike shop since 1991, making it one of the oldest community bike programs in the country. When open, RIBs is Ithaca’s go-to place for inexpensive bicycles and parts via DIY bike repair or “open shop.” The need for expanded access to resources like RIBS was amplified in the COVID-19 pandemic, when RIBs and other local bike shops sold out of affordable bikes and were overwhelmed with bike repair requests. RIBs’ extensive supply of donated bikes and parts meant that it was the most resilient bike shop in our community during the nationwide bike shortage caused by the pandemic, but its impact was circumscribed by its limited operating hours, staffing, and volunteer capacity. A more developed community bike shop scene in Ithaca, with an expanded RIBs and the inclusion of new bike groups and spaces, would make bicycle ownership and maintenance accessible and affordable to a wider group of people.
Focus on Equity
In 2020, Southside Community Center rebuilding its programming – including RIBs – to center on its historical and necessary mission to uplift the Black community in and around Ithaca, a broader network of community bike shops programs will support and expand on the foundation of RIBs while increasing transportation access and education for all. An ideal community bike shop movement is intersectional, seeking to uplift all groups underrepresented in bicycling while specifically supporting lower-income people across all identities with affordable services, welcoming spaces, and new career pathways. An ideal bike shop network will ensure that there’s always a time and place available for people in underrepresented groups to feel welcome and celebrated for their interest in bicycling, and to develop their bicycling skills. A long-standing and well-functioning bike shop could also serve as a career training opportunity for aspiring bicycle mechanics and community organizers.
Nicholas Desystemizer (center, in white shirt) and Greg Rothman (in red) training prospective RIBs volunteers on shop procedures. (Photo: Bike Walk Tompkins)
Let’s Make It Happen
Bicycle enthusiasts of all kinds will be essential to a more vibrant community bike shop network in and around Ithaca. Donors and grant-making organizations will help get new community bike groups started. Community members and leaders across many intersections are also needed to help expand the reach of the shops to as many people as possible.
Are you a bicycle enthusiast with a knack for bike repair and who is interested in expanding access to bicycles as transportation? Let’s talk!
Are you part of a community group or organization interested in offering more bicycling opportunities? Contact us to start a conversation.
Are you an interested donor or part of a grant-making organization interested in creating new spaces for people to get into bicycling? Reach out to us to see how you can help.
All Equity & Access Actions
