LBK Closing Down Repair Workshop 😿
Crowdfund at 50% tipping point
GET US OVER THE EDGE
TL;DR - our crowdfunding video is now live! Check it out and then share it with a pal. With thanks to Melissa Restrepo for filming and editing.
Volunteers Wanted
We will need some extra hands to help clear out the space one day in June. Could that person be you? Please leave us your email here.
Now check out our cool video 😎
Thanks to the forces of Brexit, Covid, and Tory "austerity", the London Bike Kitchen will be closing down our repairs workshop. The cost of parts has doubled in the last year alone, and the manufactured 'cost of living crisis' has hurt everyday people and businesses alike.
However - this has also renewed interest in DIY bike maintenance. Could you save money by doing the small things that keep your bike happier for longer? And could there be a workshop space where you could rent a workstand, get access to tools & a parts washer, AND pick the brains of a mechanic?
The answer to both of these is YES. We want to resurrect the DIY workshop, and that's where you come in.
How Did the LBK DIY Workshop Work?
Over a decade ago, I had a dream that we would be open 5 days a week as an open workshop: people would come in and pay to have access to the workshop space, tools, and brains.
By 2019 that was a reality, and then some. We were open Tuesday to Sunday, teaching classes on weekday evenings and on weekend mornings. We had a 'drop-in' workshop on weekday afternoons, Wednesday evenings, and weekend afternoons. We often had queues of people out the door.
What was it like?
Upon arrival, you would triage with one of the mechanics. We would have a brief chat with you about your bike, discuss what could versus what should be done, sign in to start the clock, and then get your bike into the workstand. We would tell you what needed to be done first, point out which tool to use, and then occasionally observe as you carried on. You could ask questions or ask for step by step instructions at any point in time. Throughout your session we would check in on you to make sure that things were going smoothly, keeping an eye on any 'danger' situations like crank extraction or headset cup removal. When you were done, you'd put the tools away, and pay for the time and any parts you used.
We also sold many bike parts and had a second hand parts stash in the back.
Not DIY but DIT: Do-It-Together
We designed our workshop to be very much a do-it-together workshop.
DIY implies a lone wolf self-sufficiency - a boot strappy mentality that can be detrimental to any community work. Needless to say, this sentiment is quite popular in the US, and is being spread throughout Western countries.
LBK is a DIT space. We "do it together", walking you through the process, every step of the way.
I mean, if you already know what you're doing, carry on! But most people have never been in a bike workshop before, let alone used cassette removal or bottom bracket tools, so we're here to show you the best position to put your hands, how much force to apply, where you might be going wrong, what your next step is, etc.
We use DIY because it's a common term that people understand straight away. But what we do is different. It's DIT.
And if you want to DIT, donate to our Go Fund Me to get us open again.
If you'd like us to watch over your shoulder, please donate to our crowdfund. If each person on this mailing list sent us £10, then we'd reach our goal in no time flat - so we can get on with teaching your how to fix your flats!
NEW CLASS: How to Pack & Rebuild Your Bike for Travel
Another great review!
Our test class was a success, so we’ve released more dates for How to Pack & Rebuild Your Bike for Travel (now there’s a mouthful - but un/packing was too clever and unclear).
At the beginning of class when I went around the room and asked students what their greatest fears were, it wasn’t packing the bike, and it wasn’t the transit - it was putting it back together.
Our new class is perfect for this fear.
So many videos and blog posts cover how to dismantle and pack up a bike, but they don’t talk about how to rebuild it. Don’t be like all the kings horses and all the kings men - learn how to put your bike back together again!
£10 Off Any Class with code: LBKclass10
Expires 31 May so use away! We also have our evergreen deal of 15% off when you buy 2 classes.
With a successful crowdfund (hopefully!?) comes the closing of the repairs workshop, but fear not, nerds - we will still be teaching 🍎🐛
How to Pack & Rebuild Your Bike for Travel
Introduction to Maintenance
Emergency Roadside Repairs
Disc Brake Home Maintenance
How to Replace a Spoke & True a Wheel
How to Lace & True a Wheel
How to Replace a Chain & Cassette
Introduction to Indexing Gears
THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCAL
HACKNEY COUNCIL MUST DIVEST FROM ISRAEL
Hackney council maintains a twinning relationship with Haifa, an Israeli city where much of the Arab population was ethnically cleansed in 1948 and where the remainder suffer appalling discrimination.
Sign the petition to get Hackney to de-twin with Haifa.
THE ‘BIG’ BIG RIDE IS COMING
“This summer, The Big Ride for Palestine is organising a series of one day ‘Big Rides’ in different regions in the UK These will happen between 20 July and 10 August. The rides will be full day rides and will aim for the size and vibe of the annual Big Ride for Palestine we know and love.”
That’s all for now friends. This weather is awful, the slugs have decimated my seedlings!!! 🫠 I’ve put out multiple cider traps and it’s not enough.
Thank you so so so much to everyone who has donated so far. You are a massive mega superstar and we love you very much.
Please share our crowdfund if you’re not able to donate - this also helps us out massively and we love you too!
Think global, act local - longstanding Hackney MP Diane Abbott is being blindsided by the centrist Labour Party. I leave you with an analysis of the situation.
Ride on,
Jenni x