"They may take our bikes, but they'll never take our brains!" š§
Or, how a D.I.T. bike workshop works
Holy heck - I'm so sorry for the radio silence friends, but I have been dealing with a very strange case of what I am guessing is food poisoning (my partner did not get sick, so I'm ruling out a stomach bug.) For two weeks I have been stuck either in bed or on the toilet. The only thing saving me now is a Russian medication called Enterosgel and I am incredibly thankful for its existence. Seriously. I just bought 2 more giant tubes.
I called my GP to see if they could advise, but it was the day that Skynet Crowdstrike happened and the receptionist said that if I didn't have any other symptoms (no vomiting, blood in stool, or stomach pains) that I should just stay on the rehydration train and hang on for dear life.
My poor caboose is slowly recovering. I think. I hope!
In the meantime, since both myself and Amu have been ill, progress on the DIY space has slowed to a trickle. I also had to cancel a bunch of classes, (thank you to our wonderful students who are so flexible and understanding!)
Oh yeah, I still have to move at the end of the month so I am in the slow stage of panic packing, trying to stay calm. (Does anyone have an Octopus Energy referral link to share?)
I wrote the below explainer at the beginning of July, so please enjoy how we envision the Do-It-Together space working when it reopens.
In the meantime I have some good news - we will be awarded a Ā£2.5k grant by the Share the Joy Fund from Loud Mobility/Lime Bikes/LCC, which means we have reached our target of Ā£15k! They will be sending us the money directly so that we don't lose any money to Stripe's card fees on GoFundMe. At the mo our fundraising total is Ā£12,540 - if you havenāt yet had the chance to give, weād be much obliged as a stretch goal is also welcome thanks to delays from unforseen illness.
OH - and new class dates are up for August!
How to Pack & Rebuild Your Bike for Travel
Introduction to Maintenance
Wednesday 14th August, 6 - 9 pm
Emergency Roadside Repairs
Wheel Building Part 1
How to Change a Chain & Cassette
Introduction to Indexing Gears
Introduction to Brompton Maintenance
How Our Workshop Works
When I explain to people that I help run a DIY workshop, I take for granted that they know what I mean. And that's not fair to them, and it's also not good business sense! You know what happens when we assume...
I helped run LBK's Do-It-Together (DIT) workshop from 2012-2020, so I'm speaking from experience. Here's how we envision LBK DIT 2.0 working.
In a nutshell:
Book: you can reserve a stand online or drop in on the day
Triage: you'll have a chat with a mechanic upon arrival, we'll discuss what the problem(s) are and come up with a game plan
Check-in: you'll agree to the terms and conditions, sign in, get your tray of tools, and the clock starts
FIX: we'll help you get your bike in the workstand and give you pointers on what tools to use, and what to get started with
Check-out: you'll clean up your area, we'll help you get your bike out of the workstand, the clock stops, we tally up your totals and you pay for your time and any parts used
Our introductory rate will be 25p/minute, which is Ā£15/hour.
IS IT FOR ME? I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BIKES
We are a "Do It Together" space. In our Western independence bootstrap obsessed culture it bears repeating: NO TINKERER LEFT BEHIND. We are here to hand-hold as much or as little as you need. And we are big on consent so we will ask you if you want to hold hands. (Please note that even if you are someone who knows what you're doing, we will still be checking in with you periodically.) But our space is here for people who have absolutely no idea where to start or what to do. We are here to show you the way.
WHO ARE YOU THO?
We are a collective of women and non-binary mechanics.
I am Jenni Gwiazdowski, founder and one of the directors. I have been teaching bike maintenance for over 10 years. Joining me will be Amie Moss, Silvi Vargas, and Amu Gibson. We work unofficially as a worker cooperative, although right now Silvi and myself are official directors. Silvi exclusively teaches our Wheel Building and Disc Brake classes, as well as some Intro, Indexing, and How to Change a Chain & Cassette classes. Jamie has sadly left for a more reliable (read: full time) job at The Bike Project, but they remain a āpinch hitterā for LBK (emergency mechanic). More sad will be Amie leaving in a couple months to work for TfL, but Iām proud of her move into a STEM field. Luckily Amu has returned and will be covering Sunday drop-ins. We will likely be doing a hiring round soon, so keep your eyes peeled if that's of interest to you!
BUT WHAT DO YOU SELL
When we first opened in 2012, some confused people would ask: "Why would I pay you to fix my own bike?"
I shook my head. It's not about the fixing - it's about theĀ learning.
Knowledge For Sale
You're paying for access to our classroom, tools, workstands, enzymatic environmentally friendly parts washer, and most importantly: our brains. We are seasoned instructors, here to show you the easiest way to repair something. We'll talk you through it, step by step. We are hands-off teachers, we will never grab the tool out of your hand (unless you're about to damage something or hurt yourself!)
New Parts For Sale
We will sell the most commonly used consumables: brake pads, cables, innertubes, chains, cassettes, tyres
Secondhand Parts for Sale
We will also reopen access to our popular second hand parts bins where you'll find: cranks, pedals, stems, wheels, handlebars, brake calipers, and much more! Rummage away!
WHY CHARGE BY THE MINUTE?
An issue that would come up frequently in the DIT space was if someone worked for 45 mins on their bike, we didn't know how much to charge. We charged by the half hour, so do we round up or do we round down? Out of guilt, I would round down - this ended up digging ourselves into a hole as those small amounts added up.
And then recently I remembered a wonderful pay-by-the-minute cafe called Ziferblat in Old Street. I spend many a time there writing my book, How to Build a Bike. And it was so simple: you clocked in, used the space as you wished (there was wifi, board games, tea/coffee/biscuits), and then clocked out and paid at the end.
We imagine a similar model that includes instruction and guidance by a mechanic in our offering.
THE WAITING LIST AWAITS
If youāre interested in being one of the first to use the DIT space, sign up here!
THINK GLOBAL
France has banned women from wearing a hijab at the Olympic games, just another way to control and shame women, but Islamophobia flavoured. In current Western sporting events, Russian athletes are forced to compete as āIndividual Neutral Athletesā and cannot fly their countryās flag nor play their national anthem. Meanwhile, Israeli athletes are facing no such restrictions. And the double standard carries on.
ACT LOCAL
I am appalled and disgusted that Hackney Council tore down the Palestine protest camp in front of the town hall on the 9th of July. The council also used it as an excuse to steal and dispose of homeless peopleās tents and belongings. There was no warning given, and these actions were completely unnecessary. You can read more about what happened here:
CHANGE IS POSSIBLE: Waltham Forest have just committed to divest!
That was a nice long newsletter for ya - parse that one out coz I have to nurse myself back to health AND move house in less than 2 weeks, so the next newsletter probs wonāt come for another 3. Asking again - does anyone have an Octopus Energy referral code?
Iām currently working on a new class: Speedy Triathlon Puncture Repairs. Stay tuned.
I leave you with the one and only Blindboy Podcast - leave it to Blindboy to link the history of food poisoning with colonialism and famine. Interesting, relevant, AND timely.
Ride on,
Jenni x