Currently visiting workshops in Europe

Simon is on the road, visiting workshops, with some kind funding from the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute. Working to putting together a comprehensive study of best practices and aims of bike workshops by 2021. Accompanied by Mildred Locke and Matthias Kowasch.

• Bike Kitchen Lund, Sweden   Kitchen was closed when I was in town, have contacted for interview
• Le Chat Perché, Lyon France 11 Feb 2020. Welding, tallbikes, but no actual cat.
• Change de Chaine, Vaise, Lyon France 12 Feb 2020   [prix libre – no fixed prices for membership or parts. over 800 members. ]
• Le Cyclub, Villeurbanne, Lyon France 13 Feb 2020. 650 members. One is a cat.
• Unis Bike, Villeurbanne, Lyon 13 Feb 2020 [training social enterprise to re-enter employment, s/h bike sales, has NGO support-Unis is right across the road. We went to the open day, it was opened in 2020]
• Etablicyclette Lyon, 13 Feb 2020. Met Guillaume, who also told us about the rise and eventual closure of Le Recycleur where he used to work, which was pretty much the oldest workshop in France and which lost a battle to keep its premises (1994-2017).
• uN p’Tit véLo dAnS La Tête Grenoble  [one of the very oldest, and biggest]   16 Feb  Merci Yannick
• Heureux Cyclage , Grenoble 15 Feb  [national association for workshops that have bike self-repair/autoreparation] . Merci  Celine & Mattieu
  

  Heureux Cyclage office, Grenoble

• L’atelier solidaire, Grenoble 15 Feb.   This one is under reorganisation and has bikes as one method for social development in the quartier.  We received a great welcome. They have a dog not a cat.
• Montpellier, 16 Feb>
• À Bicyclette Tulle, 19 Feb
• Vélorution Périgourdine, Périgueux 22 feb
• ??Bordeaux ?? Paris

• Bristol Bike Project, Bristol UK  24  Feb 2020

WeCycle, Melbourne

SB has been volunteering at WeCycle in Northcote, Melbourne since July 2019. It is a volunteer-run initiative enabled by small grants, Council support, and volunteer mechanics and fixers. Craig Jackson and Gayle Ilievski set it up in 2016. Donated bikes are re-homed to  refugees and asylum seekers referred by caseworkers from support agencies. Other bike find good homes too, through sales or donations and there is occasionally space for people to fix their bikes. WeCycle is one of a number of Melbourne bike workshops set up more recently than the original Bike Shed at CERES. WeCycle usually staffed 10-3 Saturdays in Batman Park off St George’s Road. http://www.wecycle-melbourne.com/

 

 

Funding received 2019

Batterbury SPJ, D. Mateo-Babiano. 2019-20. Comparative evaluation of community bicycle workshops in Australia, France and UK: supporting  low carbon urban transport,  individual wellbeing, community economies, and cycling cultures. Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute (MSSI) Future Cities Seed Funding. AU$9,600.

This project aims to explore and compare the contribution of community bike workshops [CBWs , ‘bike kitchens’ or ateliers vélos,] in Europe and Australia to creating a cycling culture, and better wellbeing and transport outcomes in different city-regions. We will use the 3Is (i.e. ideas, interests and institutions) as a comparative evaluation framework to appraise urban community bike workshops as nodes of low carbon urban transport, as contributors to individual wellbeing, better and vibrant community economies, and shapers of cycling cultures.

1. How do selected bike workshops create demand for urban cycling? How are they challenging mainstream mobilities through active  urban transportation ?
2. What are the major motivations and governance arrangements of these community  workshops?  With what political and other alliances?
3. Test the counterfactual:  are they simply offering a service to the poor and to bike enthusiasts, permitting them to save money and build/maintain a ride?
4. Are workshops ‘prefiguring’ the low carbon future? As many workshops transition into having salaried employees and more secure premises, are there lessons for urban practice, community economies research, and transition theory?

Announcement https://sustainable.unimelb.edu.au/research/research-clusters/future-cities/research/seed-funding-projects-2019/comparative-evaluation-of-community-bicycle-workshops-in-australia,-france-and-uk-supporting-low-carbon-urban-transport,-individual-wellbeing,-community-economies,-and-cycling-cultures

2017 study of workshops in France

A key source came out in 2017, based on a  French survey.

Meixner, E.  2017. Etude d’évaluation sur les services vélos – Enquête sur les ateliers d’autoréparation de vélos. ADEME [ADEME did one just on bike workshops. This is a key source.] https://www.heureux-cyclage.org/IMG/pdf/cahier_ateliers_autoreparation-services_velos_ademe-2017.pdf

Workshops in Quebec

http://www.velo.qc.ca/transport-actif/ABC-du-transport-actif-/Ateliers-communautaires

List of workshops in California

https://calbike.org/bicycling-in-california/community_bike_shops/ch

we visited three in March April 2016, all in San Francisco.

MP3 of radio interview on community bike workshops, 17 Aug. 2015.

Simon talks about community bike workshop at 3CR radio, 17 Aug 2015

http://www.3cr.org.au/yarrabug/episode-201508171000/community-bike-workshops-their-contribution-justice-sustainable-urban

And a talk on 18th Aug 2015

https://events.unimelb.edu.au/events/5600-community-bike-workshops-their-contribution-to-justice-sustainable-urban-transport