Bike Dump

The Bike Dump

Website	http://bike-dump.ca
Founded	2005
Location	Winnipeg, Canada
Language	English
Services Offered	DIY Repair Services Workshops Women and Trans Programs

The Bike Dump is a bicycle collective in Winnipeg, Canada.

Services

The Bike Dump strives to make cycling and cycling knowledge accessible to all, especially people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it, by offering access to tools, help, and parts for people to fix their own bike or to build one out of recycled frames and parts. There is no charge associated with these services, but donations of bike parts, money, or in-kind labour are encouraged. They periodically offer workshops on maintenance and repairs.

Hours

Current as of May 2017

• Monday 6-9pm - Women and trans only night
• Tuesday 6-9pm - open shop hours
• Wednesdays 6-9pm - workshops, meetings, training, and volunteer hours
• Thursday 6-9pm -Volunteer shop hours - shop cleanup
• Sunday 1-4pm - open shop hours

Location

The Bike Dump is located in The Red Road Lodge at 631 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Entrance is through the patio on the south side of the building.

Organization

The Bike Dump is run as a collective. All members and workers are volunteers. There is a core collective of roughly 10 people who make decisions by consensus, and another half-dozen casual volunteers. Membership in the collective is open to anyone who has volunteered three shifts in a month and sat in on one collective meeting. There are subcommittees to deal with finances, workshops, outreach, volunteer coordination, triage, and the space which are made up of core collective members. Membership in the committees rotates informally. The collective tries to be responsive to its own needs, the needs of the other volunteers, and the needs of people using the space, and works from an anti-oppression framework. Rent is paid with money from donations, the sale of some refurbished bikes (on a sliding scale), and the odd fundraiser.

History

Winnipeg had been without a community bicycle project since the demise of Winnipeg's 'white bike' project in the early 1990's. There had been several attempts at starting projects over the next ten years, notably 'Bikes for People', but none of these had much staying power, and were mostly people with a ton of frames in their basement. In the summer of 2005, a few of the aforementioned people got together, and after finding cheap space in a building owned by a local developer, the Bike Dump was born, opening its doors with a fundraising weekend at the start of September 2005, with open hours to the public every Sunday from 12-6pm. A few punk shows were held in the space that winter. In April 2006, open hours were added on Thursdays from 5 to 9pm. Four of the Bike Dump members attended Bike!Bike! 2006 and were thoroughly impressed. Over the summer of 2006, the Dump put on one bicycle repair workshop series for adults, another by and for women, and a third for kids. The same summer, they began being open on Wednesday evenings for volunteers and prospective volunteers only. In August 2006, they learned that their building had been sold and that they would have to be out of the space by November. After extensive renovations, the bike dump re-openned in December at 631 Main St.

Website

bike-dump.ca

Printed Material

Workshop Handouts

• Workshop 1: Tubes & Tires (pdf)
• Workshop 2: Brakes (pdf)
• Workshop 3: Hubs (doc)
• Workshop 4: Derailleurs (doc)
• Workshop 5: The Bottom Bracket (doc)

Pamphlets

• Welcome to the Bike Dump
• Volunteer Orientation Info
• (older) Bike Dump Volunteer & Mechanic Guide
• Bike Dump greeter guide
• Bike Dump Collective Guide

Greeter Materials

• Feedback Sheet
• Log Sheet

Allies, Shout Outz

In Winnipeg

• Natural Cycle
• The Winnipeg Bicycle Messenger Association
• The Bike Dungeon
• Velodrama Wiki Project

Elsewhere

• The Derailer Bicycle Collective (Denver, CO)
• Kingston Yellow Bike Action (Kingston, ON)
• Free Ride (Pittsburgh, PA)

See Also

• Community Bicycle Organizations