BikeWorks North

If you’ve been cycling in Edmonton for any length of time you likely already know about BikeWorks, the community bike shop operated by the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters’ Society. At BikeWorks  you can learn to fix your bike while having  access to a well equipped bike repair shop. There is a large supply of used parts and essential new parts for your repair projects. Volunteers are on hand to help you and classes on a variety of topics are offered. If that’s not enough for you, you can buy reconditioned bikes as well as rent bikes and trailers. And it’s a hub of Edmonton bike culture! What’s not to like?

This Winter there was good news for the cyclists living in the North of Edmonton: EBC was opening a second shop,this one on the North side. It was particularly good news for me as the new location is only a 5 minute bike ride from my house! A call went out for volunteers to help with the renos  and I was happy to get involved. I put in a few hours now and then and the following photos show the progress from empty shell to functioning bike shop.

February: The new shop before renovations. I shamelessly stole this photo from EBC and by viewing it you are likely some sort of accomplice.

February: This one too.

February: And this one.

March 19th: Renovations are well underway. Walls have been cleaned, patched, primed and partly painted. The floor has been cleaned, etched and painted.

March 19th: The mezzanine floor wasn’t very level. This shows the floor after the old subfloor was torn up and a new one installed. Each off those strips under the new floor panels was individually tapered to match the wavy floor. I glad there are volunteers involved that are more competent than I am.

March 29th: The mezzanine wall is now being built. Workbench construction has begun.

March 29th: The new wall will create a meeting room / office space with some sound isolation from the shop below. The wall has been framed to allow installation of salvaged vintage windows. A door will give will give access a walkway along the edge of the mezzanine that overlooks the shop. For now the door will stay closed until a railing can be installed. Pictured here is one of the masterminds and skilled workers behind the mezzanine reno.

April 6th: This is the day before the official opening.Not the GRAND opening,that hasn’t happened yet. Limited services are offered at this point.

April 6th: The bike hanger is…hanging.

April 6th: Unpacking boxes of shiny new bike tools was fun. Etching “EBC” on all the tools was somewhat less fun. This only represents a fraction of the tools.

April 6th: The small individual work benches are almost finished.

April 6th: The door and some of the mezzanine windows are in place.

April 6th: Looking a little like a bike shop!

April 7th: BikeWorks North is open for business!

April 7th: Soon there will actually be people here…

May 24th: There is a big jump in time here as I didn’t take any photos for almost two months. I’m a bad blogger. At this point BikeWorks North is open Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and is offering a nearly full range of services. As you can see, the hanger is now populated with reconditioned bikes for sale and the floor has lots of bikes for overhauling.

May 24th: Mmmmmm, delicious bikes…..

May 24th: Used parts.

May 24th: A growing selection of new parts. More to come.

May 24th

May 24th: Tools!

May 24th: I haven’t tried the touch screens yet.

May 24th: Bike repair is happening!