Working Bikes- An Invaluable Chicago Resource.

Almost everyone who has ever looked for a used bike in Chicago is familiar with the Working Bikes Cooperative. I'm not going to focus on the official goals or accomplishments of working bikes, rather I'm going to focus on the impact I have observed on the Chicago cycling community.

The main goal of WBC is to supply bicycles to developing countries. They salvage used bicycles from metal scrappers and donations. Most mountain bikes are sent to developing countries while the road bikes and cruisers are largely sold here in Chicago for next to nothing. Proceeds from these local sales are used to fund their primary goal of sending bikes to developing communities abroad.

WORKING BIKES- Bicycle Sales

Working bikes has never, to my knowledge, aspired to sell bicycles in perfect condition. As the name infers the bikes they sell "work." This usually means that a bicycle purchased from WBC will roll, but may be in need of some degree of maintenance. That should be expected, and if you ask the people at working bikes they will usually suggest that you have your purchase checked out by your local bike shop.

WBC has changed the face of the used bicycle market in Chicago. A used bicycle from a bike shop will usually cost a hundred dollars or more. Typically, a bike you might purchase from a bike shop will have been serviced to whatever degree necessary to make it in more or less perfect functioning order and condition- or at least that's the way it works at Boulevard. A used bike from Craigslist will cost as much, and should be taken to your local bike shop to be checked over. My experience is that an overwhelming majority of bicycles purchased on Craigslist or E-Bay are in need of some maintenance. By the time you are done having the Craigslist or E-Bay bike serviced you have spent well in excess of your initial investment.

Working Bikes, on the other hand, offers used bicycles at unbeatable prices. You can buy a working bike for prices starting at $50.00. Something "special" might run just over a hundred dollars, but you can bet that it will be well worth every penny. If you have your local bike shop look your new purchase over and perform some maintenance it might cost you a few more dollars, but you'll have a working bicycle for cheaper than you could purchase one anywhere else in the city.

If you go to WBC's storefront to purchase a bike you should plan on getting there when the doors open because their stock moves quickly over the course of the day. Sometimes it might take a couple trips before you find something that fits your needs, but the money you save might be worth the effort.

If you purchase a bike from WBC you should count on having your local bike shop check it out. The Chicago Bike Shop database entry for WBC is littered with stories of people who purchased bikes from WBC and the bikes needed work. My response is, "Duh! WBC always tells people to get their bikes checked out. If you don't the problems you experience as a result are of your own making." WBC is up front about this, and I would expect someone who pays $50.00 for a bike to expect that they will have to spend some money having it tuned or serviced.

I have had numerous Working Bikes. My favorite bike, my touring rig, started as a Working Bike and still bears WBC's emblem as a headbadge. Aside from the brakes, cranks and front derailleur, most of the parts have been replaced at one time or another, but that's not because it was a crappy bike- that's because I ride my bike, and I wear parts out.

WORKING BIKES- The Mechanics

The mechanics at WBC also get a bad rap from time to time because the bikes they turn out have imperfections. I think this is an injustice. The guys I know who have volunteered at WBC are largely crack mechanics who know not only how to work on modern bikes, but they generally are adept at troubleshooting problems presented by older or obscure bicycles- a skill some may consider to be the true measure of a mechanic.

One might ask, "If these mechanics are so awesome why don't they turn out perfect bikes?" The answer lies in the mission and economics of working bikes. A secondary goal of Working Bikes is to provide functional bikes at a discount to the people of Chicago. It takes a great deal of time to perfectly tune a bike. Sometimes it also takes expense in parts. The volunteers at WBC simply don't have the time or money to perfectly tune every bike, and they don't deal in new parts- almost everything is recycled or used. Each bicycle is given enough attention to attain the functionality of a working bike, then it is on to the next bike. What WBC is able to save in time and money is passed on to the Chicago consumer in the form of a super reasonable price.

I have come to appreciate the idea that WBC supports the operations of local bike shops throughout Chicago by flooding the market with functional used bikes that need a little work. By nature, used bikes need service. There isn't a day that passes in the summer that we don't see a Working Bike come through our doors. It is pretty typical for someone to come in and say, "I just bought this from Working Bikes and I want you to check it out." Usually we can give them an idea of what work is imperative, what work can wait, and issues that should be expected in the future. That way one can budget to fix their ride as their pocketbook and need dictates.

WORKING BIKES - Mechanical Training Ground

Working Bikes has also become one of the great mechanical learning grounds for aspiring bicycle mechanics in Chicago. There are few places in Chicago where someone with little experience can go to learn bicycle mechanics for free. Working Bikes allows people to do just that. I know of many local professional bicycle mechanics who spent time as a working bike volunteer before landing that pro-mechanic job. A lot of the older WBC volunteers and employees are professional mechanics in their own right, and they could undoubtedly show me a thing or two about fixing bikes.

WBC also doesn't get the same bikes over and over like so many bike shops. At WBC they deal with a lot of older obscure bicycles that one might not see as much in most Chicago bike shops. This gives the volunteers a unique opportunity to learn about the history and development of the modern bicycle.

If you want to learn about bicycle mechanics this is a great place to go. The atmosphere at WBC has never been condescending. No one is going to show you how to hold a wrench unless you ask, and people are encouraged to use unique approaches to troubleshooting. Besides, if you break the bike on which you are working the worst case scenario is that it goes back to being garbage.

Working Bikes - Volunteering



I volunteered at Working Bikes as a mechanical neophyte before the days of the storefront, in the middle of the winter with no heat. I remember being electrified by the sheer volume of bicycles that needed work, and awestruck by the magnitude of Mt Varsity (seen in the video above). Pull one out, and start making it roll. I remember being frustrated by the fact that a bicycle had some mechanical problems when Brandon Z paused to give me some advice. Noticing my obvious irritation he sighed and said, "Here we don't want to make bikes perfect. We just want to make the bikes work. In Africa they will ride almost anything, so don't worry about the small things, just make it a working bike."

Whatever your reasons, WBC is a noble cause. If you want to give something to the cycling community in Chicago, or the cycling community in a developing country, WBC is a great place to start. If you want to learn the basics of bicycle mechanics WBC will provide you with a venue where you can do that too. If you have some time to donate I would suggest spending a couple days fixing bikes. They need all the help they can get.