The Hub bike cooperative opened its fourth location on April 26, alongside
Spokes, an organization that offers an open bike shop and community classes.
Spokes opened in Minneapolis's Seward neighborhood last fall. The two bike businesses are in a building that previously housed an Islamic cultural center and a machine shop, according to Sheldon Mains, who works with Spokes.
“Having both facilities together helps bring together everything someone needs to start biking,” he says.
This collaboration came together thanks to the work of a handful of partners, including
Cycles for Change, The Hub,
Seward Neighborhood Group and
Seward ReDesign, which all worked together to make the place a reality.
At this location, The Hub is selling used bikes, bike parts and accessories, he says.
However, The Hub won’t be repairing bikes. That’s because Spokes helps people to do that themselves, Mains explains. “What we do is shoulder-to-shoulder training,” he says. “Mechanics help and walk people through the process, even if they’ve never done it before.”
Between the open workshop and the retail side, “It’s a great symbiotic relationship,” he says.
This summer, the place hopes to offer a kind of lending library, where people can “check out” a bike for a defined period. That might appeal to people who aren’t ready to buy a bike yet, he says.
The idea is to get more people biking and walking, especially the local immigrant community. Spokes has already hosted a number of successful biking classes, including one that focused on navigating busy streets. “We’re using any ideas that we can come up with to get people more active,” and to use biking as a mode of transportation and for exercise and recreational purposes, he says.
Source: Sheldon Mains, Spokes
Writer: Anna Pratt