Busted Bike Brakes Made Better At The Library

Crouched over a broken bike trading wrenches and conversation, two Bradley Street Bicycle Co-Op volunteers helped a library-visiting Hill teenager fix his two-wheeler — and taught him how to make his own repairs the next time his brakes and wheels are busted.

That was the scene Monday afternoon outside of the Wilson branch public library at 303 Washington Ave. Every week this month, volunteer bike mechanics from the East Rock co-op are setting up shop at that Hill outpost to help library-goers of all ages fix their bikes for free while answering questions along the way.

One such Hill bike rider in need of repairs on Monday was Sai. He brought his bike to be fixed for free by co-op volunteer mechanics Amanda Levi, Martin Chamberlin, and Marty Waters. 

By the time he left the library, his brake wires had been reattached, his flat, worn-out tires had been replaced, and his brakes were tightened the way he wanted them to be. He had also learned how to do all of these things himself.

“This is sick,” Sai said while watching the mechanics work. ​“I would’ve had to pay a bunch of money to get this done at the shop.” 

Sai and his friend Dain, who accompanied him to Wilson on Monday, had heard from friends that the free bike repair was worth stopping by. In a little under an hour, Levi and Chamberlain taught them how to fix the brake problems the bike was having so they could do it alone next time. 

Consulting with Sai on his bike’s problems, explaining how these wears and tears happened, and detailing the steps of how they can be fixed, Levi captivated the boys’ attention and taught them so that they too could pass along this bike-repair knowledge to their friends. Sai said he and his friends enjoy riding and doing wheelies together, and their bikes tend to have the same problems as his.

June marks the the second consecutive month of weekly free bike repairs that the co-op has hosted around New Haven. The Bradley Street Bike Co-op volunteers said they’ve had the opportunity to help dozens of New Haveners in both fixing their bikes and providing them with skills to fix them themselves that will save riders money in the future.

Founded in 2014, the Bradley Street Bike Co-Op ​“works towards an equitable New Haven by getting people on bikes.” They started their free bike repair program a couple of years ago and have moved around different spots in the city.

“It’s a program we started doing during Bike Month, but has expanded into its second month,” said Waters. ​“By moving around different spots around the city, we make the bike fixing program more accessible to those that live far from the co-op,” added Chamberlin.

Already starting to be recognized by the community, the program’s street sign right outside the library has caught the eyes of various Hill residents. 

Besides Sai and Dain, whose friend had been drawn to get his bike fixed by the sign on the sidewalk, Tyrone ​“Ty” Bell was also drawn to the program. He had seen the sign the week prior and planned to take his kids to fix their bikes the following week.

This week, his kids reported having looked forward to getting their bikes fixed, and even getting some training wheels off.

Familiar with the co-op, Bell was excited to see the volunteers come back to fix bikes around the Hill, remembering other similar events he’d attended in the past. While his family’s bikes were getting fixed, Bell connected to other of the library’s programs, finding out about other community events while attending one. 

“I had enjoyed that event a lot,” Bell told Waters. ​“I’ve missed seeing you around.”

Over the course of afternoon, Bell’s children were mesmerized by the fixes the mechanics did to their bicycles, and were able to both learn from the mechanics and feel proud of how they’d helped, all while visiting the library and getting interested in other events around them. 

“We are still learning, still trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t,” Levi said. ​“It’s sort of a pilot program, but it helps to bring the community together.”