Mechanics and volunteers from the University’s Bike Program will be providing students with free minor repairs and adjustments today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at East 13th Avenue in front of Lillis Hall.
Bicycle Appreciation Day offers students ordinary preventative maintenance, like tire pumping, chain lubrication, brake adjustments and diagnosis of worn, loose or misaligned parts.
“We can help you do some basic adjustments and check if anything is wrong,” said Ted Sweeney,@@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Sweeney/28849@@ bike program coordinator and University senior.
The event’s staff and volunteers will offer literature on cycling communities and advocacy groups, as well as provide riders with advice on winterizing their bikes. Participants are encouraged to introduce discussions on any other maintenance or recreational topics of interest.
“We like to help students strategize about how to have the bike they want to ride, rather than the bike they happen to ride,” said Sweeney, who encourages students to not only make their bikes more functional, but also more personalized.
The event is sponsored by the Bicycle Loan Program — a part of the UO Outdoor Program — now a contributor to the Sustainable Oregon Cities Initiative.
All students are technically Outdoor Program members, as they pay for it through incidental fees every term. Non-students may join for $15/year.
Membership affords users full access to tools and a workspace. The program is hosted at East 18th Avenue and University Street. The Barn, the program’s home, is for “more intensive repairs” that will be offered tomorrow. Approximately 550 student repairs are conducted each term.
“It’s the best deal in town,” Sweeney said. He emphasized that the Barn is not a commercial enterprise but a hands-on place where motivated individuals gather to learn and share in the use of collective resources. “You can do massive overhauls — pretty much anything. Sometimes people do a project and it takes them all week, but they just keep coming back.”
Bicycle Appreciation Day occurs approximately twice per term. Students interested in learning more about their bike can take a six-session bicycle maintenance class hosted at the Barn for $65.
The average cost of a tune-up in Eugene is around $50 and the average labor/hour cost for repairs is about $10. Bicycle Appreciation Day is intended to alleviate such costs for students.
Event participants will be presented with free coffee and chai courtesy of Holy Cow Cafe.