L to R: Jennifer Collins, community outreach coordinator; Becca Dillon, co-founder; Ariel Raymon, co-founder.
(Photos © Jonathan Maus)
Ariel Raymon loved learning how to work on her bike as a member of The Bike Church, a community bike shop based in Santa Cruz, California. She learned how to use tools, enjoyed the non-intimidating atmosphere, saved money on maintenance, and realized that bike repair is something anyone could learn to do.
But when she moved to Portland two years ago, she was surprised nothing like it existed here.
Now, Ariel and her friend Becca Dillon — along with a core team of volunteers — are the force behind Bike Farm, a new bike shop collective that hopes to officially open its doors this December in Northeast Portland.
I recently sat down with Becca, Ariel, and Bike Farm’s community outreach coordinator Jennifer Collins to learn more about what they’re up to.
Back in August, Ariel says she and Becca — who met through mutual friends — started talking about the idea of a collectively run, non-profit, community bike shop. Then, they both started sharing the idea with others at local bike events.
They were both surprised at how things came together after that. “Once we started putting the word out, we quickly formed a base of people that wanted to work on this project,” said Becca.
According to Ariel, the idea seemed to be already brewing. “As soon as I started talking about it, other people wondered, ‘yeah, why isn’t there something like that in Portland?’ so I said we’re working on it, why don’t you join us?”.
Soon, Ariel had a list of interested people on a phone list and says, “I just started calling people and we had our first meeting.”
That was in September and they’ve been meeting every week since. Last week they turned in final documents to their lawyer and their non-profit filing is now officially in progress.
“It shouldn’t be hard for people to ride bikes. If maintenance and expense are discouraging people, than I hope we can help with that.”
–Bike Farm co-founder Becca Dillon
As we chatted over the bustle of a downtown coffee shop, Becca, Ariel, and community outreach coordinator Jennifer Collins, said they are still figuring out many specifics, but they all agree that the Bike Farm will be about promoting bikes and sustainability, involving the community, and making bikes accessible to more people in a supportive and fun environment.
Jennifer — who moved to Portland two years ago from suburban New York — knows about the importance of support and community firsthand. She said it was too dangerous to ride in New York, but now she doesn’t even own a car:
“When I first started riding bikes, none of my friends rode. I was totally on my own…I was taking my bike to shops and spending all this money, but I realized I didn’t need to.”
For Ariel, who moved to Portland just two years ago, Bike Farm is also about creating a welcoming space:
“When I moved here I found most shops to be intimidating for women. It really bothered me that it was so male-dominated. There was no place I could go and feel comfortable except for North Portland Bikeworks once a week for three hours. At the Bike Church, they had four female mechanics.
I just thought it’d be great to have a space that was comfortable for everyone and not just a place to shell out $30 every time something breaks and come away with no knowledge. At the Bike Farm, people can give us less money, and come away with all the knowledge.”
Ariel says a bike repair educational program will be at the core of Bike Farm.
Based on the Bike Church model, their space (a few blocks north of Alberta Street in a detached garage near NE 13th and Roselawn) will be open three days a week.
During open hours, two trained mechanics will be on shift and anyone can stop by and learn how to fix their bike and/or use the shop’s tools to do it themselves. In order to use the shop and get the expert help, memberships will be available for either $20/month or $50/year. If unable to pay, Ariel says the services will be available at a suggested donation of $5 per hour. (If that’s still too steep, Ariel says folks can grab a broom and work off their bill.)
The Bike Farm hopes to become much more than just a place to work on bikes. Other programs they plan to develop are: a women and trans night (at a different day/time than the one at North Portland Bikeworks); a wheelbuilding workshop; a touring class; and a family cycling clinic. The shop will also sell basic supplies like tubes and patch kits.
Co-founder Becca Dillon hopes the people of Bike Farm and the services it provides will help make bikes accessible to more people:
“It shouldn’t be hard for people to ride bikes. If maintenance and expense are discouraging people, than I hope we can help with that…we want to make it easy for everybody.”
Current plans are to open the shop on December 1st, have an open house event on December 8th, and then have a grand opening block party this coming Spring.
To learn more about Bike Farm, make a donation, or just get involved, visit BikeFarm.org.
Thanks for reading.
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Hallelujah! What a great idea! I will definitely be a regular patron.
Good luck ladies!
And if you are looking for new underserved areas to expand into…please consdier City Center Vancouver…we lost our last downtown bike shop this summer (Mike\’s Bikes closed).
Just give me a call…
Todd Boulanger
Senior Transportation Planner
City of Vancouver
360.487.7726
PS. Let us know if you would like our new combo Vancouver-Portland bike map too. (Free)
awesome, it would be really cool if a car shop opened up a tire farm. i am sick of spending money on car tires when i could just fix them myself if i had all of the tools. for 5 bucks an hour i could get professional advice and use all of the tools that would be sweet, i\’d never go to las schwab again
This rocks! I will definitely be there once it opens and may invest in that $50 a year if it saves me on getting my bike fixed \”professionally\”. I\’d love to be more knowledgable about my bike and it\’s many beautiful parts and have the power to be able to fix at least the small bits. Thanks so much for doing this ladies. I look forward to meeting you.
I think this is a great service. But I think it is a bit unfair to say there is nothing like this in Portland. The Bicycle Repair Collective on SE Belmont has been offering this sort of thing for a long time. You can either have them fix your bike or you can use their tools and work stations to do it yourself. When I lived in that neighborhood, I worked on my bike all the time there, and they are really nice and helpful. Yeah, they don\’t offer classes, but they will help you with your repairs when you are in there. There is a link to their site just over there —> to the right under Bike Shops (SE).
A comment from down south in the bay area:
Bike Farm sounds like a great idea and I wish it and the people involved the best of luck. There are a few co-ops around in the bay area–the bike church that is mentioned in the article, bike kitchen, refried cycles, box dog in san francisco, and missing link in berkeley came into mind.
From the business point of view, internet shopping and online bike/parts shops have threatened the existence of local bike shops, making the revenue from service and repair a even larger piece of the pie. The sometimes intimidating atmosphere generated from bike shops maybe partly due to an anxiety over job security related to the changing larger environment (not in any way defending it, though).
I think the idea of membership due is an interesting twist in the business model to alleviate the dependence on repair revenue that traditional bike shop has (speaking as a business consultant). I am sure someone with the financial knowhow has looked at the number and done the market studies, because zeroing on the right price point/tier for membership dues could go a long way to ensure financial sustainability of the organization.
Finally, just a general thought. It seems that spending $30 on a simple bike repair might be a lot. But if biking is one\’s main mode of transportation (or at least a significant component of it) then one has to look at the expenses from a larger perspective. A general car oil-change (which happens every 3 months) is at least in the $40 range now, and more if you use synthetic oil, or if anything else needs change. Any repair larger than that we are talking hundreds of dollars. changing tires cost $200 to $300 for 2, etc. Comparatively, expenses for maintaining a bicycle is really relatively small.
I had been rather tight-fisted for a while and actually learned how to deal with almost everything on my bikes (i still do almost all the repairs and services for bikes in my household) but after thinking about the bike expenses in comparison with equivalent expenses for cars, I am much more relaxed and would generally take my bikes to the shops more frequently and definitely for things that they have better tools for. More bike shops is good for the biking community.
I think this is fantastic! I\’ll definitely be taking a look.
There are similar shops and groups in Portland – the aforementioned Bicycle Repair Collective, Community Cycling Center, Citybikes, and Exchange Cycle Tours. But they\’re either not communally owned, don\’t offer classes, or in ECT\’s case – don\’t have a bike shop. (although ECT partners with Meticon for shop space)
We need more community-owned or employee-owned shops, and having more out there who allow people to learn bike repair skills on their own bikes is always a great thing – the more the merrier!
As Portland continues to add more cyclists, we\’ve really got a tremendous opportunity to build community and help these cyclists become self-reliant and confident on the road.
I\’m for hire:))))) want to really get into the bike indust. without pay also
my feild now is yada yada..
Joe Fortino
love2bike140[]yahoo[]com
Good luck, Bike Farm hands!
We at the Community Cycling Center, who know what it\’s like to start up a bike shop in northeast, helped seed the farm with some tools and equipment and we wish you the best.
And I have to clarify an earlier comment about classes: The Community Cycling Center does offer classes and we are adding more starting in January. We\’ll have urban riding (+ for women), family rides, basic and advanced bike maintenance, with earn-a-bike options and scholarships available. Plus we\’ll be offering free drop-in clinics on weekends. Check our website for details:
http://www.communitycyclingcenter.org/index.php/programs/
Happy and safe cycling everyone,
Alison
Community Cycling Center
re: #6
If you\’re paying $40 to get your oil changed, you\’re getting ripped off. $20 figure out how to unscrew a bolt.
whoops, that didn\’t come out right. ahem.
Also,it\’s a myth that you need to change your car oil every 3 months. My car manual (a Volvo) says once every 7,500 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. So, not sure where that 3,000 mile (3 month) rule came from, but don\’t believe it. But I do agree that maintaining a bike is cheaper than maintaining a car. But some of use both and want to keep both as cheap as possible!
Way to go BikeFarm!
good luck gals… rooting for you.
carry a lot of single speed conversion parts, like $130 ss/fixed wheelsets, half link chains, chainrings and bmx cogs. That way people can get going on that flea market conversion project they\’ve been waiting to do.
i think the oil companies came up with the 3000 mile rule, much like the dairy farmers…3 glasses of milk a day.
3 Glasses!!! seems a bit much, seeing as how it not even human milk, gross.
Matt wrote:
\”There are similar shops and groups in Portland – the aforementioned Bicycle Repair Collective, Community Cycling Center, Citybikes, and Exchange Cycle Tours. But they\’re either not communally owned, don\’t offer classes, or in ECT\’s case – don\’t have a bike shop. (although ECT partners with Meticon for shop space)\”
And the more the merrier, Portland can\’t have too many bike collectives..keep an eye on ECT, too, they have plans..
Sweet. I think I heard something about this at the bicycle film festival, and had been wondering what happened to it. I wish you the best of luck.
Way to go! Sweet logo!
I had my bike tuned up at City Bikes this summer and really appreciated the great work and reasonable price. The only trade-off was the wait. They apparently have more work than they can shake a stick at.
It seems that there is plenty of room for your business to grow. That\’s good for a farm, right? 🙂
Best of success!
We need a good source for used bike clothing,lights, fenders, etc…Sellwood and Next Adventure have some shoes and shirts, but not enough. There\’s even probably some manufacturers seconds out there too! Go get\’em Farmers…:)
I am SO in love with all of the lovely ladies of Bike Farm (sigh).
Yay!
50 dollars so that people with little to no experience can show me how to almost, maybe make my bike better. They even have a few donated tools!
Better yet, they have an entire detached garage! And they are open three whole days a week!
Judging by the yellow bike in the photo above, they probably know lots about how to properly size and fit bikes for women! We are all saved!!
Down with the capitalist patriarchy, sisters! Viva la revulsion!
Steve,
In response to your comment, we have a volunteer group of trained former and current bike mechanics that are extremely qualified to help you learn to fix your bike. Please stop by when we are open and see what we have to offer.
-Jennifer
Steve –
I must correct you on your comment about the yellow bike.
The cropped photo doesn\’t tell the whole story. What you see is not an improperly sized bike but an integrated top tube pad saddle. It offers more seating options. Kind of like those elk antler mtb bars from the late \’80s/early \’90s that offered multiple hand positions.
Hope that clears it up.
When you mentioned the sisters bringing down the patriarchy were you cribbing from Borat who recently said, \”In Kazakhstan, we say that to give a woman power, is like to give a monkey a gun – very dangerous.\”
And all kidding aside, the bikefarm loaner tool model (and low fee) is a good idea to make cycling cheaper and more accessible. And for that they get props.
I\’m SO proud of Bike Farm Co-Founder–my daughter, Ariel. Margaret Mead said \”A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it\’s the only thing that ever has.\” Thank you for your contributions to Tikun Olam.
steve: one of the problems many women run into (besides men raining on their parade) is finding a frame small enough to fit them, especially used. It is very difficult to find used frames less than 50 cm. Also with a smaller bike there will be less seatpost showing, and on a larger frame there will be more seatpost showing, it is a matter of proportion.
Bike Farm is a welcome addition to the Portland Bike Community. When I lived in Somerville, Mass. there was the Cambridge Bike Co-op, which for an annual membership, you could use their tools and their workstand, and get expert advice from a bike mechanic. This sounds like the same thing.
skidmark:
yawn.
Well, no problem figuring where steve is going to be lurking around. Man, you got to do a better job of keeping your lust cloaked!
I think you girls got a great idea. Nothing like a gal with grease on her fingertips. It makes sense that more girls would put up with it to learn how to fix their bikes if they didn\’t have to deal with the subconscious and not-so message from certain guys that \’girls are so stupid with mechanical stuff\’.
Thanks for all the support! We hope to meet each of you once we open. Feel free to post on the forum of our website, as (not many people have) and that way the suggestions will be more accessible. See you in a few weeks!
Having actual experience as a professional cycle-mechanic, and experience as a professional, works-level frame builder, I\’m dubious. If you\’d like to teach people how to maintain their bicycles, more power to you. I don\’t think it is necessary to deride the pro-shops in the area to do this, though.
From my own experience, working in professional shops, used biking equipment is a bad idea. As a used-equipment retailer you position yourself as a fence for stolen bike stuff. There used to be laws against it. Furthermore, liability insurance is usually unavailable to those who would sell used items. Which leads me to believe that these women are not going to be financially responsible for any mistakes that they may make on a repair, or a sale. Or will at least hide behind their non-profit credentials when the time comes.
Why do you feel intimidated at bike shops? Is it really because you are a woman? Or is it because you feel insecure about your knowledge, and skill, in an environment where you can pretty safely assume everyone else doesn\’t? I could argue that women, backed by a Congressional Act, the novelty of their presence, pervasive social sentiment, and the male pre-disposition toward helping women, have strong-armed their way, undeservedly, to the front of the line in many biking industry jobs. See: Token Female Employee. Why no interest in helping male bike industry employees who have been disenfranchised by this? Isn\’t that, \’helping out\’?
I\’m bitter. I tried to do some of these things myself, and I\’m simply pointing out the hurdles that were put in my way to make this a hard thing to do. I resent that a bunch of little girls can undertake the same endeavor, receive an outpouring just because they are little girls, and then turn around and complain about discrimination in the industry. If they weren\’t a bunch of cute little girls, I wonder if the response would be the same?
If you would teach people to work on their bikes, write a book. Oh, but wait. That\’d leave you in competition with about a bazillion other books, wouldn\’t it? Well, I\’ll still ask that you not delude yourselves, ladies. You are looking at a business that will impact other people\’s livelihoods in a very negative way; and are ultimately just after a buck yourselves. When you look at it without the feminist, peace-nick, politically-correct-colored glasses this will be a business of selling second-rate equipment, and doing second-rate work, for a second-rate price. Which will surely be the final nail for a few area businesses. Sounds like the American Free Market economy at work, to me.
Women need to get the chip of their shoulder. While I\’m sure there are a few troglodyte holdouts from a bygone era, most of the animosity women feel in professional environments is a response to the female attitude that they are going to be victimized. It gets so old. No, you are not being charged because you are a woman. You are being charged because you are a dumbass. If you happen to also be a woman, well that is your problem, not your mechanic\’s. Dumbasses routinely get victimized. It\’s what dumbasses do. And dumbass, last I checked, has got nothing to do with gender. I have no further to go to prove this than the Bike Barn.
Kool. Next time somebody out there loses a front wheel, or a saddle, I guess you know where to start looking. Tired of paying for those pesky credentials at the corner shop? Now you can have work done by people without them! Hurray! And, to top it all off, if you are a dumbass and tired of getting treated that way, and you are a female, at least there will be a place to go that won\’t hold being a dumbass against you. Apparently if you are a guy, and a dumbass, tough. Suck it up. Be a man.
Off the top of my head:
Community Cycling Center
City Bikes
Mt. Tabor Repair Collective
Eagle Cycles
Portland Community College
Shilo Cyclery
Gresham Bikes
All of these have repair classes. All of these have bargain basement repair prices. All of these sell used components. All of these have female employees. What niche is the Bike Barn filling again? Oh ya, cute chicks with a play business, at the expense of a CAT2\’s racing career. Now THAT\”S innovation!
Gee Vance, you started out so nice and intelligently in your comment, and then every thing past the 2nd paragraph turns into a stinking slop-pail of boneheadedness. What\’s the matter? Eat some bad turkey or something?
Judging by the article and the pics, I\’d be willing to imagine these girls are fairly intelligent and responsible. They\’re probably not going to notoriously start a practice of hustling worn out rims, chains, and stolen bikes picked up cheap from crackheads. Anyway, it\’s just three women in a start-up business working out of a garage. How anyone can imagine such an operation will have a dramatically negative effect on very many people is beyond me.
Sounds like Vance has alittle bit of the \”poor me with no business sense and no friends to listen to my problem\” type of life going on. The Farm is raining on his masculine parade…and Farmers, if you see some creep walking past your garage and staring at you all from behind some bushes across the street, I would put a bet on it that it\’s Vance. Unless of course his Mom doesn\’t let him out of the basement unsupervised. Go Bike Farm!
Vance, chill!
You write: \”… used biking equipment is a bad idea.\”
I agree with you 100 percent about that, but I didn\’t get the idea that the Bike Farm will be selling used equipment. It appears, from this article at least, that their sales will be limited to \”basic supplies like tubes and patch kits.\”
No doubt about it, I qualify as a \”dumbass\” in Vance\’s book, at least about bike mechanics, but all my experiences through the years at my neighborhood bike repair shop — Sellwood Cycle & Repair — have been totally positive and unintimidating. Actually, I get a kick out of going in there because the guys are really friendly and fun to talk to. And don\’t think there\’s any flirting going on because I\’m 57 and they\’re in their 20\’s and 30\’s! They\’re just nice, knowledgeable, trustworthy pros. I\’ve also had positive experiences at three different Bike Galleries.
That said, I appreciate the list Vance provided of venues offering bike maintenance classes because, as I use my bikes more and more for daily transportation, I can see that it would be desirable to be able to do my own basic, every day type maintenance. But I will always prefer to support my friendly local bike mechanics and have them do the big stuff, such as the overhaul I\’ve scheduled for the first week in December while I\’m on vacation in Florida.
To Vance and Steve:
What is your guys\’ problem? Ariel,Becca and Jennifer, along with many others(males and females) have been working hard to get the Bikefarm started and are trying to offer a good service.Why would you be at all opposed to this? Not everyone who rides their bike can afford to go to bikeshops for repairs. I support several of our local bikeshops, Veloshop and Sellwood are the top two on my list but if need be I\’ll go into the Bike Gallery or CCC for some quick fixes, but having the option of going to the Bikefarm and having people who know how to work on bikes charge way less to do simple repairs, and/or can help show me how to fix my bike myself seems nothing short of a great addition to the neighborhood.
Of course the Bikefarm can not start out being open normal business five times a week, they are brand new and a nonprofit.Trying to degrade everyone behind putting this together because they aren\’t \”pros\” and because it is a fledgling repair shop seems ridiculous.
I haev a lot of friends who know how to work on bikes, lots of them are involved in the Bikefarm, but I am still sometimes intimidated working alongside them, due to my amazing ability to not comprehend the mechanics of my bicycle.Knowing that I can ride over to the Bikefarm, which is a mere 6 or so blocks from my house, to get help when needed, and not just hoping my friends won\’t mind me barging into their homes with some repair wishlist makes me very appreciative and relieved.
Please think about the huge amount of effort and determination that goes into getting something like this running, and value expanding the bike comunity rather than trying to berate the individuals who are making a dream become a reality.
Hey now! Let\’s encourage people to be on bikes, eh? Not everyone can afford expensive bikes. Should that stop them from riding? No. Not everyone can afford to have their basement bike overhauled at the shop. Should that stop them? No.
We are all reading this website because of one common factor, bicycles. Why is there so much separation within this community? It is no better than the fashion industry or even the car industry (two shitty industries).
I do wonder if the reaction would be different if the picture showed the men of Bike Farm. Would these men still be complaining about \”little girls\”? And anyway, \”Little girls\” have a place in this world too.
Let\’s hear it for ladies trying to promote the bike world! Let\’s hear it for cheap education! and heck…Let\’s hear it for the people who complain because didn\’t get it together to think of this idea themselves!
HEAR HEAR Bike Farm!
From a bicycling standpoint, the more places people can go to gain skills and get help with repairs, the better. Bravo to the BikeFarm!
Despite what Vance has said, there are still significant social impediments to women who want to be self-reliant in fields like bike mechanics. One of the places where people often acquire such skills while growing up is with parents. To the extent that Dad in the garage is still more likely to teach his son than his daughter these things, these inequalities are perpetuated.
The problem of job insecurity among working class people who practice trades like bicycle mechanics is huge, but it cannot be solved by trying to perpetuate other social inequities.
Also, it is grossly unfair to insinuate that the women behind BikeFarm have anything other than completely honorable intentions, or that they would invite fencing of stolen parts.
I pity the haters.
And just for the record, I\’m staunchly pro cute-girls-on-bikes.
I think those girls are beautiful and they, among others at Bike Farm, have done a wonderful job bringing it along.
-B
Vance,
Just because someone is a mechanic in a \”respected\” bike shop in no way guarantees that they are properly trained or qualified to work on bikes either. Some are, but the majority are not.
And there are many issues to deal with in going to a bigger shop, where the main goal is to sell new bikes. Issues that can easily persuade people to look for other options.
We have many co-op, and used, shop options here in Portland. Some have been around quite a while, and some not so long.
Now we have one more.
Now we have one more.
This is a fact.
Vance, you have simply affirmed in your above note that,indeed, being a \’dumb-ass\’ is completely genderless.
Bike Farm @ NE 13th and Roselawn?
Isn\’t that an \”intersection repair\” /City Repair site with painted rainbow polka dots in the street?
Sweet!
Vance… wow you are a surly dude.
I didn\’t think that it was possible to find fault in what these women are starting but alas Vance, you\’ve proven me wrong… nicely done.
Early on as I started riding, I had plenty of really poorly executed bike repairs paying full fare at the local bike shop. I often had to undo their \”professional\” work.
Given these people are doing this work out of a sense of community and love for bikes, I\’d trust their work any day over all but a handful of trusted mechanics.
I am reading these comments from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, home of Bikeworks.
Bikeworks is the community shop run by The Edmonton Bicycle Commuter\’s Society and has been in operation for better than 25 years.
I volunteer at Bikeworks as the senior mechanic and although I could work professionally in a \”real\” shop I choose to volunteer my time teaching people how to maintain their own bicycles and teach our volunteers.
I also sit on the board of the EBCS.
On the topic of volunteers, I would have to say that some of the best and brightest mechanics we have are women… not little girls.
A number of these women are more than capable of tuning your ride and after tuning up your ride also have the ability to drop you at will and look much better doing it.
So… I think this is a kick ass idea as there can never be enough bicycle co-ops in this world and I have every intention of visiting the Bike Farm when I am in Portland for the NAHB show.
I will do what I can as an individual and as a board member of another bicycle co-op to help support these women in this venture.
I even suspect that these fine ladies might be able to teach this old wrench a thing or two