Toronto DIY Bike Shops

Did you know that in Toronto there are quite a few DIY bike shops where you can fix your bicycle yourself, with or without expert help? Well, there are, and here are the ones I had a chance to use personally.

I started writing this a few years back when bicycles were becoming a lifestyle. Recent events (video) suggest that the provincial government and premier Doug Ford in particular may be waging a war on bikes, part of a wider war on Toronto. That makes opportune showing that there’s a strong community a cyclists in Toronto that cannot be obliterated by legislative changes at provincial level.

Given the increase in bicycle use, I thought I share with anyone interested the DIY (do it yourself) bike shops I have used throughout the years. In all of them you can typically service your bike (fix it) with used parts and often, time permitting, competent advice from volunteer staff; you can also buy new parts and so you should if you can afford it and also make a donation for the time and tools you used.

Gateway Bike Hub M-F 10-4, 10 Gateway Blvd map; Located in North York, Andre (great name, right?) and his team are sponsored by Toronto Recycling (to-recycle) and might even provide free bikes to people in need in the neighbourhood. Other similar programs are run by Access Alliance (aa-bh) and CultureLink (cl-bh).

BikeChain DIY MTWF 10-5, Th 12-8; FullS Fri appt; 230 College St., Huron Entrance map; Beth, David and the rest of their wonderful team provide workshops and free bicycle rentals to U of T students, but they are open to the wider community as well. Follow their Ig account to learn about their events.

BikePirates TuW 6-9pm, SaSu 12-4; 1564 Bloor St W map; Located in Parkdale last I checked (they’ve moved around a bit), this was originally an anarchist collective with strong LGBTQ programming (BC above have it too).

Bikesauce M, W-Th 5 PM - 8 PM, Sa 12-3; 341 BROADVIEW AVENUE map; serving mostly the East End, last I checked there were huge line-ups but luckily, there’s also a bike stand with its tools stolen located right outside of it.

Apart from the aforementioned DIY bike shops, there are numerous regular, “full service” shops selling and fixing bicycles for a fee. One of the better equipped is Urban Cycles at College and Spadina, but there are numerous others, as shown in the links below.

Finally, though not currently a member, the Toronto Tool Library (only $55/yr) is worthy of a mention, and so are their partners: Not Far From the Tree, organizing local fruit harvests, and the Center for Social Innovation, a social enterprise.

Sources / More info: c2diy, bt-t5, ttl, tbcs, yl-b10, fxcb, tcbc, dbs, tbr, to-recycle, aa-bh, tc-marvmac, cl-bh

azn: #bike, #bicycle, #biking, #cycling, #bike repair, #diy, #do it yourself, #self-help, #selfhelp, #biketo (Tags)