Bike kitchen

Bikekitchen Augsburg workshop room

Bicycle self-help workshops are operated worldwide under the name Bikekitchen (in English: Bike Kitchen or Bicycle Cooperative ) .

origin

The first “Bike Kitchen” was founded in 2002 in the kitchen of an unused apartment in Los Angeles. Based on the success of this project, the term spread all over the world.

Bikekitchens became known in Europe through the Wiener Bikekitchen. In Germany, the Bikekitchen Munich and the free screwdrivers Bremen opened in 2010, the Bikekitchen Augsburg in 2011, the Bikekitchen Mainz in 2013.

Bicycle self-help workshops have been around for much longer. The "Fahrrad.Selbsthilfe.Werkstatt" in the Viennese cultural center WUK (workshop and culture house) has existed since 1983. In larger German cities, e.g. B. Berlin or Leipzig, there are often several bicycle self-help workshops in different parts of the city.

A Bikekitchen can be recognized as a non-profit association (example: Bikekitchen Munich as an “Association for the Promotion of Bicycle Culture ”, officially “Promotion of environmentally friendly modes and means of transport”).

description

A typical bike kitchen consists of a room that can be used as a bike workshop with the appropriate bike tool equipment. Users can repair their bikes themselves there. You will receive help and repair tips and can fall back on a pool of used bicycle parts. Some bike kitchens also sell used bicycles and offer repair courses.

A second component is cooking and eating together after the workshop time. This is intended to expand the purely technical aspect of a workshop to include the idea of ​​community and joint activity. The concept is similar to that of the people's kitchens .

Many bike kitchens work non-commercially in self-administration. From a certain size, organizational structures are typical in order to secure financing, the border to commerciality is fluid. Bike kitchens, however, usually have no profit-making intent and no commercial character. Financing on a donation basis is typical; fixed hourly rates for use are also possible. Use should also be possible for people without money. Then the “consideration” is given by providing practical help.

Bike kitchens are sometimes involved in larger bike projects. Typically, there are offers of help for refugees to enable them to bike mobility, bike riding schools for women and the production of everyday objects from bike parts. Also with the Allgemeine Deutsche Fahrrad-Club e. V. (ADFC) there are connections, e.g. B. in the form of the shared use of workshop rooms, in Augsburg the district association is also the sponsor of the Bikekitchen. The ADFC district association Duisburg operates a bike kitchen itself.

The name "Bikekitchen" is not protected. Some workshops modify it, for example B. the "VeloKitchen Dortmund".

activities

Some bike kitchens build freak bikes for their own needs, e.g. B. Tall bikes . Out of an interest in technology, out of the desire for unconventionality and in order to convey their convictions (recycling and upcycling) to the outside world. Various workshops are also offered, for example to build special bikes such as cargo bikes or bicycle trailers from “waste material” .

Most bike kitchens are closely associated with the Critical Mass movement. This also includes the organization of naked bike rides .

Since 2011 there have been annual "Cyclocamps" where operators of self-help workshops meet to exchange ideas and plan joint projects.

Bikekitchen activists in many cities are also politically committed to the bicycle as a means of transport and to other political issues, for example refugee work and women's rights. As part of the refugee work, BK-Aktive undertake mobile repair missions to asylum shelters and organize intercultural repair courses, multilingual if required. In addition, there are cycling training courses for migrants and refugees.

The relatively new sport of bike polo is also popular in the bike kitchen scene.

Participation in district festivals, street events and cultural events - e.g. B. with a bike course or outdoor activities (Parking Day) - are also typical activities for bike kitchens.

International

Bicycle self-help workshops under the name "Bikekitchen" are spread around the world. Achieve national awareness z. B. the "London Bike Kitchen" or the "Bike Kitchen San Francisco" . Bike kitchens are also being created in Eastern Europe, e. B. the "Bike Kitchen Budapest".

Some bike kitchens have already entered into partnerships with one another or have formed networks.

In Italy the term “Bikekitchen” is rarely used, here one speaks of “Ciclofficina” . The largest are in Milan, Rome and Turin.

One of the best-known French bicycle self-help workshops is called “uN p'Tit véLo dAnS La Tête” and is located in Grenoble.

Mobile bike kitchens

Due to the non-commercial orientation, not every bike kitchen is able to finance a workshop space. An alternative is to set up a mobile workshop that can be brought to the site quickly and easily. The combination of a permanent workshop and mobile use is also common. There are compact mobile workshop solutions on bicycle trailers or larger variants, e.g. B. in construction vehicles or ISO containers . Examples are the Bikekitchen Munich and the Bikekitchen Linz.

Web links

• Bikekitchen Vienna
• Bikekitchen Munich
• Bikekitchen Augsburg
• freelancer * Bremen
• VeloKitchen Dortmund
• World map of the "Bicycle cooperatives"

swell

1. ↑ World map of the Bicycle cooperatives
2. ↑ Video about the Bikekitchen Wien at Vimeo
3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Fahrrad.Selbsthilfe.Werkstatt in the WUK ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Bikekitchen Munich is an association to promote cycling culture (officially promoting environmentally friendly modes and means of transport)
6. ↑ The Bristol Bike Project
7. ↑ Bikekitchen project description ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ Bikekitchen of the ADFC Duisburg ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ The VeloKitchen Dortmund
10. ↑ http://bikekitchenaugsburg.wordpress.com/unsere-eigenbauten/
11. ↑ Cyclocamp
12. ↑ VOLLDABEI Fahrradclub Augsburg ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ http://bikekitchenaugsburg.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/bikekitchen-goes-bikepolo/
14. ↑ Parking Day
15. ↑ Bike Collectives Wiki, list of organizations
16. ↑ http://bikekitchenaugsburg.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/offizielle-freundschaft-mit-dem-bristol-bike-projekt/
17. ↑ http://www.heureux-cyclage.org/Les-ateliers-velo-dans-le-monde.html?lang=en
18. ↑ http://www.ptitvelo.net/
19. ↑ http://www.werkstatt-lastenrad.de/index.php?title=Berliner_Lastenrad-Netzwerk#Die_mobile_Werkstatt
20. ↑ http://bikekitchen.de/2013/06/07/diesen-sonntag-die-bikekitchen-beim-obz/
21. ↑ Bikekitchen Linz ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.