nonprofit Falls City Community Bikeworks continues to aid public amidst pandemic
Updated: Oct 29, 2020
nonprofit Falls City Community Bikeworks continues to aid public amidst pandemic
Falls City Community Bikeworks is a nonprofit community bike shop in the historic Shelby Park neighborhood of Louisville, KY. Volunteer bike experts and mechanics offer opportunities for learning bicycle repair skills to the public. Currently open on Sundays from 1-4pm for "COVID hours", they plan on offering workshops to educate attendees on repairing and upgrading bicycles throughout the upcoming season.
Located off Logan Street, walking into FCCB can feel disorienting at first; there are colorful work stations filled with an astonishing assortment of tools everywhere you look! You'll probably be greeted by a friendly volunteer if they aren't too busy at a bike stand helping someone with a repair or tune-up.
FCCB has any part you could ever need for you bike. With over 150 donated bikes onsite at any time, thousands of parts have been salvaged and organized with extra work stations in the additional space upstairs.
You can spread out, hang out, and get some fresh air in the courtyard just outside the workshop. You'll find many "project-in-the-works" with bikes of all colors, shapes and sizes. Tall bikes, short bikes, kid bikes, wheelchair-bikes, tandems, unicycles; you name it, they have it!
It's also fun to check out the old stable that has been converted to extra storage for bike and part overflow! John Krueger, FCCB co-founder, talked about the history of the buildings in our previous video from last year.
FCCB microtour with Beargrass Thunder
Nathan Green, FCCB Shop Manager, welcomes anyone who needs to come in for help with their bike. You'll get one-on-one help from a volunteer bike expert who will help you learn the tools needed to complete your repair or upgrade. Some common things to bring your bike in for include replacing and repairing cables, chains, tubes, and tires, as well as installing new parts or upgrades.
While we were there, we learned that every year around December, volunteers gather for a "Kid's Bike Fix-Em-Up" event where previously donated kid's bikes are repaired and restored by community members who donate the bikes and get them to families in time for the holidays.
You can see upcoming events and reserve a spot on FCCB's Facebook Event page. You can also make a donation through Facebook or the Donation tab on the official website. Material donations are accepted, but according to John Krueger,
"What we really need is more people to come in here, work on bikes, to get them out into the community."
"We're going to have more programs where people can come in and work on a bike, and earn a bike."
We encourage readers to support FCCB by visiting them during open hours, volunteering, donating, participating in events and workshops, and following them on social media!
It was great to return to Falls City Community Bikeworks, and we appreciate all the time, effort, and hard work from the volunteers that went into these new renovations and improvements to this amazing space. FCCB is truly a unique asset to our community. We look forward to producing more content with them in the future!
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