As Cal State Long Beach increased its efforts to get more bicyclists safely on the road, a bike cooperative has been gaining support from students and the Long Beach community.
Habitat Unto Bicyclists (H.U.B.), which was founded by CSULB alumni Allyson Clark, opened in early April.
“We’ve had a steady stream of people at max capacity,” Clark said.
Former and current CSULB students have been working as bike mechanics at the bike cooperative.
Hancock University donated the site to the H.U.B. for six months.
“We get donated bikes, but getting the tools is the hard part,” Clark said. “Right now we’re working with the city to try and get more stuff.”
During the H.U.B.’s grand opening, community members took the opportunity to meet other bikers and learn about the different programs the H.U.B. offered.
The goal of the H.U.B. is to teach others how to maintain their own bikes through cheap labor and solid equipment, as well as promote community bonding.
Former teaching major Graham Baden is one of the lead mechanics at the H.U.B. He currently works for Jax Bicycle Center, but also volunteers his time at the H.U.B.
“I wanted to be a teacher, so I decided to be a bike teacher,” Baden said.
Earn-A-Bike, a program where people trade 72 volunteer-hours for a new bike, has been the most popular program at the bike cooperative.
Long Beach resident Brandon Atkins volunteers every Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. for seven weeks in order earn a new speed bike. During those volunteer hours, Atkins helps organize and clean the H.U.B. When he is not volunteering, he works on his new bike by assembling the parts on his new bike.
Whether people come in with a bike or volunteer time for a bike, lead mechanic and senior engineering major Cypress Kuhn said, “I’m teaching them everything I’m doing.”
Junior mechanical engineering major Gabriel Martin has been learning bike mechanics from Kuhn and Baden ever since he began volunteering for the H.U.B.
“It’s confidence,” Martin said.” “They put the tools in people’s hands, giving them the knowledge.”
Many students on campus claim they do not know how to fix their own bikes and think that a bike cooperative would “provide a greater sense of community among riders and students,” said Jeffrey Acance, senior anthropology major.
The H.U.B. charges $7 an hour for bike check-ups, whereas bike shops such as Jax charge $10 to $30, according to Baden.
“If the volunteer is well-skilled and knowledgeable, I would most certainly choose her or him over a shop such as Jax’s,” Acance said. The H.U.B. is located at 1736 Long Beach Blvd. near the Metro Station on Pacific Coast Highway. It is open Friday through Sunday noon to 5 p.m. and Monday from 2 -7 p.m.
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