Make like a mechanic

Right to Move provides the tools and the teachings
for DIY bicycle repair

by MELISSA BARIL

Six-piece screwdriver set: $8.99. Set of Allen keys: $9.99. Bike pump: $7.49. Tuning up your own bicycle in time for summer: priceless.

Or at least cheaper than taking it to a repair shop.

If you have lots of money or hardly ever ride your bike, doing your own repairs is probably not for you. But if you’re one of the many Montrealers who use their bicycle as a mode of transportation, learning to do your own repairs can be rewarding, both mentally and fiscally. Right to Move, a volunteer-run bicycle repair co-op, can help.

“Our goal is to empower people to learn to use tools themselves,” says Robin Black, a Right to Move volunteer and Concordia student. Operating for eight years in the alley behind Concordia’s Hall Building, Right to Move is the only organization of its kind in Montreal. For $20 a year, its 500 members have access to all the tools of the trade and a garage where they can get advice and training from eight knowledgeable mechanics.

But they won’t do the work for you. With limited hours and long line-ups, the mechanics can get quite busy, so the onus is on the bicycle owner to learn to be self-sufficient. Although the savings are substantial (a simple tune-up costs $30 at a repair shop), this can still be daunting. “It’s not for everybody,” acknowledges Black.

“It all depends,” says Pierre-Luc Langlois, a manager at ABC Cycles on Parc and St-Viateur. “If you have a $150 bike, it might be worth it to do your own repairs. If it’s a professional model, on the other hand, you might be better off seeing a professional. Some of the new technologies can be complicated.”

Even if you do decide to pay for professional repairs, as with a car it always pays to be savvy when dealing with mechanics. “Cyclists want a store that gives them an honest opinion of what needs to be done, and tries to make things work, instead of just telling them to replace everything,” says Black. “What we can do is tell people what needs to be done so they can go into bike stores and say, ‘This is what needs to be done.’”

But expensive repairs aren’t the only problem. Bicycle stores get busy during the peak cycling months from March to September, and have long waiting lists. McWhinnie on Sherbrooke in NDG has a delay of seven to 10 days for repairs. At ABC, tune-ups are done by appointment only, and Langlois warns customers to expect a week’s delay for repairs. For devoted cyclists, that can be a long time to be without their main mode of transportation. And with more people using their bicycles, it could get even worse as the summer goes on.

Right to Move, on the other hand, allows you to come in without an appointment, and do your repairs on the spot. And when you do your repairs yourself, you can make sure they’re done right.

As Black explained, “A lot of stores are just pressed. You can imagine that if they’re trying to get 3000 bikes ready for spring, they’re not going to put all the love and attention into them that they need.”

Right to Move (1455 de Maisonneuve) is
open Monday–Friday from 6–9 p.m.