Bike Sauce

Sort of like a bike garage that anyone is allowed to use. Stocked with parts, and volunteers circulate and help one another out with repairs.
Bikes are good for the environment and it makes sense to stick all of the equipment you need for repairs in one location rather than every person living downtown having their own bike repair equipment. Also extremely affordable — for an axle repair, ball bearings, the volunteer’s time, and brand new grip tape off the shelves, I paid $ 20. I doubled it because I felt like it was nice to contribute to what is functionally a great community organization.
Only drawback: a little grungy; probably not for people who aren’t willing to get their hands dirty.

Today was my second time and another successful visit. Was helped by 3 of the staff whenever I had questions about what to do next and they were all helpful. Alejandro was the guy I worked with the most. What a great guy. They even served us all lunch and we all ate together. It’s volunteers so be patient and supportive. Take your time. I used to go to thr typical bike shops and pay so much more for everything.
This is a great option to get your hands a bit dirty and learn something. This is my shop to get what I need done and enjoy the process. And please donate what you can to keep the shop in business!

Bike Sauce offers tools and parts for DIY repairs, as well as help from volunteers if you’re unsure how to fix it. I wanted to take some accessories off an old bicycle and install it on my new bike, which I was hoping the volunteers would help me with. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much help. I had zero knowledge of what I was doing, and when I asked for help I would be brushed off with one step instructions. I was there for over an hour, had barely started on the project, and with no real assistance, I decided to leave. Frustrated, I went home and youtube’d instructional videos. I had the whole project done within 20 minutes.

FYI– they have moved to 235 Broadview, intersection of Dundas and Broadview.
As Ilan mentioned, the summer months can require patience, but its the best bang for your buck in bike repair!
They are a non-​profit organization, everyone you see there is a volunteer. They stay afloat by donations and by selling the refurbished bikes, so having those bikes to sell is important for both them & the community. Many times if a volunteer is working on a bike, its refurbishing a donated bike when there is a free stand available. If you’re unsure about something, just ask them! They don’t always know you need help if you’re keeping to yourself.
And yes, its DIY to the core, don’t come expecting anyone to just do it for you, but they have some volunteers who are really great teachers and patient with those of us who are new to bike mechanics!

I’ve been going to and volunteering at Bike Sauce on and off for about a year now. It is the essence of a DIY bike shop — the volunteers will help you but will not do the work for you. Usually there are two experienced volunteers and a handful of occasional volunteers available to help out. The shop can get very busy — especially on weekends — so go in with some patience for the people who are volunteering. Remember, nobody is paid to be there and everybody tries to help to the best of their abilities.
As for tools and equipment, Sauce is extremely well-​stocked. There are multiples of most common bike tools and about 9 bike stands that can be set up where ever there is space. If you require some specific tool, you can ask a volunteer who will point you in the right direction.
If you want to repair your bike yourself, if you want to learn how to repair, or if you just want to hang out in the lounge, I cannot recommend the Sauce (as it’s known) any higher.

I haven’t been to this venue in a long time due to my poor experiences in the past, however I will base this review on the experiences that I have had in the past at this location. So keep in mind there’s a chance it might’ve improved since the last time I was there.
I’ve had very few good experiences at this location. When I initially started working on my bike at this do-​it-​yourself bike repair shop, the help I got was very scarce. The volunteers there are more focused on working on their own projects than helping the people there that are working on their bikes. I screwed up a few things on my bike in result, and was without it for quite the extended period of time.
The best experience I had at this location was when I was the only person there, and the volunteer who was there that night didn’t have a project she was working on, so she focused on helping me the most. In result we got everything done that I needed to get done on my bike that night.
I wish I had more experiences at this location, however the last time I was there I cleaned my chain and all the surrounding drive components. When they were closing, they rushed me out of the place, so I forgot to oil all the moving parts (including the chain).
Ever since I found Bike Pirates, I’ve only been going to them as they’re a bit closer to where I live, but most importantly the volunteers there are always there to help and there isn’t the opportunity of you screwing up the way there is at Bike Sauce. One of the volunteers at Bike Sauce once said «It’s OK as long as you don’t hurt yourself. If you break something on your bike, we can fix it.» This isn’t a word-​for-​word quote, however that’s what I got from what he said, and that now really makes me feel how a «Don’t guess, ask somebody» attitude that Bike Pirates has works so much better in ensuring you don’t break more stuff that you fix on your bike while working on it.