The Bike Church

Great place to get help with your bike.

LOVE THIS PLACE!
great concept. fixed my cruiser here a while back. did it all myself. so empowering!

Hands on D.I.Y shop with lots of parts available as well as used bins to dig in.
Assemble a great ride with the help of trained volunteers.
I applaud the spirit and helpful can do attitude here. Thank you for all that you offer.

awesome place, awesome idea, awesome people. I just wish it was open more often! Ill be back soon, probably later today, ha1

This place is great! I got great assistance and was walked through the process by very knowledgeable people so that I could understand how to perform these tasks myself in the future. Sometimes it was hard to get someones attention, but that’s because ultimately these guys are offering a very valuable service and it didn’t leave me feeling un-​tended to! If you’re a DIY guy this is the place to go, if you’re not, come here anyway and learn for yourself!

Really cool place! I got a beat up bike, and they helped me fix it. I put on a front brake (which cost $ 3), and new tubes/​tires. It feels great to know how to fix a bike! The staff are very friendly, and helpful.

This place is great! I went there with a small issue that I didn’t have tools for. Not only do they have plenty of bike stands and tools, but the mechanics there help you trouble shoot issues and give you suggestions and different options for repair. I was given some direction and left to do it myself, which was great because how else does one learn? Plus he pointed out a couple of things that I wasn’t aware of. All of that for donation! This Bike Church rocks!

My department store bike was acting funny, and after taking it to two bike shops in town (where it was basically dismissed as crap) I took it to the bike church. I should have gone there first! Yes, you have to do the work yourself, but the price and experience make up for that. It’s a suggested donation of $ 5 per hour, and they helped me (I know NOTHING about bikes) to true my wheel and tighten my brakes.

This is a great idea, but I can’t go down there any longer since it is seemingly impossible to go there without being accosted by the drug dealers (heroin and meth) that hang outside the establishment on the corner all day long, and sometimes camp out and shoot up in the small lot behind Bike Church. In less than an hour over there I saw more than a dozen drug deals. I wish Bike Church would take a minute to be concerned about the sidewalks around their establishment, and the safety of the people who come and go.

This place is great and there’s a feeling of accomplishment in having fixed a bike yourself. They’ll tell you what to do and stay mostly hands-​off so that you can actually learn. I highly recommend this place.

Great place to learn a thing or two. or 12. Make sure you are updated on your shots before entering and be mindful that in the mind of a hipster, being able to smell a person’s ungodly body odor from across the room is a good thing, nay, a great thing… you know… all the pheromones lead to better lovemaking and stuff.
Don’t leave ANYTHING laying around, not even if you are «just walking over to get a cable». If it is nice and it is unattended someone will walk away with it. I usually wear a sweatshirt with pockets or a bag with all my components so they are on me at all times.
I am really glad that this place exists. They helped me build my touring bike for my Canada to Mexico trip two summers ago. I didn’t have a single component fail the whole trip.
Go in with an little research done or at least knowing generally what needs to be done. THEY DO NOT DO BIKE SERVICE. They will help you gain independence through learning yourself. Many people don’t understand this idea and argue with the staff, saying «Dude! I’ll pay you, why don’t you just do it for me… WTF!».
Be stealthy when looking for a bike stand and ask someone who looks like they’re finishing up if you can get their stand when they’re done. I would recommend not going in with any open wounds unless you want a rager of a staph infection. Other than that… you’re on your own.

Editing my review up to 4 stars, just went it today and last night and everyone working was super helpful. I was able to get a few parts I needed and the staff/​volunteers didn’t just tell me what to do, they made sure I knew how to do it too. Will definitely go back now when I need tools, parts or just some maintenance.

Came in for the afternoon service, man this place is awesome.

Great do-​it-​yourself bike shop with a mostly helpful staff. I wish there is a bike church on every corner of every city really. Sometimes they even have entertainment in their courtyard area. If you’re into traveling anarchist circus groups juggling and playing music while somebody helps you to fix your bike, then Bike Church is the place to go. It’s cheap, informative, sustainable, and rewarding.

They suck!
The first time I went in, it was just as they were opening. I knew what I wanted to do, and when I asked employees for advice, they totally side-​tracked me on to something else… and they weren’t even consistent with the sidetracking! I wanted to adjust my brakes and shifters… but somehow, I was convinced to take everything off and apart (cranks, new cables, trued my wheel & one they said was better; plus I disembled the crank and greased the bearings, removed the brakes & cassette, etc)…and then they kicked me out with a non-​functional bike!
Really, if it’s not chaotic like that, then I get completely ignored — like when I went in to buy a part (not even to use a stand), and the dude at the counter pushed past me and fully ignored me when I directly addressed him (I was livid!).
Not only that, but when I took my bike up to the UC co-​op, the folks up there assessed and resolved the issue before I could get back from the water fountain… and they showed me that the wheel I bought from the BC had a bent hub — thanks ***holes!
They only get a star because my two good visits (out of 2 dozen bad ones). That gold star is solely for the short chick (definitely not the tall chick) with glasses who always has chain grease on her hands, and sometimes has a mug of coffee… Thanks, whatever your name is. You’re über knowledgeable, and genuinely sweet.

The pedal on my bike snapped off, so I headed over to Bike Church for my 2^nd time. A garage-​y little place bursting with tools, parts, & repair stands, it was packed full of folks looking for affordable DIY («do it yourself») bike repair. You mean you can use recycled rather than brand new parts for a fraction of the price? AND learn how to fix your own bike in the process? Heck yeah! I had to return to this place on principle alone.
I don’t exactly shine when it comes to bike repair knowledge, so I at first stood there with the proverbial «deer in headlights» look. I needed some guidance (the right tool, etc). I waited patiently for a while, taking in the scene, and observed who was working there and who was visiting. When I figured it out I got the help I needed. How much for my new, recycled pedals? $ 3 + $ 1 for labor for a grand total of…$ 4. You’re kidding. I handed the guy 8 bucks, saying I really appreciated the guidance, empowerment of doing it myself, and affordability. He was stoked.
If you go, just know that you need to be pro-​active, sign in at the computer, and take initiative by asking for help. Community run, the workers are actually trained volunteers. This isn’t a «customer service and everything else handed to you» kind of place. You walk in, get your hands dirty, learn something. Besides, you meet some interesting people and get your bike fixed at a fraction of the cost compared to going to a «bike shop.»
Bike Church– you rock. Every town needs a place like this.

This is what I get for buying a beat up ol bike off craigslist for $ 50.
I take it up to campus for a ride, it makes it downhill, but once i start on an uphill, CRACK goes something and i realize my bike chain had snapped.
embarrased, i roll my bike back to the bike rack and pick it up later by car that day… so much for trying to be environmentally friendly.
I bring it into the bike church around 3:30pm so it wasn’t busy yet, but when i left an hour later, it was packed.
I stood around awkwardly… where do i go what do i do *oh bike tools i have no idea how to use*
finally I approached a girl who would help me to an empty bike stand and prop up my bike and explain to her what was wrong. She got Stephanie to help me, She offered me either a $ 3 used chain or $ 9 new one. not wanting to risk another chain snap, i «splurged» on the new one.
Stephanie showed me how to use the tools and put on my chain. This is a hands-​on experience! I didn’t clean my bike so i got oil EVERYWHERE.
I fixed my bike chain, and told her i needed some help on my brakes. She took a look and we played around at the brakes until we realized it was the wheels that needed some adjusting. So she helped me with that as well.
Eventually I was adjusting them on my own, finding my own tools, oiling my wheels, fixing my brakes, and putting it all back together. I COULDN’T HAVE DONE THAT AN HOUR AGO!
$ 5 an hour donation for their services and tools. Stupid me i forgot i bought a burger earlier that day so I was short on cash. I paid the $ 9 for the chain but didn’t have enough for the $ 5 donation. They said ‘no worries’ and I was on my way!
I came back later with $ 5 because I felt i asked for more help than the next person.
Thanks Bike Church for helping me fix my bike for cheap and being so nice about it!

This place rocks!
Take it from me, when I first started going to the bike church I really didn’t know alot about bikes, or my own bike for that matter. And I walked out of there feeling confident on my used bike, knowing how to fix a tire, fix the brakes, and how to adjust and add parts to my bike.
Everyone working there is super helpful and super rad.
At first this place is a little intimidating but it definitely grows on you. This place is the most helpful bike place in Santa Cruz AND the cheapest place to get new parts.
Sometimes there’s a lot of other bikers trying to get some help with their bikes so I recommend getting there early.
If you need a new part or need to fix something up, check out the bike church.

Went to the Bike Church for my first (and last) time today. I brought the bike in for two problems. They were fairly simple, the staff directed me, left, came back when I corralled them, and I fixed the problems. However, they identified a third problem and provided insufficient help.
The first person to help me gave quick instructions and took off as soon as he could. When I needed help, I found him hanging around a cute young girl, waiting to see if she needed any help – no hurry with her; he had all the time in the world.
The second mechanic was worse. I waited for two minutes for help from him while he told his friend how he’d moved upstairs, was paying less rent, asked whether his friend knew Chris, said yes it could be noisy, etc. ad nauseum. But of course all of that was essential to his friend fixing his wheel. When my staring finally convinced him to pay me some attention, it was «wham bam, thank you ma’m» and off he went to someone else more his age.
In addition, their suggestions were inconsistent and unhelpful. One staff told me to fix the problem one way, left, and the approach didn’t work. Another staff gave different instructions, left, and it didn’t work. After two hours, I was left with an unusable bike that I will have to take to a bike shop. If you know what you’re doing and just need tools, the folks are not busy and can actually help, or if the problem is simple, it’s probably a fine place. Otherwise, just cough up the cash and take your pedals to a real repair place.
If you don’t wear lipstick but do have wrinkles, don’t expect much. Do I think they are ageist and (reverse) sexist? Duh.
I’m sure someone will write in and say, oh it’s not like that at all. So try it yourself. If you could remind them of their father or granddad, expect polite, hurried, and uninterested minimum assistance.

YES! Thank the GODDESSES for this «biciglecia» !
Stopped in (back in my college town of SC for the day, from the SF Bay Area) for a quick tune-​up, and after an hour of playing with tools and pimping our ride, we were on our way with smiles on our faces and a song in our hearts.
The mechanics (i.e. «Ministers») are friendly, helpful, and patient, even with the most un-​savvy of bike riders. Ryan is especially stupendous.
Got my bike lock, ‘sound-​device’ (bell) and a tire-​pump-​sessh, all for very little cash! Check em out — and while you’re there check out the Anarchist Bookstore just next door on Pacific Ave.