GAMBIER — A pile of spare parts might just be the start of your next ride.
At Kenyon College’s Bike Barn, a nondescript concrete building tucked off the beaten path, students turn neglected bicycles into working rides.
Inside, the clutter may only make sense to those who know the shop, but every piece has a purpose, and every repair offers a chance to learn.
“We’ll do just about everything, and if we don’t know how to do it, (we) figure it out,” Liam Owen, a sophomore and student worker at the Bike Barn, said.
The work often involves common problems, such as a tire needing to be replaced or a shifter that won’t stop spinning.
However, the skill isn’t inherent. Owen said he had no bicycle repair experience before joining the shop.
“I got taught by a (past) senior and the current senior pretty much everything I know,” Owen said.
This is a common practice in the shop. Experienced workers pass down their knowledge to keep the shop running as students graduate and new volunteers take their place.
Learning by doing
Mo Helser, an advisor to the Bike Barn, said teaching people to maintain their bicycles is an important part of the shop’s work.
“A lot of what they do is educating students and people in the community on how to know your bike, how to understand your bike and also how to keep an eye on the important things to keep yourself safe,” Helser said.
Students gain practical mechanical skills while learning how to work with customers. They also get a firsthand look at managing a small operation.
The shop serves Kenyon students, faculty and staff. Some local residents also bring their bicycles in for help.
For students, having a working bicycle can open up more of Gambier. Helser said the shop encourages students to explore beyond campus and connect with the surrounding community.
Owen has noticed more students talking about the Bike Barn during his time there. He hopes people recognize it as a place to turn when bicycle trouble strikes.
When a repair becomes too complicated, the shop refers customers to a local bike shop. It also sends customers elsewhere when they need parts the Bike Barn cannot provide.
Electric bikes and scooters are another matter. The Bike Barn does not service them because of their specialized technology and battery-storage concerns.
For conventional bicycles, however, students are willing to work through the problem. Student workers explain to visitors what went wrong and how riders can avoid similar trouble in the future.
A shop with a past
The building itself has a rich history.
Skip Trask, who helps oversee the shop, said it originally housed a bicycle business run by Gambier resident Chuck Harris. After Harris died, Kenyon acquired the property and kept it as a bike shop.
Trask remembered Harris as an inventor who was rarely short on projects. His workshop was cluttered, and he spent his time tinkering with bicycles and their parts.
Harris built his own bikes and developed bicycle-related inventions. One project was a bicycle-powered lawn mower, which he built after village officials raised concerns about his unmowed lawn.
The building still carries traces of Harris’ inventive spirit, and spokes still hang from the rafters where various bicycle parts hang.
For years, Kenyon provided bicycles to international students to use during their college careers. Students returned the bikes when they left.
Helser and Trask said that program is no longer viable under current international rules. Yet, the shop still finds uses for bicycles that students leave behind at the end of the academic year.
Students know that abandoned bikes will go to the Bike Barn. Workers then sort through them to determine which can be repaired or reused.
“Nothing goes to waste,” Trask said.
The shop also offers summer bike storage for $25. The service protects bicycles from the weather and helps keep them secure while students are away. The fees help cover parts and services.
In the near future, the Bike Barn also plans to offer winter bike storage.
Keeping the actual property in good shape takes cooperation with other parts of the college. Helser said the Bike Barn works with Kenyon departments and the Philander Chase Conservancy, the college’s land trust.
Keeping the wheels turning
The shop’s student-run structure brings its own complications.
Students may spend several years learning the work before graduation takes them elsewhere. Helser said that turnover makes it challenging to preserve knowledge and train new volunteers.
The location presents another hurdle. The Bike Barn sits far enough from the main campus that students may not always think to visit.
Still, the workers are making changes to improve the operation. The shop now has three workstations, giving students more room to work on repairs.
Weiss, another student involved with the Bike Barn, also created an inventory system. It will help workers track bicycles and better understand how many bikes the shop handles.
Trask estimated the Bike Barn serves a couple hundred people over the course of a year.
“Having a bike connects (students) to the community,” Helser said. “We always try to encourage our students to bridge over to the community, interact and experience where they’re at currently. That’s part of their college experience. Having a bike helps with that.”
(Here are Alexandra Hopkins’ photos of the Bike Barn).
