Wrenches without Borders?

I've written about my volunteering at the adopt-a-shelf program at the North Brunswick Library. I've got another volunteer spot: on Tuesday nights, I zip down to Olden Avenue in Ewing, and rehabilitate donated bicycles for the Trenton Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange. It's an activity of the Princeton Freewheelers Bicycle Club, with whom I ride regularly.

The Exchange takes donated bikes, in a range of styles and conditions, gets 'em into working order, and sells 'em. Some, especially little kids' bikes, are really inexpensive; almost all of them are real bargains. There are a few that are collector's items, and those are premium-priced – but I don't remember seeing any over $300.

Some of the donated bikes are rusted wrecks, barely useful for a few salvageable parts. Many, though, are in good shape, having only the few bike ailments common to most neglected bikes: dust, dirt, and bug casings (clean up with soap and water); flat tires (tubes are cheap – and porous; many times, all the tires need is some air); squeaky chain (oil it!).

I've worked on a bunch of kid's bikes; they usually shape up quickly, and it's a good return for a small amount of work (although getting those small tires on and off the wheels is sometimes a challenge). I remember a mountain-style bike I worked on; I don't know why it was donated. The gears shifted as smooth as pudding, the brakes were tight and responsive, the tires and tubes were good. It looked like it had barely been ridden (and perhaps that was true). My favorite, though, was a 26” girls beach cruiser, with chrome and fenders. It only needed some straightening of the front fork, air in the tires, and a cleaning. My fantasy is that it was bought by some ol' gal who's going to put a basket on the front, and maybe some plastic flowers, and use it for her grocery shopping and to deliver lunches to some of the sick people in her church. (But I've also had a geared bike that was a bit more than I bargained for; I was quietly proud of getting that one ready to sell, although I would never have admitted what a challenge it turned out to be... except I guess I just did.)

They're open Thursday nights and Saturdays... but I go on Tuesdays because it's wrenching only; no customers to get in the way. There's another mechanic about my age who's a regular, and a bunch of younger guys who could be my kids. There's a fellow who drops by who deals antique and collectible bikes, who gives us mechanical pointers and the lore of the bicycles of thirty and a hundred years ago (he has the most excellent moustache!). We have a range of knowledge and experience. There's one young guy who gets so focused that it's a bit alarming. Another appears to be having so much fun putting the bikes together that he might be paying for the privilege.

I get weekly emails about the progress of the program; they've sold over a thousand bikes this year, if I remember, and given tens of thousands of dollars to the Boys & Girls Club of Trenton. Local Trenton residents buy the bikes for their kids, or themselves, and there are also arrangements for sales of bikes to Princeton University students.

Every week, I see one that I'd like to take home and REALLY work on. But if I brought them all home, there wouldn't be enough room in the house for me, the bikes, and my wife... and I'm most eager to hang onto her. So I'll be going back to Ewing on Tuesday.