The Erie Bike Co-op: Building Community on Two Wheels

Erin Phillips

Garrett Raszmann, who has long been part of the cycling community in Erie, has stepped up to help convert and expand upon the Sister of St. Joseph community bike program as it is transformed into a cooperative model as the Erie Bike Co-op.

At the heart of any co-op is cooperation — both literally and figuratively. And cooperation has been the name of the game for the newest iteration of what was originally the Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network's (SSJNN) community bike program (which collected donated bikes and redistributed them into the neediest communities), as it cooperates with local nonprofit and bicycle advocacy group BikeErie to settle into a relaunch of operation and outlook as the Erie Bike Co-op.

The established values of any cooperative organization, and in particular the Erie Bike Co-op, involve a number of tenets including accessibility, empowerment and education, mutual aid and volunteerism, sustainability, and transformation. All of these values center around what project leader Garrett Raszmann states is the overarching goal of the program: "I think of this space as a community space, first and foremost." The Erie Bike Co-op's overarching vision is for "an Erie where bicycles connect people, strengthen communities, and transform lives."

Built over a decade ago as a charitable way to get bikes to those in our community who had the greatest need, and run with limited hours and resources by volunteers from either BikeErie, the SSJNN, or just folks in the cycling community that wanted to help — the program began to realize that their capacity was limited and that the amount of bikes they were receiving as donations was outpacing their ability to repair and rehome them in an efficient way.

Executive director of the SSJNN Heather Caspar shares some of the program's history: "The bike program started as the idea 'Pedal Mettle,' which was conceived of by some Bike Erie members as a program to fix up donated bikes and give them to youth who 'earned' their bike by spending time learning about bike safety and maintenance. Pedal Mettle quickly grew to also get bikes into the hands of adults, especially refugees and New Americans referred from MCRC, USCRI, and Catholic Charities, who needed transportation to work. Bike Erie continued to provide volunteers and donations of bikes grew to the point that we've been giving out between 150 and 250 bikes every year."

The Erie Bike Co-op is working to organize, repair, and rehome the hundreds of donated bikes in storage in their public space at 436 E. 26th St. Raszmann stresses the need for regular volunteers to help with bike maintenance, as well as organizational tasks.

Photo: Erin Phillips

As the groups recently secured grant funding through ECGRA and the Erie Community Foundation, they were able to bring on Raszmann (who is also a board member for BikeErie) to help organize the program, convert it to a cooperative model, expand their services and offerings to serve the general public (no longer as a totally needs-based program), and generally make bikes, maintenance, and educational opportunities more available and affordable to more people with expanded hours.

And that has been the initial goal of the new Erie Bike Co-op — putting systems in place to be able to meet all of those aforementioned cooperative values. Raszmann expands on how the Erie Bike Co-op is working to meet those goals: "With the co-op model, essentially there is a recycling mechanism, where unwanted bikes are aggregated and combined with an opportunity for volunteerism around that. And we then work to get those bikes back to the people who need them the most in an equitable fashion. Additionally, there's sharing of knowledge of bike maintenance, access to tools, and access to education that is equitable as well."

As pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improvements, as outlined in the Active Erie plan (an active transportation plan implemented by the City of Erie to improve conditions for people walking and bicycling in the city), begin to take shape and more of the street-level improvements in that plan are implemented, more and more people in Erie will feel comfortable choosing biking as their mode of transportation (additionally, those who bike because they have to will be safer). With more folks cycling in Erie, the demand for bikes, parts, and services will increase. Raszmann hopes that the Bike Co-op will be able to help fill all of those demands in an affordable and accessible way.

Raszmann is working towards organizing the bikes on hand (and those that continually stream in, either from individual donations or through city/municipality programs, an outlet for abandoned bikes throughout the county) into tiers which include:

Project Bikes: These bikes are in their initial state of donation. There has been very little value added to them in terms of volunteer hours or parts. These are generally available on a sliding scale of payment, which allows people to "pay what they can." There is a suggested price on these bikes of around $30 — but again, that is flexible given the need.

Ready Bikes: These are bikes that have had some amount of maintenance performed on them by a volunteer or had parts replaced or repaired. Raszmann explains, "These are basic, affordable bikes that have been put back into service — volunteers have helped it move from the project room. It's not a full rebuild but it is in good, safe working order."

Fancy Bikes: These are higher grade bikes that have more value, both because of their intrinsic quality but also because of the amount of work put into them. These are still affordable, but more expensive than your basic Ready Bike and the co-op sees these bikes as an income avenue which will aid in the co-op becoming more sustainable in the long run.

Each bicycle available to the public will come with a sheet noting the work that the volunteers at the Erie Bike Co-op have put into it — outlining the value, both in parts and in labor. And the beauty of the co-op model is that if you want a fancy bike but aren't able to afford it, you can volunteer your time to earn it. The Erie Bike Co-op's work/trade program allows folks to swap their time and effort to help improve services at the co-op in exchange for (or as a discount towards) that top-tier, fancy bike.

Raszmann stresses the importance of and need for reliable volunteers — and folks don't necessarily have to know the mechanics of a bicycle in order to help out. As with any business or operation, needs go well beyond what the public sees. Like to work on websites or on social media channels? Good at organizing paperwork, spreadsheets, or schedules? Able to answer questions, clean, or inventory parts? These are all needs where a volunteer's time is valued alongside the obvious needs of folks able to mechanically work on the multitude of donated bikes coming through the doors.

In addition to bikes, parts, and services, the Erie Bike Co-op is also checking off that "education" component of their co-op values by offering regular classes to the public. Coming up in May, they'll be offering Bike Maintenance 101 and Fix-a-Flat Workshops which will take place biweekly on Wednesdays. Bike Maintenance 101 will cover basic safety checks, lubrication, and brake, drivetrain, and bearing adjustments. Fix-a-flat is just as it sounds, as patching, tube reinstalls, and tire pressure will be covered. Both of these classes allow participants to bring their own bikes, so that the lesson will be directly applicable to their individual needs. Classes are limited to five participants and pre-registration is required. And again, these classes are a suggested $30 fee, but, in the spirit of equitability, still on a sliding scale, in a pay-what-you-can way. Volunteers can also exchange their time for class fees.

Caspar notes, "The Erie Bike Co-op will continue to serve youth and adult neighbors in need, just as we've always done. But it can now become so much more — a community space for bicycle enthusiasts, a place to meet for rides, open lab space with tools and parts to fix your bike, and more. More than SSJNN could have ever imagined or made happen on our own."

As a program that was bare-bones but well-intentioned for many years works towards becoming a place people can rely on as a source for obtaining a quality bicycle, parts, service, and education, they need as much support from the community that they can get. For more information on volunteering, attending an event, class, or open house, or making a (much needed and appreciated) monetary donation, please visit their (budding) website at eriebikecoop.com. Open houses are held the last Tuesday of each month and the next open house will be held on Tuesday, April 29 from 4 to 7 p.m.

When not ogling all the fancy bikes available at the Erie Bike Co-op, Erin Phillips can be found at erin@eriereader.com