I first rolled up to bike pirates about five years ago and I think its come a long way since then.
My first experience of this place was pretty intimidating/negative. I was treated rudely by a surly bikejock manarchist who made me feel pretty stupid and ashamed for not knowing basic things about my bike and for not doing ongoing bike cleaning/maintenance. I didn't return until women and trans hours were implemented a couple of years ago and since then I've only had really positive experiences.
I really think that having the women/trans only space is just the thing to turn this place around and make the space/community more accessible to everyone. Bike culture (and anarchist culture as well) can be male-dominated/ grossly macho.. so bike pirates is doing a good job of keeping these factors in check. Recently, there have been LGBTQ only nights at bike pirates as well and I really support exclusive spaces for people from marginalized communities to feel particularly welcome and included in bike/anarchist/diy culture. Yay!
Way to go bike pirates, your women and trans day volunteers are super friendly and helpful. I've learned a lot from you!
There are some recommendations I'd make to people who want to go to bike pirates to fix their bike:
- go as early in the day as possible, or you may be on a waiting list for space in the workshop. the waiting lists can get very long.
- use the workspace if you generally already know what you need to do/how to fix your bike and just need materials, a second opinion, or a little guidance. if you show up expecting to learn everything from scratch its unlikely you're going to get the attention you need because this place is busy and volunteer-run. you can overhaul your bike (or build a bike) here but you will need to come back for repeat visits.
- this sort of environment best suits the kind of people who can learn through doing/experimenting/playing around because the way that skills are taught here is often through trial and error and exploration. the volunteers will give suggestions/advice, show you what to do, and help you troubleshoot but every bike is different and problems present in different ways so you have to get the knack of what works for your bike.
- if you show up hoping to learn some new skills or fix problems you don't understand, break things down and focus on one issue/skill at a time as a courtesy to other folks who might be waiting and also because the attention of the volunteers/mechanics is so divided and they're there for support and skill sharing not full one-on-one time.
- if the staff seem breezy, its because there's a lot of people requiring their help and their role requires a lot of problem solving and thinking on different levels as well as customer service. remember this before you assume they're being rude.
- donate generously if you're able to, because this place runs on donations and its wonderful and refreshing to have pwyc bike parts/services.
Have fun!