In our DIY projects, we repaired some bicycles that were given to the Altes Bahnwerk, and it was so much fun! We taught each other what we knew and watched tutorials on the internet for a few things, which allowed us to solve all the issues – and afterwards, we could all repair everything! Changing tires, patching tubes, swapping the rear wheel, adjusting gears: all no longer a problem now!! Yes, we can do it!!
And afterward, we were able to ride the bikes to the lake too 🙂

Fixing bikes was perhaps the most useful thing we have learned! Everyone (well, not actually everyone… but quite a lot of people) enjoy riding bicycles. However, for many, even a flat tire is a catastrophe, let alone anything related to the brakes! And if specialized repair shops are always needed for such minor repairs, or if people end up buying new bicycles instead of fixing the old ones, then it’s no longer affordable and easy for everyone to use.
The Altes Bahnwerk received some old bicycles as guest bikes, but none of them rode really well, and most of them didn’t function at all. One person from Soie Rouge and one from Jugend in der Welt always repair their bikes themselves at home and were interested in fixing these as well, while teaching bike mechanics to anyone interested. Of course, it wasn’t just about our own use, but also about the groups that will come after us.
It was incredibly exciting. In the end, we all had a bicycle to work on, and we mostly worked together in pairs, helping each other out. Nevertheless, it was a personal motivation to get that one bicycle back in working condition. Our goal wasn’t to create top-notch bicycles, but to learn, experiment, and improvise.
In Germany, there are these little booklets from the 80s or 90s called „Einfälle statt Abfälle“ (“Ideas Instead of Waste”) that have many great ideas for improvisation, with drawings and a lot of text. But with translation apps and the help of German-speaking people, that wasn’t a problem either 🙂