Over winter we are reducing our opening hours to:
Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday 6 to 8

Hope to see you at the workshop then!

Please check our Facebook page for regular updates.

We have started offering occasional DIY bike repair again in our new location, and will soon be returning to a regular schedule of opening hours and a workshop staffed by volunteers.

New location

Newtown

Grand opening celebration coming soon!

Opening times and days vary.  Watch this space for updates!

Mechanical Tempest needs your help moving stuff out of 128 Abel Smith Street.

The working bee will be on Sunday, February 19th from 11am-5pm. Feel free to come anytime and lend a hand. No bike knowledge required, just some energy and enthusiasm and big motorised vehicles if you have them.

If you want to come and browse our bike parts and find a use for them, you’re also very welcome. There are heaps of bikes and odds and ends that will need a new home.

On that note…so we do! We’re in the process of searching for a suitable place to work out of. If you have an ideas, bring those along also!

Wellington Time Bank credit available for volunteers

Thursday, 2 February 2017, 2:37 pm
Press Release: Mechanical Tempest

Wellington’s Community Bike Workshop Seeks New Home

2 February 2017

Following a reorganization of the space at the 128 Collective’s Radical Social Centre, located at 128 Abel Smith Street, Wellington community bike workshop The Mechanical Tempest is seeking a new location that will better suit their needs by March of 2017.

Mechanical Tempest, which has operated in the 128 Collective since 2003, is Wellington’s DIY bike workshop. The organization is devoted to the empowerment and education of all people in the discipline of bike assembly and maintenance, as well as the creation of a safe and sustainable cycling community.

A group of approximately fifteen volunteer mechanics run MT as an educational workspace, where tools are placed in the hands of cyclists of all skill levels, to allow them to learn at their own pace to repair and service their bicycles using donated parts and machinery. In an effort to adhere to Wellington’s progressive culture, as well as the reality of bicycling as an environmentally sound transportation option, MT recycles and repurposes old or damaged bicycles that might otherwise have ended up in a landfill.

Volunteer mechanic, Sylvie Froncek, sifting through a pile of donated bicycles.

Given the abundance of old and/or damaged bicycles, however, even getting in the front door of MT’s current workspace can present a challenge. Visitors must first navigate a collection of project bikes hanging from the wall and ceiling, while simultaneously performing a sort of slow-motion dance through a bicycle graveyard of donated bikes and wheels. Following this, one finds oneself in a pleasant, though packed workshop featuring half a dozen independent workstations and several sets of tools, along with a nicely-organized collection of old bike components available for use. Although the space is functional, a larger space is clearly necessary for the collective to expand to meet the needs of the Wellington bike community.

Currently MT is open Monday-Thursday from 6pm-8pm and during which time the workshop might service up to thirty people, under the supervision of two mechanics. As such, the space can become quite crowded. In spite of this, the atmosphere remains light and friendly. There is no fee for use of the workshop, tools or parts, although people are welcome leave koha, which is used to keep the lights on, purchase heavy duty hand soap, (a necessary commodity when working with greasy parts,) and maintain a ready supply of consumables like patch kits and brake pads.

How you can help: The Mechanical Tempest needs a new space to move into by the end of the summer. The ideal workshop would be large and open, preferably with a separate room for bike storage. Running water, electricity and open ventilation are necessary to create a safe working environment. In addition, it is vital that the new space be centrally located in Wellington, and easily accessible, in order to continue MT’s commitment to being an organization available to any and all people. MT’s scheduling make it easy for them to time share with another organization. If you don’t have a space to offer but still want to get involved, support from friends and fellow cycling enthusiasts in the form of volunteer time, mechanical donations or monetary assistance are always greatly appreciated.

Source: www.scoop.co.nz

Council open Bike Space to encourage Wellingtonians to maintain their bikes

CHELSEA MCLAUGHLIN

Last updated 05:00, January 26 2017

Abraham Hollingsworth is one of five bike mechanics who help out at new community workshop Bike Space on Marion St.

There is a new, bright blue shipping container in town with a unique aim: to get your bike working.

Bike Space, a community workshop dedicated to demystifying bicycles, opened in Marion St on January 16.

The goal is to empower people to develop the skills needed to maintain their bikes, therefore getting more people out riding them.

The space is equipped with tools and machines to help with bike problems such as recabling brakes, and adjusting gears and wheels.

 

It houses bike tools and work stands and, when it is open, there is someone on hand to provide helpful tricks and tips.

The workshop is a collaboration between Wellington City Council and bike repair workshop The Mechanical Tempest, which have partnered with local businesses and community members to keep costs down.

Garage Project has provided discounted rent for the current location.

The Mechanical Tempest member Arthur Price says the first week of operation was “really positive”, with a lot of interest and people stopping to see what is going on.

There are five mechanics who share the workload, with tools and machines to help with bike problems such as recabling brakes, as well as gear and wheel adjustments.

The mechanics are there to give guidance and share advice, but the idea is for people to do the work on their own bikes, Price says.

Mechanic Sylvie Froncek says it is about putting tools in peoples hands and sharing knowledge so others become confident fixing their own bikes and being out on the road.

Workshop environments are traditionally male-dominated, she says, and she hopes to make this a “safe space” for women to feel empowered to use tools and be independent.

Council transport choice coordinator Hugh Wilson says Bike Space came together quickly over the course of a few months.

The space has a budget of $12,000 and Wilson says the council funded it as a way to encourage and support people to ride bikes as an affordable mode of transport and help reduce congestion and emissions in the city.

The container is easily transportable on a truck, taking about five minutes to be placed in its current location, he says.

They will soon begin to look for locations beyond March 23, when their current arrangement with Garage Project ends.

Bike Space is open in Marion St from Tuesday till Saturday, 11am to 6pm, until March 23.

 – Stuff

Thanks to the enthusiasm of Renee Rushton at the Newtown Community Centre, The Mechanical Tempest will be leading a monthly summer bike workshop in Newtown. Wenches with Wrenches will also be running a session every other month at the community centre.

Check out the flier details!

Wenches with Wrenches is hosting it’s monthly Skill-Share/workshop/drop-in for the Woman and LGBTQIA cycling community on 13 December 2015.

The theme for December is BRAKES!

Brake related puns including “BRAKING THE LAW” and “GIMMIE A BRAKE” will be used extensively.

You can also learn how to fix your own brakes, including replace a brake pad or cable, and other essential bicycle maintenance skills.

As always, this is free, open to all skill levels, no need to book, just turn up and bring your bike along (or be prepared to get started working on something that has been donated).

Wenches With Wrenches

Brakes Skill-share/drop-in

13 December 2015

12-2:30 pm

128 Abel Smith Street

Sign up for the mailing list if you haven’t already to get updates on our events right to your inbox just by sending an email to www-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.

Kia ora koutou, greeting from Wenches with Wrenches, Wellington’s women’s and LGBTQIA DIY cycling collective!

We are making some changes to how we run Wenches with Wrenches.

Rather than holding weekly drop-in sessions, we are organising monthly forums/skill-shares that focus on specific themes.

The next WwW forum will be Sunday, 15 November from 12-3 pm.  This month we will be sharing specific skills on how to take care of flat tyres and punctures on your bike.  All are welcome, regardless of skill level.  The forum will be held at the 128 Abel Smith workshop space and is free to attend. 

See the attached poster for details, check the website, or contact us for more info.

We are building a community of cyclists who identify as women or LGBTQIA to use the workshop during these times and request that other users refrain from attending, in order to ensure the maintenance of a safe space.

We will not be running our regular Sunday hours outside of our monthly forums, so please make sure you plan accordingly!

If you have any requests or suggestions for future themes for skill-shares, workshops, forums, or events, let us know!  We have some ideas in the pipeline for events around:

• brakes
• wheels
• gears
• commuting by bike
• cycle touring
• film nights
• dealing with harassment on your bike

and more!  Stay tuned for more details on December’s forum, and see you this Sunday!

Warm regards,

The WwW crew

— 

Wenches with Wrenches

http://www.mechanicaltempest.co.nz/wenches-with-wrenches/

wencheswithwrenches@riseup.net

Ladies and lady-identified folks come along on Sundays from 12-2 for some bicycle talk and repair, or just to hang out!

We are bringing back Wenches with Wrenches!

Women and Transgender people are invited to join the ladies of The Mechanical Tempest on Sundays from 12-2 for an afternoon of bike wrenching.

-Come ask questions and learn to repair your bike by yourself

-Drink tea with us and talk about Wellington bike culture

-Build a new bike

-Help us clean up the space.

Learn more about WENCHES WITH WRENCHES on our webpage!