DIY Repair Shop

What is the DIY Repair Shop?

Our DIY Repair Shop isn't your typical repair shop—it's a vibrant community space for learning and sharing. As one of our core programs, we open our doors to the community, providing space, tools, and knowledge to support your repair journey. Plus, we offer low-cost bikes and bike parts to make your repairs affordable and accessible.

The DIY Repair Shop is open during all shop hours and it operates on a first-come basis.

What’s available?

Work Space

When the Community Bike Project shop is open, five complete workbenches are available on a first-come basis. No reservations or calls needed—just walk your bike through the front door and get to work!

Tools & Equipment

Don't have the tools for a proper bike tune-up at home? No worries! Whether you are doing a major tune-up or a simple tire pump-up— CBPO has you covered!

Bike Parts

From inner tubes to seats, chains to derailleurs, forks to pedals, and lube (okay, technically not a part!)—what needs replacing? CBPO provides a range of pre-owned parts and accessories, including full bikes, and a small stock of new parts for purchase.

Our bike shop is staffed by experts and volunteers who meet you where you're at. While they don’t repair the bike for you, they can answer your questions if things get tricky, give you pointers and safety tips, or point you in the right direction for bike and part purchases.

Mechanic Expertise

Q: Are you a repair shop? I want to bring my bike in and leave it with CBPO to do repairs. (Also, I’ve seen CBPO’s hourly labor rate mentioned).

CBPO is not a repair shop.  (We can see how the mention of an hourly labor rate could be confusing.)

We are a non-profit organization with five fully stocked workstations so that anyone can do their own repairs and maintenance. This is our cornerstone program–the DIY (do-it-yourself) Repair Shop.

As part of the DIY Repair Shop, CBPO staff can support you in learning how to do a repair. That might look like teaching you to do it for the first time, reminding you of a step or two, or showing you an alternative method. 

But we don’t have the capacity for walk-in & drop-off repairs for pay. There are a lot of great shops around town that offer those services. Check Google for the one closest to you!

To clarify: CBPO is not a for-profit bike repair shop. We are a non-profit focused on putting bikes to own, repair and maintenance skills and equipment, and riding safety education in the hands of Omahans. We aim to make sure those in need receive our services first, but CBPO is open to all Omahans because we want a bike-full community.

If you come into our bike shop and use one of our workstations, and/or receive assistance from one of our mechanics, and have the means to make a financial gift in exchange—we want you to know what our hourly labor rate would be ($25 / hour). If you need used parts and have the means to purchase them at the deeply discounted rates—we appreciate you paying the listed price.

Q: Will you ever charge for labor?

Q: What if I have a bike that’s, well, a P.O.S. ? (meaning, beyond repairing)

If your bike has been neglected, stored outside too long, exposed to extreme elements, or something else, and simply has no more life in it, you may leave it with CBPO to dispose of only with a minimum financial gift of $25 (our hourly labor). This tax deductible donation covers the labor that’s required by our staff to properly dispose of the bicycle.

CBPO will accept your financial gift of $25, or more, when you drop the bike off at our shop at 525 N 33rd Street during regular business hours.

Three patrons fixing their own bikes in the Open Repair Shop at the Community Bike Project Omaha.

“Benjamin kindly showed me how to replace my chain.  Apparently it had stretched out over a period of ten years.  I learned how to measure the chain using a special tool and then how to replace it, and it only costed me the price of the part which was $18.”

— Thomas O.