Volunteers repairing bikes are the keys to Freewheels Houston’s ability to deliver safe, reliable transportation alternatives to refugees, immigrants and veterans emerging from homelessness.
We’ve equipped our shop with tools and parts to accomplish most repairs. We welcome people who already know how to work on bikes as well as others who want to learn and serve the community to join us at Freewheels for our volunteer days.
Freewheels is open on Friday and Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon. Click here to register for a shi.
When you first arrive, experienced volunteers will show you around the shop, go over our safety policies and engage in conversation to determine how best you can help get bikes ready for our customers.
Training resources
After your initial onboarding conversation, Freewheels aims to help you improve your bike repair skills through online resources, printed materials and hands-on training. We provide training and classes when available based on availability of teachers.
We have several bike repair books in the shop. If you want to buy one, our top recommendation is The Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair, published by Park Tool and available on Amazon and at many bike shops.
Videos
YouTube has many videos on bike repair. Here are links to some of the best from Park Tool. If you find another video that’s helpful, please let us know and we will add it to the playlist.
| Park Tool: Coach Calvin, Bike Inspector | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj3znapLsrw |
| Park Tool Playlist: Derailleurs & Shifting | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGCTGpvdT04TlNwuGy2pd_y8wt-oLfuij |
| Park Tool Playlist: Wheel truing | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGCTGpvdT04STuv86bSdOxtSvXGIC-eh1 |
| Park Tool Playlist: Tuned up | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGCTGpvdT04Q214b2CDSJOweYU86dSn-F |
| Park Tool Playlist: Bottom brackets | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGCTGpvdT04S-dkxjU7HJjboDnTJNmjp- |
| Park Tool: Diagnosing The Problem | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUuuUs5QWEg |
| Park Tool: Identifying your seat post size | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4nga7XNprU |
| Park Tool: Brake Caliper Mounting & Adjustment – Linear Pull & V Brake | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMa9UqY9obk&t=18s |
| Brake Caliper Mounting & Adjustment – Cantilever Smooth Post | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_tDym0G6zo |