Biketopia Community Workshop

Biketopia is the best. Helpful and kind staff, DIY bike maintenance shop in south Berkeley. Not only does your bike work better, but you’ll learn how to maintain your bike to keep it running smooth. Great asset to the community. Thanks Biketopia!

Service here is hit or miss. Sometimes the people can be really helpful and sometimes I have had to bring my bike back shortly thereafter for another tuning. That said, the service is free (but the workshop does accept donations). The other problem is that they don’t always have the appropriate spare parts.
When they do have the parts, you can often choose from a new or used part and you will only be charged for the part not the labor which is awesome.
If I wanted to learn all the intricacies of bike maintenance, I could just come here and tune up my bike myself.
Every time I have been here, the staff have been really friendly.

they helped me find a tire, tube, liner, and slime for my tire and at a very reasonable price.
And i got help installing it. If i can add another carls jr. star i would.

Love this place. They are very nice and helpful and if you are in need of any tool and a stand to fix your bike you can get it all done here. They are pros.

Amazing community service. Lauren and Hero were instrumental in showing my wife and I how to perform four true-​ups, break replacement, and making our wheels glisten, for less the $ 20! Thanks for everything — will definitely be back, but hopefully not too soon ;-)

Nice folks, helped me in working out a few issues and were fun to talk to. They’re pretty creative with the many low cost options for upgrading your bike! No pressure for the fee, I wasn’t even sure where to put it so when I saw the jar I just grabbed a wad of ones out of my pocket. Might have been a little assuming about my skill level with fixing my own bike, but that’s my fault for making a rookie mistake that was messing up my wheel. Will definitely be back.

Helpful volunteers and so much cheaper and more satisfying to do the work yourself.

I brought an old beat up bike to Biketopia expecting them to tell me it was a lost cause. Hiro helped me and walked me through the repair with the highest degree of customer service. Super cool guy that knows alot about bike repair. Great price for service and parts! Highly recommended

I’m a bicycle commuter. Don’t own a car. This is a neighborhood shop for me.
I’m female. Unfortunately, that mattered in one of these scenarios.
First time in. I had parts stolen off my bike in DT Berkeley. Guy at the counter was AMAZING. Found me the 2 parts– the quality was very high. $ 2. He didn’t know I had just been laid off. I almost cried with happiness.
Second time in. I had the same parts stolen off my bike in DT Berkeley again. Different guy at the counter found me 2 mismatching parts. He pointed out that if the hole was drilled out on one part it would work. He asked if I had a drill at home. I said «yes». He asked if I knew someone who knew how to use it. Notice he didn’t ask if I knew how to use it… but did I know «someone». He actually asked that unbelievably stupid and sexist question. There was a young woman working on her bike in the shop who got to hear his sexism 2^nd hand. For a far lower quality but otherwise identical part than the first visit: $ 10.
I decided not to say anything at the time of the visit because I was in a position at that moment where I couldn’t pay more and I needed transportation. I could not afford to rouse his antagonism and a higher price by calling him out in the moment. Thus… this Unilocal.I would say it was a reasonable price (even though 5x more than the first visit) but that doesn’t factor in the price of dignity.
I hope he was an exception and the first visit was the rule. I used to tell everyone how great that place was. Now I tell them this story. We don’t need that kind of misogyny posing as something community oriented. Misogyny is never community oriented.

This place is amazing! For the $ 5 fee to use the workshop and tools, another $ 5 for a few small parts that I needed, and an hour of my time with some excellent guidance from the mechanic, I went home with what feels like a brand-​new bike. I learned how to perform the basic tune-​up that my bike needed, how to replace my worn out shifter cables, how to adjust my brakes, and how to clean and re-​oil my drive train. I learned a lot, fixed up my bike, and had fun while doing it. Biketopia rocks!

Impressed with this bike co-​op, though read whole review.
First, a disclaimer: this is a shop with somewhat limited used selection, and that focuses on helping you make the repairs. Don’t expect full services to be rendered at your beck and call — this is about being helped, learning as you go, and working with your hands to fix up a bike.
The review: Went in on July 3^rd at 6:30pm, having just had a front tire stolen and needing to be able to use my bike for the holiday weekend. We managed to find a rim that fit ($ 25), and with some finagling got the tube, tire, and skewer together to make it all work ($ 15, including all the parts), and had a shop fee of $ 5 — total of $ 45 to roll out with a working wheel, though if you’re more flexible about the parts you use, you might be able to get it down within the $ 35 – 40 range. Within 90 minutes I was rolling again, all while having great conversation with the other fixers and staff during the whole time.
While I hope I don’t have to go back for repairs or future theft, if I need a place to work on my bike, this is the place to go — full stop.
******
An update: I woke up the morning after and discovered my wheel was flat (despite having only taken the bike a matter of yards to get home afterwards). I took it back the next day it was open (July 7, having lost the use of the bike on the 4^th), and explained the problem. They quickly found a hole in the tube, located away from the ground. While the first person helping me didn’t see an issue with the tire, the fellow who seemed in charge quickly assessed that the tire wasn’t in condition to be sold (had a hole, and too much wear and tear, and was thrown out immediately). He found a new tire (used, but a nicer one than they originally had put on), and put on a new tube that fit moderately well (inflation value is too short, but it works reasonably well).
He then charged me $ 20 for the new tire (on the previous day I had been told that the used tires sold for $ 5 – 15, and bought the previous for $ 10), and $ 6 for the new tube — though waving the $ 5 shop fee. Given that the problem arose because of a faulty tire they sold me, I wasn’t very impressed with paying for a second tire and replacement tube. In the end, we settled on the price difference between the old and new tires ($ 10), though only because I was relatively firm in my position.
Prior to going to the shop, a local had suggested it was a great place but that I «needed to be willing to stand up for myself» to avoid being pushed around. I now agree with that statement — this problem likely would have been avoided if I had stood my ground in wanting a different tire on the first day because the original looked badly worn.
That said, I leave my original rating of five stars. This is a good place with good people and a good mission, and it’s still somewhere I want to return to and support. At the end of the day, I felt like we settled on a fair solution, even if I was a little sad to have needed to stand my ground to feel fairly treated. I’d still highly recommend people use the shop, just be sure to ask questions and be a very active participant as you go to make sure that you get good parts put on your bike.

Great places, cheap used or new parts and only $ 5 to get expert help and learn how to fix your own gear. Highly recommended if you have bike problems or questions of any kind.

Great prices, accessible staff and an overall fun environment to work on your bike. Don’t expect an expedited trip, but you will learn something in the process. I would highly recommend this establishment to anyone who lacks the tools, but is familiar with minor bike repairs, especially if you would like to increase your knowledge and proficiency for fixing your own ride.

I don’t have much to say because I never made it inside.
No one was there during their business hours! After walking my bike 30 minutes here, I arrived just after their opening hour at 4pm. Because I was desperate to fix my bike that night and hopeful that someone was perhaps running late, I waited 45 minutes outside their front door, taunted by their «be back by 4pm» sign. I called the number on the website occasionally, left a message. and never got a call back. No updates on their website. Just a no-​show.
Ended up dragging my bike onto BART to the Berkeley Bike Station, where service was fast and fantastic.

I came in with completely unusable front brakes and a funny noise coming from my back wheel and extremely little bicycle knowledge.
The folks there were all friendly and helpful, the guy who worked with me (Warten?) was great, and really taught me how to do things instead of just doing them for me.
I left with my wheels spinning smoothly, my brakes much better adjusted and working great AND my rear gear shifter working again, which I hadn’t even been concerned about. Plus a bunch of new knowledge about how bikes work!
Two minor parts and all that learning/​labor — $ 12. What a great place!

This place is a great workshop with great hours too. Even the for-​profit bike shops all open at 10 or 11 and close at 6 or 7, leaving people who have to work high and dry. This place opens 4 – 8 and is right by the South Berkeley farmer’s market, which makes it especially convenient if you go on a Tuesday.
I had a problem with my rack. The staffer listened, asked questions, diagnosed the issue, and took time to resolve the problem with a quicker fix while also offering a longer-​term solution I could carry out myself. This guy had the skills of an expert clinician.

While biking home from a ride, my bike pedal basically came off and then I got a flat. I walked over to REI and the young woman repairing my bike said I need a new crank set because the metal was stripped. She also called my bike a walmart bike that was probably set up by a high school kid and she said that wouldn’t happen if I got it fixed at REI. She even suggested that she wouldn’t be comfortable giving me back the bike to ride until I assertively told her that it was not her decision to make. She said that the crank shaft would cost me 70 bucks, plus $ 30 for the service fee and around $ 8 to fix the flat.
I didn’t like her attitude or her estimate so I went to biketopia. Sam showed me how to fix my own pedal and flat and only charged me 10 for the whole thing including a new bike tire! I recommend biketopia without any reservation whatsoever.

I have been back to Biketopia several times since my first visit. Every time the service is phenomenal and the prices are unbeatable!

Go here and tell your friends about it when you leave.
Bring your bike when you have some time to spend and Connor or anyone else wonderful will help you fix it up, replace parts, clean it, pump it, etc. — all while teaching you to do it yourself. Ridiculously cheap.
This place can only get better and better and the more people that know about it, the more parts donations they can get — so do that.
I only wish they had food, too. Then I wouldn’t have to go away.

What a great addition to the Berkeley community. Came in here to check it out to see what services they offer.
Ended up leaving with a new tire (one which is rare and hard to find coz my bike is x-​small). Got my new tire installed, got my chain oiled, the gears cleaned — all for $ 11 (yes, including the tire!) — Thank you Elizabeth!
All the tools are provided and you’re charged $ 4 – 6 to use them all day. Neat place to get your bike fixed and maintained.