The bicycle repair stand — passed by the Associated Students senate last fall — has arrived on Biola’s campus. It is situated between the Bell Tower and Sutherland Hall.
“People don’t know about it, really,” said senior psychology major Brett Kobold, who proposed for the stand in October. “It just kind of popped up … It got here in December. It took three or four months to get installed.”
The station — which cost $1,400 from AS’ general fund — joins another recent addendum to the biking community, the cross-campus bike lanes.
A RISING SUBCULTURE
“There’s a huge Biola subculture of cycling that hasn’t really been tapped into, and I think the campus is finally recognizing it,” Kobold said.
An avid road cycler and commuter, Kobold used to work at local bike shop The Cyclery. He was inspired to seek funding for a bike repair stand after seeing bike stations at the University of California, Los Angeles and other colleges.
“The reason … was to allow students to work on their bicycles without having to borrow tools or anything like that,” he said. “I just thought it might be beneficial for students to have the ability to work on their own stuff and not have to borrow their friends’ tools.”
The bike stand has a tool kit featuring allen wrenches, screwdrivers and a tire lever, all free for students’ use. The cherry red station also has a built-in tire pump and a QR code for bike repair instructions.
“If you scan it, it takes you to a website that shows you how to do everything. It’s super helpful if you need to learn how to adjust anything on your bike,” Kobold said.
A FUTURE INVESTMENT
Ryan Johnson, president of Community Bike Rides on campus, said each of the 50 people in his group have used the bike stand at least once or twice since it was installed.
“In our club, only about one or two people have all the tools to fix everyday things, so it’s hard to meet up with that person who has the tools to fix the bike,” he said. “A lot of times you’ll go a week or two weeks with a bike that could be fixed in 10 or 15 minutes just because you don’t have the tools. Now that that’s all on campus, it’s really convenient.”
Johnson says his favorite part of the station is the air pump, because it’s the most commonly needed tool.
Biola’s status as a commuter campus lends itself well to cultivating a thriving bike culture, Kobold said. Although he is graduating this semester, Kobold hopes that the investment will be worth it to future generations of Biola.
“I didn’t need this for myself at all. It’s for everybody else. They’ve been around for 10 or so years, and they can withstand the weather pretty well,” Kobold said. “It was awesome to see that it all came through and that I was able to go through with something that can actually benefit the campus. I just hope people know about it.”
