Open Shop

Open shop is open to all co-op members 16 and older. Open shop currently occurs every Sunday (2-5) and Wednesday (6-9). During the winter we don’t hold open shop on our normal Tuesday evening time (6-9), but instead open up for workshops, committee meetings, special events, and general co-op activity. Open shop times are when you may come in and join the co-op, adopt a bicycle, or work on a project. Each member is assigned a color-coded tool kit and bucket and has access to our library of bicycle repair books and our mechanics. Open shop operates on a first come, first served basis. Thirty minutes before shop closing we ask that all members finish projects and begin to clean up. Fifteen minutes before shop closing we ask that all members stop working on projects in order to have the shop cleaned up by closing time.

Our shop is currently undergoing some major renovations and our shop policy is in the process of changing as well. Please be patient and stay tuned for a new comprehensive shop policy as we adjust our current policies and set-up in order to serve you better!

Women’s Open Shop

Anyone who identifies as a woman is welcome to join us for our two monthly open shops exclusively for women and female-identified people! They happen the 1st and third Saturdays of each month from 2-5pm (we’ll update the flier soon!), and no reservation or advance notice is required. This is a safe space for women to work on bikes without men in the shop. Women’s Open Shop is led by volunteer Kat Smith, and co-led by everyone who shows up!

Whether you’re a seasoned mechanic or you’ve never picked up a wrench, this is a safe space to work and learn. Come on down!

Kids’ Day Program

MoBo Kids’ Day summer program offers local kids the opportunity to repair, maintain, and build bicycles with one-on-one guidance from experienced mechanics. Once a week, the all-volunteer staff devotes the shop, its tools, and their expertise exclusively to the servicing of kids’ bikes. Membership fees are waived for youth members of the Co-op, so participation in Kids’ Day is free for all youth members (aged 16 and under). Children under 6 need to be accompanied by an adult.

Additionally, MoBo collects donated bicycles and matches them with kids who need bikes. Mechanics work with each new owner to make repairs and adjustments as necessary. Helmets are distributed free of charge. Youth are served on a first-come, first-served basis. A waiting area is staffed by at least 2 adult volunteers who provide supervision, games, water, and occasional snacks. Jobs such as set up, clean up, sign in, trash duty, and cup duty are delegated to mature kids so as to nurture the spirit of cooperation.

In 2009, 62 kids became members and we distributed 34 bikes.

Workshops

Monthly Bike Basics Workshop

This workshop is currently not being offered, as we are in need of a mechanic interested in making it happen. In the past, we have offered this once-a-month workshop to the public as an opportunity for people unfamiliar with bicycle mechanics to learn a few things about how their bikes work, how to maintain them, and how to diagnose problems in a more focused environment than Open Shop.

We’d love to offer this workshop again! If you are a mechanic and are potentially interested in leading a monthly, bi-monthly, or one-time workshop, please let us know!

Monthly Welding Workshop

This workshop is also currently on hiatus.

When offered, this workshops covers the basics of welding and puts them into practice on a group project. Welding is a great skill to have for those interested in building cargo trailers, tall bikes, bike machines, and all manner of freak bikes. The workshop is a good opportunity to acquire basic skills, meet other members interested in projects like these, and hatch a plan to make it happen at MoBo!

Winter Workshop Series

Each year during the cold season we also organize a Winter Workshop Series, in which we offer volunteer-led workshops on a variety of topics. Past workshop topics have included Brake Adjustment, Wheelbuilding, Commuting, Winter Riding, Living in Cincinnati Without a Car, and Fix-a-flat. If you’d like to see a specific workshop at MoBo, please email us at mobobicyclecoop@gmail.com.

Also, if you’d like to lead a workshop in our space, please let us know! We have a community space that we’d like to see used more than it is, so if you or someone you know has some knowledge you’d like to share with people, speak up! We’re open to hosting workshops and other forms of cooperative education on many topics, bicycle-related or not!

Mechanics Internship Program

In addition to supporting the sharing of skills and knowledge broadly through our open shop program, workshops, and special events, MoBo sponsors a small number of members each year to complete a national bicycle maintenance training program called Park Tool School. In return, those members commit to sharing their new skills with the co-op for a number of hours as Volunteer Mechanics during Open Shop. For details about the internship program, talk to a Shop Coordinator or send an e-mail to the co-op.

Advocacy

The MoBo community is a vibrant part of Cincinnati’s growing bicycle culture. Our primary focus is sharing knowledge and building community through our open shop, workshops, and other programs. However, we do advocate more directly for bicycle-friendly infrastructure and policies in our community through partnerships with other organizations and hosting or participating in events such as forums, discussions, film screenings and group rides. Furthermore, we strive to use our shop and community space to share resources, news, and ideas on how to get involved. We also support other D.I.Y. projects of all sorts.

Those interested in these activities should come to Advocacy Committee meetings, which are announced on the calendar, in the shop, and on our Facebook page.

Anyone interested in advocating for bicycles in Cincinnati should also get involved with Queen City Bike, a partner organization focusing on bike advocacy in our city. They are fantastic!

Special Events and Outreach

MoBo Movie Nite

MoBo Movie Nite is currently on hiatus. If you’re interested in restarting this project at MoBo, or another project, let us know!

Movie Nite is an outdoor, community-curated film screening organized at MoBo during the warmer months, and has recently been featured following the FORUM. It’s a time to put the bikes away and simply enjoy each others’ company, eat popcorn and… be merry as we project a movie onto a screen on the wall of the co-op. This is a free event open to the whole world, and the film will be chosen by someone new each week (sign up in the shop). Check the shop, Facebook page, or website calendar for the week’s film, and bring a friend or two!