Broadway Bicycle School

Year: 2019

  • Broadway Bicycle’s 2020 Application

    About Broadway:

    We’re a collectively run and locally owned bicycle shop that has been in operation since 1972. We are a worker-owner cooperative, meaning a subset of workers own and democratically manage the business, and all employees are on track to become eligible to do so. As a full-service bike shop, we both repair and sell new and used bikes. Our tools and space are also made available for rent, so folks can come in and fix their own bikes by themselves or with one-on-one assistance from a mechanic. In the evenings we offer classes on the topic of bicycle maintenance and repair. We are proud to offer a $15 per hour starting wage with a clear path to advancement as well as wage transparency.

    Job Description:

    All mechanic positions at Broadway Bicycle include mechanic training, mechanic work, customer service and sales. Full-time positions (~40 hours per week) are available from April through mid October 2020, with part-time work available earlier in the spring and during the winter. Part-time positions during the summer season may be available for mechanics with prior shop experience. Mechanics need to be available to work Saturday. We have a clearly laid out “Path of Advancement” that allows workers to take on additional roles and increase their wage according to their skill level, availability and commitment. Employees are hired “at-will”.

    For full-time positions, it is NOT a prerequisite that you have previous shop experience, only that you have a passion for bicycles and working on them. We will provide the necessary training in all aspects of the position. We are looking for excellent team players, good communicators and reliable workers. We encourage people of color, LGBTQIA folks, and women and gender minorities to apply.

    If you are interested in applying please fill out 2020 Broadway Bicycle Application and drop it by the shop or email it to broadway [ at ] broadwaybicycleschool [ dot ] com. Resumes encouraged as well.

  • September 20: PARKing Day & Global Climate Strike Kickoff

     

    September 20-27 is Global Climate Strike action week! On Friday, September 20, Broadway Bicycle will kick off these days packed with climate activism by taking over the parking surface in front of our shop. Advocating for the car-free city we are dreaming of, we will turn the parking space into a neighborhood gathering and bike enthusiast zone.

    We invite everyone to experience with us how recreational space opens up with just a little less car infrastructure in town. Please stop by and enjoy a cup of coffee or juice, read one of our many bike mechanic and activism related books, chat with friends and strangers and — special offer — take a free flat repair class! Our space is open from 10am to 4pm, the classes take place at 11am and 2pm.

    Students attending the Youth Climate Strike that day will get free snacks and drinks, free bike assessments and air and oil service! Extra: Free sparkling valve caps (home-made, limited edition).

    PARKing Day is a Cambridge-wide event, see here a map of all the locations.

    See you on Friday. Ride Bikes. Protect the planet.

  • The wayback machine

    As a shop that’s been continuously operating for forty-five years in one location, we’ve got some dusty piles of old parts in the basement.  While we have a self-serve used section in the back corner of the shop that can be a treasure trove, I wanted to share some of the fun new old stock (NOS) stuff I found hidden away in the basement, out of browsing eyes, while doing year-end inventory.

    Many of these are long out of production, and service or compatible parts are no longer available. Surprisingly, I also found a few modern parts that wriggled their way into the piles, parts we ordered by accident, or for wheel builds that just never happened.

    I found the most interesting to be the pile of old hubs from bygone eras, including the fixed gear craze from a decade ago and the internally geared hub craze from several decades ago. Well before my time, somewhere in between those phases, the shop did an enormous number of wheel builds as part of modernising and selling old English 3-speeds. While we are long out of classic Sturmey 3speed hubs, we remain with piles of front hubs from that project.

    Some of the highlights:

      – Phil Wood FX/FW Rear Track Hub: OLD 120, High Polish, 36h

     – Sturmey Archer S30 S-RF3 3-Speed Rear Hub: OLD 127mm, 175mm axle. Still available at retail for $125, Sturmey’s modern three-speed internally geared hub from after redesign that eliminated the neutral gear. 175mm axle is plenty long to allow for it to be spaced out for a wider frame.

     – All-City New Sheriff Hub: 32h Front, High Polish. Discontinued several years ago, All-City’s BMX-inspired designed-in-house fixed-gear hub originally retailed for $95.

     – SRAM 716 X7 Front Hub: 6-Bolt Disc, 32h, black. 15mm x 100 front thru-axles do not roll through Broadway very often, so you can imagine my surprise to find such a hub under the dust in the basement.

     – Shimano Nexus 7 SG-7R46 for roller brake (2): no brake, no shifter (and likely no shifter available)

     – SRAM Dual Drive 3×9 rear internal/external hub (4): 36h with hardware but no shifters (and no shifter available)

     – Sachs 3-sp rear hub with drum brake: 118 OLD, with shifter and hardware kit

     – Sachs Super 7: 36h

    – Raleigh, Phillips, assorted 3sp front hubs (lots)

    – NOS and used Suntour sealed, assorted (mostly front) hubs (lots)

    As a 26″ diehard, I personally put a huge dent in the overstock rims in the shop. Nonetheless, we still unearthed a dozen or so NOS rims in the corners of the shop:

    – Mavic XM317: 26″, 32h (2) and 36h (1), silver

    – Mavic EX721: 26″, 32h, black (2)

    – Velocity Aerohead: 26″, 32h, white MSW

    – Mavic Open Sport: 700c, 32h, silver (3)

    – Velocity Dyad: 700c, 48h,  silver MSW

    – Velocity Chukker: 700c, 36h, black MSW

    – Velocity Synergy: 700c, 32h, silver

    I’ll save the chainrings for another rainy day. In the meantime, drop us a line if you’re interested in picking up any of these gems. And as always, swing by the shop, give the used section a look, and say hello.

     

    All City Sheriff Front Hub SRAM Dual DriveSachs 3sp with drum brake3sp Front hubs Phil Wood Track FX/FW old Suntour sealed hubs

     

    – JCW

  • There is a new sign in town!

    There is a new sign in town!

    The walls of our store beam of beautiful bike parts and accessories. There is such plenty (and, admittedly, so little space) that one can easily miss one or two details. This week, we would like to direct your attention to the upper left corner of the wall behind our counter: There is a new sign in town!

    We at Broadway Bicycle consider ourselves very fortunate to have people of all kind of genders work at our store. All of us identify in different ways. Some of our mechanics feel at home within the better known categories of female and male. Others like to live outside this binary and define themselves as trans, genderqueer, non-binary … we are always excited to expand the list. Whoever passes through our doors, becomes part of our inclusive and gender-fluid community. This includes an invitation to play with language. She? He? Her? Him? Nevermind! Simply use “they” and “the mechanic” or whatever designation comes to mind. This may feel unusual in the beginning. But the joys of getting rid of singular and gendered boxes are well worth the effort!

    Curious to learn more? There is tons of information out there on the web. On changing the world with words: Feministing. For those who like standard references and history: Merriam Webster. And the Washington Post seems to reserve a special place in its heart for the pronoun “they”, lots of articles here … SF