IMPORTANT NOTE!
- While the pandemic continues, all
users need to book ahead by telephone on 099 314 9694. During
our regular open hours on Thursdays from 17:00 to 20:00 we can
only help as many users as we have available volunteers, in
order to avoid crowding. Please don't come without booking
first.
- Until further notice, repairs will
only be carried out in the open air in our yard at Frankopanska
1. This means that our opening depends on the weather forecast.
A final confirmation whether we are opening or not each Thursday
will be posted on our Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/
- All users, as well as BicPop
volunteers, must wear a mask covering the mouth and nose the
whole time while the repair is being carried out. We ask all
users to bring your own mask. We will not work with users who do
not wear a protective mask.
- In addition, users and volunteers must maintain a reasonable
physical distance and refrain from any behaviour that could
contribute to the spread of infection.
- Biciklopopravljaona, as a voluntary, participatory and free of
charge bike repair service, is specific in that users and
volunteer bike mechanics work together to repair bicycles, so
the risk of infection is higher than in some other situations.
For this reason it is crucial that we do everything in our power
to reduce the potential for infection to a minimum.
WHAT IS BICIKLOPOPRAVLJAONA AND WHO IS IT FOR?
Biciklopopravljaona (or BicPop as it’s more commonly known) is to provide space, tools and advice on how to repair a bicycle to anyone who wants it.We have a wide range of bike tools and every Thursday between 17:00 and 20:00 our volunteers are available to help you fix anything you don’t know how to do yourself.
There’s no charge for our help, but you may need to go and buy parts if they need to be replaced.
HOW IS BICIKLOPOPRAVLJAONA DIFFERENT FROM A TYPICAL BIKE SHOP?
First, this bike workshop is based on DIY principles: you repair everything yourself or you learn how to repair it. Unlike other bike shops, you can't leave your bike and come back when it's done. You can ask volunteers for advice and help, but we expect that you want to learn about your bike and are willing to get oily.Second, it is free of charge for everyone. Use of the tools and volunteers’ help costs nothing. Of course, you'll need to buy new parts if yours are worn out or broken, and you’ll need to go elsewhere for this as we are not a shop and don’t have parts for sale. If you're happy with the job done you can always drop some cash in our donations box or donate some useable spare bike parts. All our donations are spent on new tools and consumables (various lubricants, grease, degreasers, tyre patches...) which are also free of charge for all our customers. But nobody is obliged to give anything, regardless of the job done or amount of help received.
It’s possible that you might find some spare parts that you need already waiting for you here. Some are donated to us and some we salvage from other bikes that are beyond repair. Feel free to take a look, but check them carefully to see if they are still usable...
WHAT SERVICES WON’T BICIKLOPOPRAVLJAONA PROVIDE?
You can’t leave bikes here to be repaired. The point is that you learn a bit how to repair a bicycle yourself, with help from our volunteers. Bear in mind that our volunteers have varying levels of experience and may not know everything. They may not be able to help you with some types of very high-tech, very expensive and very exotic parts. Also, servicing suspension and hydraulic brakes is not something we can usually do, at least for now.BicPop's tools also cannot be borrowed or taken outside of Biciklopopravljaona.
Finally, our volunteers cannot be held accountable for any damage caused by our advice or by the tools provided in BicPop. We do guarantee that all help is given with utmost care for both you and your bicycle, and that we will clearly warn you when we aren’t sure if something will work.
RECYCLING BICYCLES
One of the more important goals of this project is to stop old but usable bicycles and spare parts ending up as trash. We want to collect old bikes in order to restore them or use them for spare parts. So, if anyone has an old bicycle, no matter how deteriorated it is, you can donate it to Biciklopopravljaona. Better bicycles will be given for free to those who are willing to invest some time and resources into shaping them up. For example we have donated bikes to people in Gunja affected by the 2014 floods and more recently to refugees arriving in Zagreb. Any un-usable bikes will be taken apart and used for spares. Believe it or not, some bicycles need exactly those old parts.By doing this we are saving natural resources and energy, but also your budget: it is cheaper to recycle than to buy new stuff.
