Bike Lab
One neat thing about Caltech is that it’s part of a big Caltech-JPL community. A fair number of clubs are open to undergrads, grad students, and staff from Caltech and JPL. This means that even though we have a relatively small student body, there are often enough people that we can share resources to build up some nice infrastructure.
The Caltech Bike Lab is open to any member of the Caltech/JPL community. For $10, you can get a key that gives to 24 hour shop access so you can do maintenance whenever the whim wacks you. For free, you can go to the office hours, which are held 8 times a week (on week days). Community members volunteer in the lab and help people out with bike problems, or direct them to resources that can help with trickier issues.
I’ve been saved by the Bike Lab many times. The volunteers there taught me how to fix a flat and adjust brakes, which can both be tricky the first few times you try them. Now, I’m learning more about bike maintenance on my own, which is pretty great. It’s wonderful to be able to work in the Bike Lab where they have almost all the tools I could need and bike stands that make working more comfortable.
