On the day Cyclist visits London Bike Kitchen on a quiet street in the capital’s Hackney borough, there are three bikes hanging from stands: a luminous, chainless kid’s bike with its brake levers hanging off; a chipped, flat handlebar hybrid without a front wheel; a well-ridden old racer that looks like it has seen its fair share of chastening London winters. There’s not an integrated headset in sight. This is not a haven of high-end dream machines – these are functional, utilitarian bikes in need of a bit of love. So why are we here?
What makes London Bike Kitchen special is not the bikes, but the people doing the repairs, and the ethos they bring to the job. This is not your average bike shop.
Open for everyone
Jenni Gwiazdowski has a Polish passport but was born and raised in California. In 2012 she founded LBK in the mould of open workshops she knew on the west coast of America – DIY spaces complete with second-hand parts, tools to use and mechanics ready to answer questions.
LBK has been on a mission to educate the public on how to repair, how to re-use
