Evan Smiley and a host of volunteers have been steadily growing Moab Community Cycles, a social bike repair space in which locals learn to fix their own bikes and receive donated bikes for cheap. Even though Moab has one of the highest bike shop-to-resident ratios in the United States, it still needs a community bike shop. Spencer Harding stopped by on his way to the Enve Grodeo earlier this year to check out the scene…

Last year, Taylor penned a hot take in our usual Dust Up series titled Are Community Bike Shops the Only Shops We Need? In posing the titular question, Tay writes that community bike shops foster inclusive, knowledge-sharing spaces that prioritize people and sustainability over profit, and argues that such shops are essential to building a more equitable cycling culture. My personal start in being a bicycle mechanic was between a city-owned bike co-op and a community-run shop much like Moab Community Cycles. As Such, bike co-ops will always have a soft spot in my heart, and not just because I love rummaging around through bins of old bike parts looking for treasures.

Evan Smiley, who spearheads Moab Community Cycles, remarked on a sentiment I’ve heard time and time again; “My friends didn’t feel comfortable going in to the bike shops in town.” Though I’m sure Moab has one of the highest densities of bike shops in almost any town in the United States, that doesn’t mean they are always welcoming.

Moab is a massive destination for almost any kind of recreation you can imagine, but especially mountain biking. Moab’s trails lend themselves to the daredevils willing to brave the cliffs and rock drops, but what about people simply commuting to their jobs or errands in town? Don’t they deserve a bike shop and resources? Evan would say so. So he did something about it. With mechanic nights, like we see here, Even and his host of volunteers have time to spruce up donated bikes to be sold at a reasonable price within the community. This provides affordable bikes for the folks in Moab and helps to sustain the modest rent of the MCC space. Recently, Evan received a grant that has allowed him to procure this more permanent space as well as keep a trailer and storage on-site.

When I visited Moab Community Cycles, people were buzzing around, organizing piles of parts donated by locals and shops alike. I was saved by Alex’s recent organization of many of the small bolts, as I need a few M5 bolts for my improperly-installed disc caliper. Gotta love the convenience of a community bike shop. At the end of the night, the crew had multiple bikes ready to roll out the door. Two-thirds of all the bikes are donated outright to the community, as requests come in from places like the hospital, Moab Valley Multicultural Center, and a few other local organizations working with unhoused folks. The last third gets sold to community members at a modest price.

The space also serves as a site for the cycling community to gather for events and other fundraisers. To stay posted on all the things that Moab Community Cycles gets up to, follow along on Instagram or Facebook.