Bike Oven wrench, jraspa, holds a bicycle frame as one of our newest DIY bike builders hammers a new headset into place.

Since moving to our new location in mid-August of 2007, the Bike Oven has grown and mutated into something I never imagined possible. Our main focus, since having a long beer-influenced talk with Lars Lehtonen (the founder of bikeboom.com) years ago in my garage, has been on helping people who ride bikes. Our mission used to be to provide tools and a social network for people who are already wrapped up in cycling.

Things have started to change - and now we have been able to attract a steady trickle of non-bicycle geeks into the world of bicycle repair, social bike rides, parties, and our L.A. cycling scene’s culture of inclusion.

We’ve had tons of parties and events at the Bike Oven - from late-night hot chocolate stops, to heavy metal end-of-ride shows. We’ve had bizarre and hilarious film nights. We even had the Midnight Ridazz Halloween Ride gather and start right at our doorstep (which doesn’t sound like much - but there were over 400 people on that ride). That has really raised our profile city-wide, and it has helped bring new faces to our doorstep during shop hours.

There is much more in the works!

A woodblock and a hammer - who needs one of those fancy headset presses anyway?

The cyclist working on her bicycle in the photographs above spent about $100 and 5 evenings working on her bike at the Oven. After a few good whacks, that headset she was installing was set into place. Things are certainly not perfect at the Bike Oven, but like the bike this newly minted bicycle mechanic was working on - we’re working it out, making adjustments as we go, and overall things are getting better.