Café Vélo | 8 vies

A 50m² workshop

The Café Vélo in Saint-Chamas is a 50m² workshop equipped with numerous repair and manufacturing tools for small mechanics.

We run 2 mechanical workshops per week, Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 10am to 12pm, under the covered area of the Associations House in Saint-Chamas.

These twice-weekly sessions are moments where people come together to discover, repair, exchange and learn around bicycle repair. Participants must join the association and can contribute on a pay-what-you-can basis, which allows us to purchase spare parts and necessary tools.

Since 2024, a "snack corner" has been set up outside the workshop during sessions. Everyone can help themselves to locally sourced fruit juices, small cakes or hot drinks. A banner in front of the workshop signals from afar that it is open.

We have also started listing repaired bikes online on "Le Bon Coin" to free up workshop space and to fund spare parts, tools and quality snacks. The workshop receives around a hundred bikes a year, some of which are refurbished for resale at reduced prices.

Our workshops are open to everyone, which is why you'll find:

cycling enthusiasts and people who know nothing about mechanics

working people and retirees

socially isolated people, those in precarity or with disabilities

children, teenagers and adults

men and women…

Current actions and outlook

End 2024: we invested in equipment to be properly set up for all types of repairs.
Early 2025: we emptied and reorganised the bike workshop for a tidy-up and to optimise storage ergonomics.
Spring 2025: we organised a bike sale at Saint-Chamas market to sell refurbished bikes.
A professional bike repairer regularly runs training sessions covering bicycle mechanics basics, helping members and participants build solid skills for more technical repairs.

The Café Vélo