Student bicyclists can roll on over to the Dero Fixit Station near the Student Recreation and Wellness Center on Wednesday for a free bike consultation.
The Parking Administration at California State University, Long Beach hosts safety sessions every second Wednesday of each month between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. with mechanics from Jax Bicycle Center.
The most common problem overlooked by students is riding without proper tire pressure, David Hanson, the sales manager at Jax, said.
“They’re not inflating them to the proper PSI,” Hanson said. “It’s written on the side of the tires. There’s not a generic tire pressure that there would be for every bicycle.”
Other things to watch for include making sure the bicycle’s chains are well oiled and that bolts are tightened with a torque wrench to the manufacturer’s requirement at least once a month, according to Bicycling.com.
Two other bicycle repair posts are set up on campus next to the student dormitories at Parkside College and Hillside College.
The Fixit stations are equipped with tools to fix the most basic bike procedures, like an air pump for deflated tires and wrenches to check those loose nuts and bolts. There is also a QR code for students to scan if they need instructions, Elissa Thomas, the CSULB sustainable transportation program coordinator, said.
“This [workshop] is being held at CSULB in order to provide a convenient service to our students,” Thomas said.
Thomas said that the sustainable transportation program also offers a free traffic skills class to help cyclists safely ride the city streets. CSULB added bike lanes on West Campus Dr., Beach Dr. and East Campus Dr. to “make our campus roadways safer and more inclusive of cyclists,” Thomas said.
Jax Bicycle Center offers complementary safety inspections and classes at their Long Beach store location on things like how to fix a flat tire and properly maintain a bicycle.
Hanson said the thought process behind the free service is simple because the cyclists of Long Beach and CSULB are all part of the same community.
“[CSULB is] part of the city,” Hanson said. “And we’re just a couple miles down the street.”