Co-op touts two-wheel lifestyle

Rachael Spiewak is out to fix Atlanta’s traffic woes, one sprocket at a time.

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Last fall, the self-described “poor college student” and several friends launched the Sopo Bike Co-op, a shop in East Atlanta Village specializing in DIY bicycle repairs. When volunteers aren’t showing folks how to fix gear shifts and chain drives, they’re handing out fresh wheels for a donation or trading bike tune-ups for spare parts. Good thing these guys aren’t out to get rich.

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“My ultimate goal is to keep turning out cyclists,” says Spiewak, 24, who recently earned a master’s degree in social work from Georgia State University. Eventually, she wants to “fund-raise” enough of a salary to allow her to run Sopo, which stands for “south of Ponce,” full time.

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Spiewak, who became acquainted with the communal Decatur Yellow Bikes program as an Emory University undergrad, says she wanted to start a similar group designed to provide nearly free bike-repair training and help provide bicycles to people who need them for basic transportation.

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“We see everything from old Huffys that weren’t meant to be fixed, on up to carbon-fiber mountain bikes,” she says. Similarly, Sopo customers range from homeless guys to college students to bicycle-patrol cops.

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The shop has doled out about 30 bikes since the beginning of the year — many donated by local, for-profit bike shops — and typically collects a suggested $25 contribution. Profits help pay rent on the shop space, which faces the parking lot behind the Australian Bakery on the west side of Flat Shoals Road.

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In addition to expanding Sopo’s hours of operation, which now include only Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons, Spiewak has plans to start bike-repair classes and a club for female riders — all designed to get more folks on bicycles.

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“Atlanta is definitely where the fight is,” Spiewak says, “because people here love their cars.”

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For more info, visit www.sopobikes.org.