What is Tumeke Cycle Space?

We’re a volunteer- run community bike workshop in the lovely suburb of Sandringham in central Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland. We’re not a professional bike repair shop – we have tools and expertise to help with lots of things, but we can’t do everything (please don’t come with your hydraulic brakes to repair!). As part of coming to Tumeke, you get to do the repair yourself, learning more about how your bike works and giving you the skills and confidence to fix things on your own.

We’re also happy to help with maintenance – checking chains, brakes, tyres and gears, cleaning, applying lubricant and so on. This can help prevent problems getting worse later.

Who runs Tumeke?

We’re completely volunteer run. The volunteers make decisions together. We also pay a community coordinator for a few hours a week to do things like schedule volunteer shifts, keep communication channels running, organise events and generally Making Things Happen. We’ve been around since 2010, and at our current location in Sandringham since 2020. Before that, we were based on Karangahape Road.

When are you open?

We’re open on Sundays from 12-4pm, most weekends (not on public holidays – check our website or Facebook for updates). We’re also occasionally at community events, like street festivals – check the events page or Facebook for details.

Where are you based?

We’re in Gribblehirst Park, next to the Gribblehirst Community Hub. Click here to open our location on Google Maps. Look out for the blue/green converted shipping container.

Do I have to pay?

No, we’re volunteer run. We receive funding from the Albert-Eden local board, from selling donated bikes that we’ve fixed, and from donations. We appreciate any koha you’re able to offer. There’s a box for cash at the container, or you can do a direct transfer to our bank account, number 38-9008-0749578-00 – just use ‘koha’ as the reference. (If you come to the container, you can get this info there too)

What’s inside the container?

We have tools: bike stands, allen keys, crank pullers, clamps, chain tools, pumps, spoke adjusters, pliers and more…

We have parts: inner tubes, tyres, wheels, derailleurs, seats, cables, cable housing, shifters, pedals, cranks, wheels, heaps of random nuts and bolts. Some of these parts are new, while others have been stripped from old bikes. If you’re able to pay a small fee for new parts you’re using on your bike, that would be very appreciated – some of the parts have $ labels, or ask one of the volunteers.

We have stuff to give away. We’re part of the bike lock amnesty scheme to get better bike locks on the streets of Auckland – bring in your old, flimsy cable lock and exchange it for a strong and mighty D lock! We have puncture repair kits, bike pamphlets, tool sets, chain lube,  and rechargeable lights from Auckland Transport to encourage you to ride more. We also have Garage 529 stickers so you can register your bike to prevent it getting stolen. 

Can I donate a bike? Can I donate something else?

Donated bikes that we can repair and sell are a key source of income for us, so we really appreciate donations. However not all bikes are good candidates for donation – some will take way too much time and parts to get to a good condition, and we have limited storage space. If you’re keen to donate a bike, nau mai, haere mai – but please come and talk to us (and ideally bring the bike) first so we can take a look at it. And only bring bikes when we’re open! We’ve had issues with theft in the past, and we’re not a bicycle dumping ground.

How do I volunteer?

Send us an email or fill out the form with a bit about you, when you’re free, and how much time you’re willing to give. At the moment we’re only open on Sunday afternoons, but if another day would work better, get in touch anyway, because we’d love to be able to open at other times if there were people available then.

I’m not sure if I have enough time or the right skills to volunteer?

We have both casual volunteers, who come when they’re free or when we are at one-off events, and regular volunteers, who commit to coming most weeks on a rostered schedule. You don’t have to know the difference between V brakes and disc brakes to volunteer – the main skill is being willing to learn and happy to chat to people who come. Lots of the volunteers didn’t know much when they started coming to the container and have just learned on the way, as well as attending occasional bike skills sessions. There are almost always multiple volunteers at the container, so you’ll have support and back up, and we try to pair people who are more experienced with bikes and those who are less experienced. 

I’m not interested in fixing bikes, is there another way I can help?

Yes! If you would like to contribute in another way, please let us know. Skills like taking great photos, helping with social media or graphic design could be really useful, one-off or on an ongoing basis. 

I want to talk to someone about my love for bikes!

Technically that’s not a question but we love the enthusiasm. Tumeke Cycle Space is linked to some of the other wonderful bike projects around Tāmaki Makaurau – you’re welcome to chat to our volunteers but you can also get involved with Bike Auckland and their Bike Burbs projects as well. 

I’m running a cool community event and I’d love people to be able to fix their bikes there. Can you come?

Thanks for thinking of us! We love attending events but have to be pretty selective due to volunteer availability. Send us an email at hello@tumekecyclespace.org.nz with some info about when and where and we’ll get back to you. 

How can I contact you?

Please email us at hello@tumekecyclespace.org.nz or send us a message on Facebook. If you are interested in volunteering please fill out this form.