Calling all volunteers! One of Chain Reaction’s big 2026 goals is growing our ‘public bench’ space, where anyone can come work on their bike with the guidance of a volunteer mechanic. Instead of fixing someone’s bike with our own hands, we fix with verbal instruction.

Following in the footsteps of several other community bike shops, and like our favorite Iowa City Bike Library (ICBL), we’ll be launching “Hands Off Wrenching.” This is a big skill to learn - not just fixing, but teaching with an empathetic, hands off approach.

Drew Boss, ICBL’s lead mechanic, will join us for this workshop to talk about the basics of hands-off mechanics, some of ICBL’s lessons learned, and help our volunteers get a first hand view of how to volunteer at our upcoming public bench launch.

🛠️ What we’ll cover:
✅ Overview of hands-off wrenching
✅ Tips and techniques to teach verbally
✅ Lessons learned from ICBL
✅ Q&A

This is open to current volunteers. You do not have to be a bike expert to volunteer - just interested in helping folks and have attended a previous orientation. Thanks for your interest in growing CRBH’s community impact!