Bicycle Workshops: Places to Build Autonomy and Lifestyles?

Over the past decade, bicycle self-repair workshops have been growing in France. By teaching people how to repair their bicycles, these collectives share a variety of goals: some aim mainly to promote cycling and increase autonomy by teaching people how to repair their bikes, others advocate for environmental causes, others still are part of a broader political commitment (LGBTI, anti-capitalism, self-sustainability, etc.). These collectives, which are still a recent phenomenon, have so far received little attention in the scientific literature. Beyond the independence one can gain by learning such practices, does taking part in these workshops bring about wider changes in one’s lifestyle and view of society?