Activity in the West Town Bikes workshop hummed, or more accurately, clicked and rocked.
The rear wheel of Abel Ramirez's bike ticked as the 15-year-old spun it to make sure it was straight. Luis Quinones, 18, spun tunes from a laptop, filling the room with hip-hop.
At his work stand, Kevin Perez held a wrench in each hand on either side of a wheel and happily tinkered.
"They showed us every part of a bike, and I would learn it," said Kevin, who turns 15 this week. "Now I can fix a bike. I can do it better than my dad. I'm proud of myself."
West Town Bikes, near Humboldt Park, a hub in the expanding field of bicycle education, runs 14 after-school programs that aim to provide young people with mechanical skills, work readiness, physical fitness, environmental awareness and personal pride.
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