Bike recycle project

[mrgreen]

Hi,

I work for a funded cycle recycle project, we take old bikes from the dump and fix some, strip others for parts. All money goes back into project which is non profit. Aim is to reduce landfill and help local community.

We are still thinking about pricing structure, quality of second hand bikes, the amount of labor, new parts etc.

At the moment it looks like after funding for project runs out its going to be very difficult to keep going.

Be interested in thoughts or comments regarding these kind of projects and how to keep them alive. Personally I would love to be able to get people building customs rides in my shop, learning maintenance, reusing, restoring, creating.............

Thanks

MrG :mrgreen:

 

[2manybikes]

I volunteer at a local bike co-op and your concerns regarding long term sustainability are valid. There was some government grant money available which allowed our local co-op to tool up and get started. That has kind of run out and the project lost a lot of steam. They rely on volunteers for support and that is hit or miss.
Please don't missunderstand me, I think anything that can be done to promote cycling combined with a reduction of solid waste is to be applauded.

 

[mrgreen]

The idea is sound and I am fully behind it.

I have an 18 month contract funded after which the project must support itself, already pricing is an issue as my boss wants to go for the quality market ie rather than selling affordable bikes more 'like new' ones.

Can see parts taken from bikes making more money than selling whole ones.

MrG

 

[2manybikes]

Can see parts taken from bikes making more money than selling whole ones.
MrG

In most cases you can make more money selling spares. Especially if account for the time it takes to properly restore a bike as a rider.
Another problem we have faced locally is the source for the bicycles. When we started there was a whole bunch of stuff, but it rapidly got picked over and we were left with a mountain of the dregs.

We contacted local thrift stores and let them know we were looking for old bikes and a number of them bring us stuff on a regular basis. If you are going to set up as a nonprofit then there may be some tax advantage to providing you with donations. You can provide a receipt from the donation which can be used as a write off.

 

[mrgreen]

The ones I collect are from a local recycling centre [waste] and we are looking at others....

Some bikes are donations but tend to be older style

Really geared up [no pun intended] and have learned a great deal in past few months

Ebay maybe a way for you to advertise for bikes via online shop... I am looking at freecycle too

Advertising does help but again sometimes costs money....

MrG

 

[mastronaut]

You're lucky you can still get ANY bikes at the dump. I started about 4 years ago fixin and sellin. Since that time three of the five places I got my bikes will not allow 'picking' and don't sell em to anyone. Then the economy tanked which makes for even slimmer pickins! I do occasionally pick up a decent one here and there if I'm lucky but not like it was just a few short years ago. It's really sad.

 

[IronSpadeCycles]

Another source to not overlook is police impounds. If you can get in with the local police force and help them understand your overall goal and mission is to help the community, 9 times out of 10 they will just give you all the unclaimed bikes from the impound. I worked with a guy in Denver Colorado back in the 90's that had multiple local community police forces regularly dropping off truckloads of unclaimed bikes from their impound lots. They were required by law to keep the bikes for 12 months but if it went unclaimed after that they generally would just let them go to co-ops and community programs. Also most police forces don't have the funding to actively pursue owners of recovered bicycles. So unless you took the time to drive around to all the precincts with documents in hand looking for your stolen bike on a weekly basis, chances are you might never get it back.

Not sure how its done over the pond in the UK but its a suggestion. Good luck.

Later Travis

 

[Korporal]

I do the books for a college run co-op and have found the hardest thing is to get volunteers who care. People need incentive to show up and build bikes for free. It's even harder to get people to teach how to fix a bike.

If you haven't already, get in touch with parts and tool supliers and let them know what you're doing. After jumping through a hoop or two, you could end up with tools and parts at cost.

Most of all, be persistent. When it's snowing and nobody has showed up at your unheated shed to help build some cheap rides, the wrenches are missing, you don't have the right size headset bearings, and your parts suplier (the dump) hasn't given you anything for a month and a half because scrap is more profitable, you'll feel like the whole world's against you. Pour a beer, throw on some tunes, and find that ...... bearing.

But take a break before you hate the project.

 

[mrgreen]

We did contact local police but they are already donating to another project, will try other police forces in our area...

Thanks for all your comments

MrG

 

[sensor]

you might try talking with garylee or mastershake they both are involved with the bike kitchen in sact. and they might be willing to share some info