Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective

The Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is a bicycle cooperative in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Founded in 2002, the Bicycle Collective has grown to include community bike shops in Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden, St George, and Westminster College. The Bicycle Collective refurbishes used bikes donated by individuals or by the city^[1] and sells them to community members or donates them to individuals in need, charities, or shelters.^[2][3] The Bicycle Collective also offers various educational programs, such as general bicycle maintenance courses, educational courses specifically for children,^[4] and a women's night^[5].

History

The Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective, or Bike Collective or Collective, for short, was founded in 2002 by a group of bicycle enthusiasts who believed that the biggest barrier to entry for new bike riders in Salt Lake City was cost and availability of reliable bikes. To that end, they founded the Collective, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, with the following mission:

The mission of the Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as a sustainable and effective form of transportation, recreation, and the cornerstone of a cleaner, safer, and healthier society. The Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.

The Collective operates a host of core programs at 5 locations across Utah, processing over 6,000 bicycles per year and upcycling and donating more than 3,000 fully refurbished bikes back into the community.

Programs

The Collective offers a host of programs at all locations, some localized, some universal. The "core" programs available at all locations are the following:

• Community Bike Shop The Collective's brick and mortar locations house Community Bike Shops open to the entire public wherein anyone is welcome to use the Collective's workstands and tools to work on their own bike. No "drop off" repair service is currently available, but use of the shop includes professional mechanic assistance and guidance. The Collective's shops contain full stockrooms of used parts ready for upcycling, and a full stock of necessary, new "consumables" such as tubes, tires, cables, housing, and greases and lubricants. Collective shops also carry a full selection of refurbished bicycles and an increasing number of bicycle commuter accessories for purchase including racks, fenders, lights, locks, and bags to make each Collective shop a one-stop-shopping experience for anyone interested in using a bicycle as a transportation or mobility tool (as opposed to mountain bike parts, for example, which we love but don't think falls within the mission of the Collective.) Refurbished bicycle styles run the gamut, ranging from rigid mtbs, to full suspension mtbs, touring bikes, steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber road bikes, bikes for kids, and even the occasional tandem or hand-cycle. All bikes are donated by the public or acquired through partnerships with police departments, schools, etc.
• Youth Programs (a.k.a. Bike School) Youth programs at the Collective are numerous and growing. Currently the Collective offers Youth Open Shop Hours during the week for anyone between the ages of 10-18, as a safe learning environment for young, budding bike mechanics. Attendees are welcome to volunteer toward earning a bike of their own during those hours. Jr Mechanic Certification Classes are available to those kids interested in someday getting a job at a bike shop, and the course is taught at Juvenile Detention Facilities across the state as well.
• Goodwill Bikes Each year the Collective donates over 600 bikes to adults in need. Each of these bikes is fully refurbished by a professional mechanic and are held to a standard to last years. Bikes are distributed to eligible candidates through a partnerships with organizations that work with individuals in need.
• Bike Valet The Collective parks over 10,000 bikes free of charge each year at various events around the state in an effort to encourage bicycle riding Utah cities.

Locations

Brick and Mortar locations are found in the following metro areas:

• Salt Lake City
• Ogden
• Provo
• St George
• Westminster Campus

References