Recycled bikes

Both customers and businesses are quickly realising the benefits of recycling bikes.  No longer is it an activity relegated to the back yard or household garage, it's now an established business opportunity in its own right. 

There are literally thousands of people looking for cheap, recycled bikes - from people on low incomes to people who want a bike that is a less attractive to thieves.

There are lots of companies looking to supply recycled bikes too - and who can blame them? After all, it’s hard to ignore an activity with such far reaching benefits; from its ability to support the community by making cycling affordable, to helping the environment by reducing waste, and not forgetting helping people get into a more active lifestyle.

There are so many discarded bikes on our streets, not to mention rusty bikes gathering dust in peoples sheds, that there's more than enough supply to fulfill the demand for affordable or free recycled bikes.

So, how can you get involved? Whether you're a customer or a business looking to refurbish bikes you'll be interested in the other people involved. The following companies all refurbish and recycle bikes. As well as selling you a bike they will accept donations of unwanted bicycles and spare parts.

• Emmaus - charity organisation employing homeless people to refurbish bikes. All profits go towards providing work and accommodation for homeless people.
• Jakes Bikes - buy bikes and sell refurbished and bespoke bikes
• Lifecycle - renovate and sell refurbished bikes
  
• Jole Rider - send refurbished bikes to developing countries
• The Bristol Bike Project - a volunteer-run, community bike project, repairing and recycling unwanted bicycles to provide them to underprivileged and marginalised groups within Bristol.
• Spoke and Chain - take broken bicycles and turn them into fun bikes, carnival bikes and floats, fairground rides, trailers and all manner of other inventions.
• The Spokesman - St Werburgh's bike shop specialising in selling refurbished bikes.
• Cycles4Communities provide refurbished bikes in Weston-Super-Mare.
• The Community Bike Workshop in Kingswood takes old bikes of all styles, sizes and conditions. Most of the work is done by young people under the supervision of a qualified bike mechanic.
• AD Cycle Repairs - mobile mechanic and provider of refurbished bikes.

Bristol City Council provides a list of of places that take unwanted bicycles on their website.

In Autumn 2010 the Cycling City team will launch a bicycle recycling project in partnership with HMP Bristol, Life Cycle UK and SOFA Project. Click here to read more about Cycling City's bicycle recycling project.