**note: Cycle Oregon does not accept bicycle donations. This article is meant to highlight great organizations who do accept bike donations. Please read the article for more details**
As the cycling season starts to get underway in the Pacific Northwest, many of you are cleaning out the old bike garage and perhaps thinking about upgrading your steed this year. But what can you do with your old, trusty two wheeled companion? Donate it! There are many places in Portland that accept bicycle donations, but the one we recommend is our long time partner, The Community Cycling Center. They opened almost 30 years ago with the mission to broaden access to bicycling and to help build a vibrant community where people of all backgrounds use bicycles to stay healthy and connected. The Community Cycling Center has been a fixture on our events for decades, helping riders keep their bikes clean and running smoothly, as well as charging up electronic devices. Funds raised on events help support their annual Holiday Bike Drive, where they donate bikes and helmets to over 300 children each year.
Can the Community Cycling Center pick up my bikes?
While they do not pick up bikes, they welcome you to come to their shop on NE 17th & Alberta St. to donate your bike any time the shop is open. You can find up-to-date shop hours here: https://communitycyclingcenter.org.
What kind of used bikes can I donate to the Community Cycling Center?
The Community Cycling Center gratefully accepts your gently used bicycles, parts, tools, and accessories.
There are a few things they cannot accept, including the following: used helmets, strollers, scooters, anything motorized, clothing, or toxic materials (batteries, oil, & solvents). They have limited space and capacity to accept larger items such as trainers, rollers, car racks and bike stands and may not be able to accept those items if they don’t have space at that time.
What happens to my bike?
So much happens to donated bikes! They really should do a series of comic strips on it sometime.
Whenever possible, their brilliant mechanics spiff the bike up, get it roadworthy, and then either distribute it through their myriad of programs or sell it as a used bike via their shop. The proceeds of used bike sales help support their ongoing work.
If the bike cannot be redistributed as a safe, rideable bike, they first they say a few words of thanks for its love and service as a bike that has brought joy to many, and then take whatever parts are still usable and redistribute them through sale or program distribution. For the metal parts that are unusable as a future bike or bike part, they are put into their weekly Salvage Sales, wherein they invite the community to sort through materials that are headed to the scrap yard. People use this as scrap metal for such things as sculptures, garden art, craft projects, and welding practice.
After all the sifting, any metal left is processed for metal recycling. Every week a dedicated team of staff and volunteers process metal that’s bound for the scrap yard. Their work includes stripping frames, separating aluminum rims from steel spokes, separating out tires, tubes, saddles, pedals, etc.
Who else takes used bikes?
The Community Cycling Center’s friends at Bikes for Humanity and Bike Farm also accept bike donations.
Bikes for Humanity
3366 SE Powell
Portland, OR 97202
Open by appointment for bike adoptions
Bike Farm
1810 NE First Ave
Portland, OR 97212
Thanks, Community Cycling Center, for all that you do to bring cycling to so many people in Oregon!
Explore more of Oregon – ride with Cycle Oregon!
Do you love Oregon AND Cycling? Sign up for one of our multi-day cycling events this year! Rides are open to everyone and we encourage all skill levels to join us.
visit: cycleoregon.com/ride to learn more about our summer events
I wanted to donate my old bicycle to homeless people in need. Do you do that?
Please read the article. All information on who accepts bikes and where you can donate can be found above. Cycle Oregon does not accept bicycle donations.
Bike Works by p:ear also accepts donations. Come by and see us at 14127 SE Stark!
I live in Wilsonville and would like to donate two bikes to a charity but have now to transport them. Is there a charity that is willing to pick them up.
Thanks
Hi Jim – We do not know of a charity that picks up bikes for donation. You could contact any of the organizations in this article directly to see if they are willing to arrange a pickup or know of a service who does.
Hi, my husband used to work on bikes and restore them, mostly road bikes. We have about 25 bikes in our garage currently, some have been repaired, but have sat in our garage for a few years. Some are still in need of repair. Would you take them?
Hi Kathy – Cycle Oregon does not accept bike donations. Please read the article to find a list of organizations who do and how you can contact them.