Bicycle Network: Bikes 'n' Bits

To buy

If you are not a "gear fanatic" or even if you are, second-hand bikes are a great way to get into bike riding.  Keep your wits about you when buying second-hand bikes as most don't come with a warranty and it's hard to be sure of their history.  If possible, take someone with you to inspect the bike who knows bikes well.

Good Places to start looking:

• Start with your local bike shop.
• Check our bike shops and shopping forum
• Second hand dealers such as Cash Converters often stock second hand bikes
• Join the eBay craze and search for a bike - beware of bikes that you cannot test ride first however.

Victoria

 The Bike Shed At CERES

The Bike Shed maintains the Bicycle Recycle Shed at CERES environemnt park, East Brunswick, Melbourne, Victoria. They recycle abandoned/donated bicycles and help members repair them. They will also help you to fix or build your own bicycle. They will however not fix a bike for you. The Bike Shed has an extensive range or tools and recycled parts.

Become a member (you can join up at the workshop: $10 waged / $5 unwaged per year or the $13 family rate and have unlimited access to bike tools and advice. Basic bikes start at $30 and range up to $100.

Open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 11am to 4pm. Come early as it is usually very busy and expect to wait until you can be assisted.

Contact the Secretary : secretary@thebikeshed.org.au

Bicycle Recycle 

Bicycle Recycle take second-hand bikes that are in reasonable condition and sell new and second-hand bikes.

672a South Road, Moorabbin, 3189
Phone: 03 9555 8692
Email: bicyclerecycle@bigpond.com

To donate

The Red Cross urgently needs donated second-hand bicycles!

As part of the Bridging Support Program, the Australian Red Cross provides donated bicycles to vulnerable migrants living in the community. The Program seeks to enable the target group to overcome social exclusion and disadvantage so as to settle and participate in community life, even if only for a temporary and uncertain period. Bicycles can assist to bring asylum seekers out of social isolation by providing an affordable, practical means to connect with their community and support networks.

Currently Red Cross has an urgent need for donations of second-hand adult male bikes. If you have one you can donate one to the Red Cross, the team of volunteer bicycle mechanics will soon clean off the dust, scrub the rust, replace the rusty cables and chains, ensure they are legal, safe and functional, and have them as good as new in no time. The only bicycles that are unsuitable are those with bent frames, or are otherwise unrepairable. The intention of the program is to help rebuild the dignity of the clients so bikes that are in newer condition are particularly appreciated. Additionally any front, rear, or wheel reflectors, pumps or helmet would be valued too.

Please drop off bikes at 23-47 Villiers St, North Melbourne, or the Red Cross can pick your preloved darlings up from your premises. However if you are able to get 3 or 4 bikes in one place this will make much better use of their sparse resources!

If you would like to make a donation or find out more, please contact Claire Foreman, Caseworker, Bridging Support Program- Migration Support. Tel: (03) 9341 7569 or Email: cforeman@redcross.org.au Web: www.redcross.org.au
 

Help Cathy Freeman and the children of Palm Island

Imagine trying to maintain your bike when you live in the fourth most disadvantaged community in Australia. That’s one of the challenges for some of the children on Palm Island, who have been awarded a bike by the Catherine Freeman Foundation in its Non Truancy bike initiative. You can help by donating tools so the children can keep their bikes in good condition.

How do I donate?

Bring your tools into the Bicycle Network Victoria office at Level 10, 446 Collins St, Melbourne and let our Rider Services team know that it's for Cathy's Palm Island project. We will pass them onto Cathy and her team.

What kind of tools do they need?

Just like you, the children on Palm Island need to look after their bikes. They need spare tubes (12" or 16" MTB tyres), tyre levers, mini-pumps and floor pumps, bottles of chain lube, puncture repair kits and mini-tools. 
 

Bicycles for Humanity - Africa

Victoria

The Bikery

The Bikery is a community-run project coordinated by the Monash Clayton Bicycle Users Group (McBUG), with support from the Monash Student Association (MSA) and Monash University, Victoria.

Volunteers recondition donated and rescued bikes to sell as cheaply as possible to Monash staff and students as a sustainable form of transport, while diverting waste from the scrap-heap.

The project needs bike donations, volunteers to do bike pick-ups and repairs and contacts for ethically-minded bike product suppliers.

For more information: http://www.msa.monash.edu.au/bikery/

Back 2 Bikes

Back 2 Bikes is a not-for-profit initiative of South Port UnitingCare aimed at recycling unwanted bikes in Inner Southern metropolitan Melbourne. We are on the lookout for donations of bikes, and volunteers with time to help restore bikes and pass on their knowledge, whilst learning more about bike maintenance and repair from a qualified maintenance tutor.

For more information: http://www.back2bikes.com.au/

Outlook Environmental

Providing employment opportunities for people with disabilities, Outlook recycle bikes (amongst other recyclables).

Phone: 03 5941 1535
Address: Darebin Resource Recovery Centre, Kurnai Rd, Reservoir (for drop offs)
Website: http://www.outlookvic.org.au/
Email: enquiries@outlookenviro.org.au
 

Donate a bike to needy students. (Melbourne)

My name is John Ross and I am a teacher at Reservoir High School.
If you are up-grading your bike and wish to donate your old bike, to one of our needy students, I would gladly come and pick it up. If it needs servicing I will get that done then pass it on to one of our students who would get some great use out of it. We have many refugee students from Sudan and Somalia and students from disadvantaged backgrounds that would certainly get some positives out of owning and cycling their own bike. If you have a bike that could be donated please e-mail me on jlr2733@hotmail.com and I will organise to pick it up thankyou for your support.
John Ross.

New South Wales

Newcastle Bike Ecology Centre

Your local environment, not-for-profit, community based, sustainable transport, bike-fun centre, push-bike co-op. We take pre-loved bikes and parts that are then restored by volunteers. Free workshops on how to fix bikes, cycling tips and traffic skills. If you want a bike, we help you recycle one for free.

Phone: 02 4961 6582
Address: 106 Robert St, Islington, NSW, 2296
Website: http://newcastlebikeecologycentre.blogspot.com
 

Bicycle Recycling Network

Website provides information on places that accept donations of bicycles, tools and parts in and around Sydney. Volunteers are also sought to help continue this community program.

For more information:  www.bicyclerecycling.com

Queensland

The Bicycle Revolution

Accept all bikes and parts in any condition. Any frames that cannot be used are given to a Rotary programme that builds wheelchairs by using the back sections of the frames.Any remaining waste metal is sold to metal recyclers. The proceeds are used to pay for the proper disposal of bicycle tyres and tubes by Tyrecycle.

Phone: 07 3342 7829
Address: 294 Montague Road, West End, Brisbane, QLD 4101
Website: www.bicyclerevolution.org.au
Email: info@bicyclerevolution.org.au
 

ACT

The Recyclery

Do you have a bike gathering dust in a shed, unwanted, ignored, abandoned? Recyclery is a not-for-profit business that promotes re-use and recycling

For more information: http://www.recyclery.com.au