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I have many old bikes, parts, specific tools, etc. Where can I give them to?

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ibike.org/environment/recycling – mgb Jan 30 '11 at 4:34
2  
Actually, when retagging this, I found this question: Charities that accept bike donations. Very, very close but it's specific to charities; that question might provide additional ways to give your bikes and parts away. – Neil Fein Jan 30 '11 at 4:58

5 Answers

up vote 6 down vote
  • The best option would be to find a local bicycle co-op and offer them the parts. (They would probably welcome bikes, rims, and tools.)
  • You may not be near a co-op; if that's the case, there are numerous "pay it forward" threads on bicycle forums, but you'd end up paying postage; useful for small or esoteric parts. (I've given away a lot of stuff that way.)
  • You could also try Freecycle, but since that's more of a general audience, I doubt many people on those lists would even know what, say, a bottom bracket is, let alone how to use it. For giving away a complete working bike, this might be an excellent option. (Hey, their logo includes a guitar and a bike!)
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up vote 3 down vote

BikeWorks 3709 S. Ferdinand St. Seattle, WA 98118, USA

Bike Works (See comments for more info.)

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Could you tell us a bit more about them? – freiheit♦ Feb 2 '11 at 17:36
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I can! Bike Works is a community non-profit organization focusing on reusing and recycling, teaching young people (and adults) about bike riding and maintenance, and is somewhat involved in cycling advocacy, particularly in a local way. They have a great full service shop, and the whole organization is very welcoming to all. Donations of bikes, parts and accessories are put to use by fixing up bikes to go back on the road or for separate sale (cheap). Proceeds feed back into education programs. Most donations are delivered from the local area, but you can post a box there. – outsideblasts Feb 3 '11 at 7:47
up vote 2 down vote

If you've tried all of the charities and bike co-ops in your area and are still left with a pile of parts, you could try offering them (free or for a nominal charge) to the bike hackers over on the Atomic Zombie Forums (or somewhere similar). If they're parts then they'll probably be glad of them, if they're frames then they'll probably only take them if they're not aluminium. You can never have too many tools.

Alternatively, depending on how much stuff you've got buy an arc welder and build your own trike or recumbent - plans here: Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines

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up vote 1 down vote

I would just look for ads and/or post an ad on craigslist/kijiji. I just saw an ad last week for someone looking for "old bike parts in any condition". I kept the parts that I knew I could fix and that I would need and dropped the rest off to him.

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up vote 1 down vote

In the Chicago area, donate those parts to Working Bikes Cooperative. Working Bikes is a 501c3 non-profit with the goal of diverting used bicycles and parts from the waste stream. Bikes and parts are redistributed to partners in developing countries, primarily in Africa and Central America; to local partners in Chicago; and sold as the means to fund the organization. www.workingbikes.org for more info. Working Bikes has drop off locations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and more.

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