Bike Donation Guide

Interested in donating a bike you don’t need? See where it might go if you donate it to us!

Every year hundreds of folks find us to re-home their bikes. Whether cleaning out their garage, moving, upgrading to another bike, or even landscaping in the backyard and finding a bike or two, we have folks bring all kinds of bikes to us. Some fancier bikes allow us to generate revenue through sales, others are tuned up and granted at the organization’s expense, while other dependable bikes are fixed up, sold at an affordable rate and the investment in them and revenue generated essentially cancel out. We can’t take them all, so check out the bikes below to see if we’d be interested and where your potential donation might go.

Huffies

Magnas, Roadmasters, Nexts, Anzas, Pacifics…

These bikes come from department stores (Fred Meyer, Walmart, Target, etc.) and didn’t cost much when they were purchased new. Unfortunately, they are constructed, marketed and sold with a quick profit in mind and don’t have very long-term viability as a fun-loving commuting machine. This is unfortunate in several ways: (1) waste—materials are put into bicycle-shaped objects that end up in the trash (2) bicycle advocacy—if these bikes are the entry point for folks to get interested in riding, the journey’s not going to last very long (3) affordability—these are the bikes folks on a budget can afford, making the experience of biking (supposed to be famously democratic) tiered based on economic class (4) efficiency—from our end, these bikes are timesucks to fix, and ultimately they will be granted to children who will outgrow them before they break. Please consider finding another place for these bikes, or including a monetary donation of $10-30 for us to process your donation

Ye Old Sears Bike

Free Spirit, Huffy, Murray, Open Road…

These bikes are very cute and charming, but highly impractical. The steel wheels are heavy and don’t stop as well in the rain—going uphill is hard and downhill unsafe. Might be great for someone looking to ride a little in the summer—try a free group online or consider a monetary donation along with the bike to us.

Kids bikes!

12, 16, 18, 20 inch wheelers

We get 2-3 times as many kids bikes as we fix up and redistribute ourselves. We try to have a quality kids bike of each 12/16/20/24” wheels available at all times, but folks don’t come to us to adopt one nearly as often as they do to donate. Is it a super quality bike-shop quality bike? We’d love it! Is it in the Huffy category? We’re likely to deconstruct it or store it until enough pile up for a partner organization like the Community Cycling Center to come grab a load for their programs. Consider donating directly to the CCC!

Good ol Bikes!

Skykomish, Motiv, Sherpa, Giant, Iron Horse…

In the late ‘80s/early ‘90s Costcos, sporting goods stores, and other dealers put out ***bunches*** of quality, cromoly steel mountain bikes with aluminum wheels, and good components. This is the bread and butter of our operation—some are adopted for 160 bucks, others are earned through volunteering, and some are granted outright to folks in need. They don’t really generate a profit, but that’s not the point! These bikes have the gear range for Portland’s rolling terrain and are equipped for handling it in fierce conditions. Made for fenders, racks, and big tires, these are commuting machines!

Classics

Specialized, Bridgestone, Novara, Miyata, Univega, Nishiki, Fuji, Bianchi, Peugeot, Trek, Raleigh…

These bikes we are able to do up a little fancier and ask a little more money for, but still have available at a price more affordable than you’ll find anywhere else. These awesome bikes have been blowing minds and breaking hearts for 40+ years, and with some TLC, lube, and a few new parts, are as good as new! If they have some rust or a missing seat, no big deal—we’ll take ‘em!

Bike boomers

classic road bikes

Lugged steel platonic bikes: these classic road bikes from the late ‘70s will always be in demand!

Dream bikes

Surly, Soma, Salsa, All City, Jamis…

Want your dream machine to go to someone who will really appreciate it, and to support a community-focused organization? Consider donating it to us! Bikes like this Ridley allow us to be more flexible in our operations, and to connect individuals in our community with a great deal on an awesome bike! This June we were able to donate the proceeds of this Ridley and another high-end bike to Don’t Shoot PDX, a local nonprofit dedicated to racial justice, while in years past adoptions of high-end donated bikes have been crucial fundraising opportunities.

Have any questions about donating a bike? Email info@b4hpdx.org or call/text 503-496-6941