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Bikes
Bicycles are the saner, cleaner alternative to automobiles, especially for short trips in the city. They are quiet, clean, easy to store, cheaper to operate, and healthier for the rider and the Earth.
What can you do when you need bike repair or you have received your holiday bonus and want to spring for that 21-gear model? Lucky for you, there are three organizations in Chicago that offer affordable repair as well as rebuilt and refurbished bikes. They will also take that old bike off your hands and see that someone who really needs transportation becomes the happy recipient of your old wheels.
Be sure to call before dropping off anything to confirm hours of operation.
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Recycling options
Blackstone Bicycle Works
6100 S. Blackstone
(61st and Dorchester)
Chicago, IL 60637
(773) 821-1351
The Blackstone Bicycle Works was initiated by Chicago’s Resource Center to provide neighborhood youth and adults with work opportunities, and residents with affordable bike repair. Unfortunately, the building was considerably damaged by fire in April 2001 and a replacement building is still underway. However, bike parts and donations are still being accepted, and there is hope for a reopening in 2005.
Uptown Bikes (formerly Urban Bikes)
4653 N. Broadway St.
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 728-5212
Started around 1990 in a garage of the nearby Catholic Worker’s House, Uptown Bikes is now a storefront business located right off the Red Line CTA at the Wilson stop. The shop sells new and reconstructed bikes at affordable prices, provides repairs, promotes bike recycling, and serves as a community hub for its employees and customers.
Working Bikes Cooperative
2434 S. Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60608
847-544
Call for drop-off times. Founded in 2001, Working Bikes has donated thousands of bikes to Africa, Asia, and Caribbean nations, where bikes are the only form of mechanized transportation for many. It also donates bikes locally to groups and individuals, provides job training, and organizes giant bike sales to pay for oversees shipment costs.
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