Prince Of Petworth » Dear PoP – Where to Donate a Bike?

Prince of Petworth is the District's #1 website for quality of life, real estate, local business and neighborhood news.

Neighborhoods

Adams Morgan Capitol Hill Columbia Heights H St. NE Logan CircleSee More

Visit the Forum >>
Visit the Classifieds >>

NEWER POST

Photo Archives Caption Contest Winner

OLDER POST

Ridiculously Awesome Album Cover of the Week

Dear PoP – Where to Donate a Bike?

“Dear PoP,

I’ve got a 1998 Giant Rincon mountain bike in mint condition that is surplus to my needs, and would like to donate it to a worthy local charity. I’m thinking of one of those non-profit bike stores or bicycling advocacy organizations that might pass it on to someone in need after checking it out for safety issues of course. The bike has never been used in the rain, it’s got new tubes, and the brakes and gears have been recently adjusted. It comes with a sturdy rack, two panniers, front and rear lights (which need batteries). Ideally I’d like to donate it to a place within riding distance of Columbia Heights where the bike is located.”

Any suggestions?

Category: Bike, Dear PoPville

By: Prince Of Petworth | 14 January 2010 9:22 PM | 10 Comments

my reCAPTCHA is my credit

If it’s in great shape and has all those accessories just sell it on craigslist and make a donation to Phoenix Bikes or one of the other co-ops. I don’t know of any organization giving bikes to people in need in DC, unless you want to count the shops selling crappy locks.

January 14, 2010 at 10:12 pm
- QuincyInk
  
  That is a nice thing to do. Just to follow up with what reCAPTCHA said, you may want to contact the Bike House, a local co-op that operates out of the back of Qualia Coffee on Georgia Ave: http://www.thebikehouse.org. They are always looking for bikes, frames, parts, etc. Good luck!
  
  January 14, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Kevin

The Bike Rack on 14th and Q has a partnership with an organization in Africa. They will take te bike along with a small donation ~$10 or whatever you want.

January 14, 2010 at 10:45 pm
ontarioroader

Phoenix Bikes in Arlington takes donations, as do these two groups:
-Bikes for the World, which is sponsored by the Washington Area Bicycle Association, and have donation events all around the DC area and send the bikes to ‘developing countries’.

-Mt Rainier Bike co-op, which I don’t have any experience with.

It’s really too bad that the folks who ran the parent organization of the Chain Reaction community bike shop here in Shaw let it fail.

January 14, 2010 at 11:41 pm
anonymous

i’ll take it off your hands… hehe

January 15, 2010 at 9:28 am
Nathan

I have experience with the Mount Rainier Bike Coop. They do great work, including a program in which kids learn bike safety and repair through building their own bikes. When the “classes” are done, they get to keep the bike they made.

http://mrbikecoop.com

January 15, 2010 at 9:38 am
Anymouse

Leave it outside without a lock. Guarantee it will be gone in 2 hours. Consider it a “donation.”

January 15, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Lee.Watkins

if you are in Baltimore City, you can take it to Velocipede Bike Project, 4 W Lanvale St, located 2 blocks south of North Ave, just west of Charles St. – in the middle of the block with the old bike above the door.

January 18, 2010 at 7:05 am
ontarioroader

Looks like the reader decided to sell it instead:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/bik/1557747327.html

January 18, 2010 at 12:36 pm
vonstallin

I’ve taken 6 of my bikes in the last decade to the Salvation Army. THey have guys that will do a certain amount of repair to them.

The last Bike i was about to donate was a speacialized commuter. I decided to put it on craigs list and got $75 for it…not bad since i was just going to give it away.

January 19, 2010 at 11:40 am