Due to COVID-19, Tuesday & Saturday Open Shop are currently suspended. We hope to get back to seeing you all again very soon. In the meantime, we’re still selling refurbished bikes. Make an appointment at recycleabikepvd.square.site.
Want to learn how to fix your own bike? Need a bike for transportation? Apply Today!
Donate money, volunteer, or pass along your gently used bike for a second life.
Educating, empowering, and building community by connecting people and bicycles
Valuable connections are made in our community shop among bicycle riders. By learning and sharing bike maintenance knowledge, people learn to believe in themselves and their community. Our programs make the simple technology of these pedal powered machines available to all with the help of the volunteer staff and general skill sharing.
Mobility on a bicycle is an expression of our freedom and equality! We encourage members of the public to participate in cycling as part of a healthy and active lifestyle – not just as a recreational activity, but also as a viable mode of transportation.
Ride safely on the road. Be predictable, aware, courteous, and confident. Keep riding: you are a legal vehicle with the same rights on the road! Download cycling safety tips from the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen and the Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island (via RIDOT’s Bike RI page).
Edward Raff, President
Sandra Victorino, Vice-President
Robert Serinsky, Treasurer
Jack Hartman, Secretary
Kurt Teichert
Christopher Gambardella
John Olivo
Gregory Guertin
Thomas Bacon
Chelsea DeSantis, Lead Mechanic & Educator
John Rosenwinkel, Shop Mechanic
Our community bike shop in Olneyville Square provides visitors with the opportunity to find affordable bicycles & bike parts along with the help and training to get their bikes on the road.
If you’re looking for used parts, a bike-project to wrench on, a bike to ride, to donate your old bike/parts or to take a class on bicycle mechanics – you’ve come to the right place.
Come for a visit during Open Shop to get your hands greasy, to get your bike tuned-up, to give back to the community or to make new friends!
–Dailen V., Volunteer
–Betty B., Volunteer
–Nick P., Master Mechanic
1911 Westminster St, Providence, RI 02909
Call OR Text (401) 525-1822
Email Chelsea DeSantis – Lead Mechanic & Instructor
Email John Rosenwinkel – Shop Mechanic
The shop is currently open by appointment only for bike and accessory sales. Check out our online store to view our refurbished bikes for sale and to schedule an appointment to come test ride and purchase. Our hours are irregular, so check the online store for available appointment times! You can also send us an email with any questions.
Can’t bear to see an unused bike collect dust in the basement or go to a landfill? Donate it to us for a second life! For the past 10 years, we have been refurbishing hundreds of old bikes for newly arrived refugees, students, city youth, and others through programs like Build-A-Bike, Wrenching Wednesdays, and Open Shop.
We accept all kinds of bicycles: cruisers, road, mountain, and BMX bikes. However if the bike has too much rust and appears beyond repair, please take it to a scrap yard. We accept donations of bicycles, bike tools, and bike parts during our open shop hours.
We accept bicycle donations during Open Shop on Tuesdays 5pm-8pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm, please call ahead to make a donation of 5 or more bicycles
Whatever your interest or availability, there is a place for you! Greeting visitors at Open Shop, distributing brochures, and fixing bikes are just a few examples of how you can help out. If you’d like to volunteer, start today by filling out this volunteer form or emailing our Director of Operations. We can’t succeed without you!
Recycle-A-Bike is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your gift is deductible to the full extent of the law. Watch our 2012 fundraising video!
Where does the money go?
Want to give more? Join our Crank-set by signing up for a monthly contribution!
| Recurring payment amounts |
That means you can now bring bicycles, bike parts and bicycle accessories to their shops and they will make sure that your donation finds it way over to Recycle-A-Bike! We’re proud to call these businesses our partners, below you will find a list of their locations and hours of operation.
Description:
Bicycle Overhaul Clinic is a hands-on 6-session, 18-hour course that goes into great depth of the most common repairs that are performed in the bike shop. Curious to see the ball bearings inside your hub and headset? Wondering how cable tension improves derailleur performance when you’re shifting? Come on in and find out! This is a bike mechanics class for all skill levels- no experience required.
Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a parent – See tickets for youth/parent pricing.
– Bike parts and tools overview
-Bike assessment & diagnosis
– Patching a flat, replacing tubes and tires
– Overhauling hubs
– Wheel Truing
– Overhauling bottom brackets and headsets
– Adjusting brake systems
– Adjusting shift systems and derailleurs
Classes in this course build on one another, so please try to attend all or as many sessions as you can to stay up to speed with the content.
(View RAB’s Class Listings & Register Today)
Flat Fix and Bicycle Safety Clinic is a hands-on course to teach you a few basic skills for keeping your bike running in tip-top shape this season. Open to all levels.
We will explain and practice:
Class Fee: Sliding Scale $5-$15
Basic Bike Maintenance Clinic is a hands-on course to teach you a few basic skills for keeping your bike running in tip-top shape this season. Open to all levels.
We will explain and practice:
Class Fee: Sliding Scale $5-$15
(View RAB’s Class Listings & Register Today)
Our youth programs are comprised of basic and advanced coursework on bicycle mechanics, art, math, science and job training. Students learn bicycle mechanics, smart tool use and work habits, hands-on engineering, among other skills. We explore the physics of a bicycle including mechanical aspects of how bikes work, how to repair a used bicycle and how to maintain a bicycle in good working order.
Students also learn important skills of assessment and problem-solving while working on bikes, necessary and useful skills in any field. Other topics covered in our programs include bike safety, fitness, and the social, economic and environmental benefits of cycling. Students will sometimes go on field trips to explore sites like the Woonasquatucket River by going for bike rides on the bike path in Providence and Johnston.
Our courses our tailored to the age range of our students, the duration of time we meet with them weekly, and the total number of classes we meet together as a group.
Email: education@recycleabike.org for class rates & more information
Teen Build-A-Bike Summer Day Camp is perfect for teenagers that love bikes, science and art!
During week-long camp, instructors go into great depth covering the most common repairs needed to be performed on bicycles. In addition, we will instruct participants on smart cycling practices on-road & on bike paths, take particpants on two bike riding field trips on local bike paths, and get creative with bike parts to create some bike-art. No previous experience working with tools or bicycles is required of participants.
What Participants Should Expect:
Mon July 29th – Fri August 2nd
Bike Ride on the Woony:
Wed: July 31st
Bike Ride on the East Bay:*
Fri: August 2nd
**Cost Per Session: $350
**Minium number of participants per session is 6. If less than six participants sign up for a session, all remaining participants camp fees will be refunded
** Interested in signing up to be on the financial aid waitlist? Fill out our Financial Aid Sign-Up Form and we will be in touch if/when we recieve funding to offer financial aid
(View RAB’s Class Listings & Register Today)
This internship is part class and part job. Students at the MET High School spend an entire year being taught the skills required to work at Recycle-A-Bike, and then put those skills to use to support Recycle-A-Bike’s operations & mission.
Students learn bicycle mechanics, smart tool use and work habits, hands-on engineering, bike shop/retail operations, among other skills. We explore the physics of a bicycle including mechanical aspects of how bikes work, how to repair a used bicycle and how to maintain a bicycle in good working order. Students also learn important skills of assessment and problem-solving while working on bikes, necessary and useful skills in any field. Other topics covered in this internship include bike safety, fitness, and the social, economic and environmental benefits of cycling. Students will get to explore the Woonasquatucket River by going for bike rides on the bike path in Providence and Johnston.
COVID-19 Update: Due to COVID-19, Tuesday & Saturday Open Shop are currently suspended. We hope to get back to seeing you all again very soon. In the meantime, we’re still selling refurbished bikes. Make an appointment today.
Everyone is welcome to drop into our space during our open shop hours. Visitors can use our bike stands, specialized tools and space to make repairs or do routine maintenance on their bikes. Used bike parts are available at discounted prices. The price of new parts are determined by the market rate.
This is a do-it-yourself model, where we take pride in teaching visitors how to make the repairs and adjustments, instead of simply doing the work for them. Our in-house Master Mechanics are always on hand to provide technical expertise and guidance. You don’t need any mechanical experience to join us, but do be prepared to get your hands greasy. There is a suggested donation of $5/hour. Anyone may also volunteer during these hours, and time donated helping the shop will earn points which may be traded for parts, or shop time.
The first Wednesday of every month, Recycle-a-Bike will host WTF Wrenching Wednesdays This open-shop-style space is available to people who identify as female, transgender, femme, genderqueer, trans-masculine, trans-feminine, or feel their socialization or treatment as a woman/transperson*/femme has impeded their participation in bike mechanics. If you do not identify with one of these identities, you are kindly asked not to attend this shop time.*
This night is a time to bring your own bike project to work on, pick out a project to volunteer your help with or just to tinker and practice working with the tools. No mechanical knowledge or experience necessary- just an interest in learning! WTF Wrenching Wed will maintain a pop-ed learning culture (no one knows everything and everyone knows something), so we hope to create a kind and respectful learning environment. WTF Wrenching Weds were developed in response to an expressed community need for such a space, drawing inspiration from similar programs nationally and internationally. Click here to see our upcoming WTF Wrenching Wednesdays FB Events, or e-mail Chelsea with any questions.
Wrench-It-Forward recipients will receive full scholarships to our Repair-A-Bike course, a voucher of up to $200 off any bicycle purchase at RAB, bicycle repair book, helmet, Kryptonite U-Lock and safety lights. In addition recipients will receive free admission to the Smart Cycling course: Your Right to the Road taught by our partners: The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council. These Courses will be offered in both English and Spanish.
Repair-A-Bike is a 6-session, 18-hour course that goes into great depth of the most common overhauls and repairs that are performed in the bike shop. Repair-A-Bike is completely hands-on, where students use our in-house bike tools, equipment and parts under the supervision of our knowledgeable and skilled mechanics, and practice the skills they’re learning on our stock of donated bikes. Participants learn how to diagnose and repair many critical issues with bicycles and enables students to be better informed and more autonomous cyclists.
October Repair-A-Bike (Dates: 10/07, 10/10, 10/17, 10/21, 10/24)
November Repair-A-Bike (Dates 11/04, 11/07, 11/14, 11/18, 11/21)
December Repair-A-Bike (Dates: 12/02, 12/05, 12/09, 12/12, 12/16, 12/19)
More dates to come!
In addition to mechanics instruction, each scholarship recipient will take part in one session of smart cycling instruction.
Your right to the Road class is designed to help everyone bike with confidence and and comfort while riding in the road. In the first half of the class we will discuss your rights and responsibilities as a cyclist on the road. Topics covered will include basic traffic principles, Rhode Island bicycle laws, lane positioning, utilizing bike infrastructure and more.
The second half of the class will be on-bike giving everyone the chance to practice the rules of the road we learned in the classroom. This on-bike portion will include a group ride on city streets and parking lot bike handling and hazard avoidance drill.
Sunday October 27th 10AM – 1PM
Sunday November 24th 10AM – 1PM
Sunday December 15th 10AM – 1PM
INDIVIDUALS Apply by clicking THIS LINK or by emailing Chelsea@recycleabike.org
GROUPS Apply by clicking THIS LINK or by emailing Chelsea@recycleabike.org