Build two bikes and keep one for yourself. No previous mechanics experience necessary!
Donate money, volunteer, or pass along your gently used bike for a second life.
Learn the skills to better understand your bike in one of our maintenance classes.
We are all a part of Recycle-A-Bike, run on 100% volunteer participation. Be an enabler this month, take 15 minutes of your time to ask family and friends to donate to Recycle-A-Bike as their holiday gift to you.
Continue reading→Recycle-A-Bike (RAB) is a volunteer-based community organization that connects people with refurbished bikes, provides practical bike knowledge, and advocates bicycle use by safer, more confident cyclists.
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).
“At RAB, I had the unique opportunity to train with a master mechanic, during which time I built a bike that I use daily. As a committed volunteer, I also spearhead projects and gain experience in leadership.”
-Dailen V., Volunteer
“Recycle-A-Bike helped me learn about the mechanical operation of my bike, to “know my bike,” and introduced me to people who are involved in our cycling community. This is a great place for women who enjoy cycling!”
-Betty B., Board Member
“I have always been unsettled by how much waste we create in our world. At RAB, I am able to restore used bikes to complete working condition. I love sharing this experience in the classes that I teach.”
-Nick P., Master Mechanic
We are located in Olneyville Square:
12 Library Court, Providence, RI 02909
Phone: (401) 525-1822 | General email
RAB will be closed December 18th through January 6th.
Open Shop: Tuesdays 5-8pm & Saturdays 9am-2pm
Bike Donations: Drop by during Open Shop
or schedule an appointment.
Jenna Johns-Yu, Development Director
John Powning, Board Chair
Douglas Lewis, Master Mechanic
Nick Perry, Master Mechanic
Kim Caron, Valet Coordinator
During this six-week session you will build two bikes, keeping one for yourself and donating one to RAB. Enrollment is free, however participants should be prepared to work a minimum of thirty-five hours and fully refurbish two bikes.
The 1st class of the 3rd season begins and it is full! The next Build-A-Bike will be in the spring, stay tuned for more info on how to sign up.
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 emailing Jenna. We can’t succeed without you!
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, kids, and BMX bikes. However if the bike has too much rust and appears beyond repair, please take it to a scrap yard. Before you consider donating a bike, please fill out our donation questionnaire, and we will reply within a few days if we can recycle your bike. We could also use bike tools, bike parts!
Recycle-A-Bike is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your gift is deductible to the full extent of the law.
Where does the money go?
We offer an open shop where anyone can drop in to use the RAB tools and space to repair or do routine maintenance on their bike. This is a do-it-yourself model with master mechanics providing technical expertise and guidance. You don’t have to have any bike mechanics experience to join us, but be prepared to get your hands greasy. There is a suggested donation of $5/hr. Used parts are discounted and new parts are determined by the market rate.
We teach bike tune up, maintenance, safe riding, and occasionally we offer more specialized classes. Wrenching Wednesdays, Afterschool Programs, and Refugee Fix-A-Bike programs are just a few of many classes we offer. Email Jenna for further inquiries on taking a workshop or partnerships (schools, community centers, businesses or other groups). Download our new Providence Cycling Map to get the inside scoop from seasoned riders on Rhode Island’s bike paths!
RAB offers a bike parking service during the summer at the Saturday Farmers Market at Lippitt Park. Bike Valet encourages people to bike to destinations and park nearby worry free of their bicycle’s safety. Email Kim if you’re interested in volunteering as a valet parker.