Our full-service bike shop at 1700 NE Alberta offers a range of services for people who rely on their bicycles for transportation and are living on a low (or no) income. We listen and respond to our customers in the hopes of creating pathways to meet the needs of our community by ensuring that basic services are accessible to EVERYONE, regardless of income. Here are the services we currently offer out of our Shop:
Low Income Commuter Services
Bike maintenance can get expensive, and our goal is to make it affordable for all. We are proud to offer a 25% shop discount when you show us your Oregon Trail/Washington Quest/equivalent EBT or Medicaid card. The discount is good for new and used parts and accessories, repair services, and all bike and frame sales.
I Want to Support This Program!
Community Tools
(Due to COVID-19 we are currently not able to lend tools.)
Would you like to work on your own bicycle? Great! During shop hours you can borrow our tools and use them at our outdoor repair stand free of charge. All you’ll need is a photo ID to get started. While we love being able to provide tools when you need them, we also know that our community repair set-up is less than ideal for much more than fixing flat tires or replacing brake pads. For those more in-depth repairs we recommend visiting our friends at Bike Farm.
Pay-It-Forward
Our Shop provides a wide variety of low or no-cost services for customers who need . The Pay-It-Forward Flat Fixes are an opportunity for anyone to support our work by donating $20 to cover the cost of a flat fix for one of our customers who’s living on a low income. If you’re interested in helping us off-set the costs associated with supporting Low-Income Commuters in our community, just let us know that you want to contribute to our Pay-It-Forward Flat Fixes.
For customers living on a low-income, The Pay-It-Forward Flat Fixes are all about dignity– just grab a card from the board to pay for your flat fix so you can get back on the road without any hassle. You don’t have to worry about explaining that you can’t afford to pay full-price, you don’t have to learn to “do-it-yourself” on the spot, and you can save your lunch money for your lunch. The card covers tube, rim strip and labor. If you need a tire too, we’ll figure something out!
Call or visit our shop to buy a Pay-it-forward Flat Fix for a neighbor in need!
Responsive and Compassionate Needs-Based Services
Some of our more vulnerable neighbors who rely on their bicycles for transportation need support in ways that can be very specific to their respective situations. Participants in our Needs-Based Services generally know us by reputation as responsive, respectful and understanding, so they seek us out when they find themselves with barriers to bicycling. As we build relationships, we learn that the folks who seek out these services are generally people who find themselves chronically houseless, homeless or in unstable living conditions, often because they have been displaced by gentrification, are experiencing generational poverty, and/or are disabled/living with a disability. To these select individuals we provide a range of services including parts, accessories, tools, service, apparel, coffee, snacks and a dry place to rest– all either free of charge or on a pay-as-you-can basis.
Many of the recipients of our Needs-Based Services lack identification or verification methods that would allow us to keep track of their status, personal information, or their history of using our services. So we rely on our staff’s ability to build relationships with community members in order to ensure that we’re getting the right services to the right people. This allows us to be responsive to the needs of individual neighbors, but it also means we can’t share specific eligibility requirements OR tell you if someone qualifies to use these services. But we can tell you that we’re committed to taking care of ALL our neighbors.
Support the COVID-19 Emergency Fund!