If you squint, the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective, strategically located on the 900 South bike corridor in Salt Lake City, looks like any other successful bike shop: sales floor packed with a large variety of bikes and plenty of customers milling about; repair shop full of techs working on derailleurs and cranks; parts section with everything from pedals to forks to chains to wheels.
But look closer and you realize this is no ordinary bike shop. Because nothing in here is new.
Everything is donated. The bikes and the gear, every bit of it, used to belong to someone else. Last year, the Bicycle Collective collected 5,379 donated bikes. That’s over 100 bikes on average a week. Once the bikes are refurbished, they go on sale for a significantly reduced price, or they’re given away — to refugees, homeless people, inmates just getting out of jail, people coming out of substance abuse treatment, families with less than moderate income, anyone in genuine need where a bicycle could help improve their circumstances…