The Bike Shop runs innovative youth programs and promotes bicycles as an affordable means of transportation in the Third Ward by offering do-it-yourself bike repair facilities, after school and summer activities for kids, and bike related events. Our youth and adult programs focus on hands-on self-directed education as a path to self-empowerment.
During Open Shop participants of all ages fix their own bikes with help from trained volunteer mechanics. During Open Shop people can also buy or earn used parts for their bikes. This program significantly lessens the cost of maintaining a bike by eliminating service fees and by providing inexpensive used parts.
During Earn-A-Bike participants can get a bike through a work exchange that benefits themselves, the Bike Center, and the community. To earn a bike, participants must salvage working parts from an unusable bike and wheel, learn to patch a tube, and then fix a bike that is donated to a local charity. They then choose a bike to repair for themselves. Adults who can afford it are asked to make a $35 contribution to the Bike Shop to participate in Earn-a-Bike. Youth under 7 must have an older friend or adult help them with Earn-a-Bike.
Bike rides are held during school breaks and the summer and are open to students of all ages. In the past rides have gone to parks for cookouts and games, local museums, college campuses, pools, ice cream shops downtown and more.
The first annual Tour de Hood - Houston bike ride is coming up on May 24th. The 26 mile adventure winds through all six wards inside the loop and we hope everyone will sign up to ride! It will be super fun and proceeds benefit our friends at Tour de Hood as well as Workshop Houston! To sign up (its only $20!) or get more info visit www.tourdehood.org.
We are looking for volunteers to help with the ride and to sign up friends too — if you are interested call Workshop Houston and ask for Katy.
This is a video that Don Moser (Zach’s dad) made of our last day at the Bike Shop’s first location. You can check out the old shop and the hope in our young eyes.
Thank you to everyone who has been donating bikes to the Bike Shop! We appreciate your generosity and support, but we have no more room for bikes at the moment. If you have a bike to donate, please hang on to it if you can and hopefully we will have more room soon - check the website for updates! Also, if anyone has any storage or warehouse space to donate, we would be very grateful!
Riding a recent wave of skating enthusiasm around the shop, the Bike Shop is now accepting donations of skateboards and skateboard parts. Please bring any donations by the Shop during regular shop hours.
On a related note, here are a few pictures from our most recent trip to the skatepark!
The Bike Shop runs innovative youth programs and promotes bicycles as an affordable means of transportation in the Third Ward by offering do-it-yourself bike repair facilities, after school and summer activities for kids, and bike related events. Our youth and adult programs focus on hands-on self-directed education as a path to self-empowerment.
During Earn-A-Bike participants can get a bike through a work exchange that benefits themselves, the Bike Center, and the community. To earn a bike, participants must salvage working parts from an unusable bike and wheel, learn to patch a tube, and then fix a bike that is donated to a local charity. They then choose a bike to repair for themselves. Adults who can afford it are asked to make a $35 contribution to the Bike Shop to participate in Earn-a-Bike. Youth under 7 must have an older friend or adult help them with Earn-a-Bike.
