Community Bikes

Community Bikes is a bicycle project based in West Norwood, Lambeth.

We encourage cycling and to provide bicycle related services to the local community.

We are co-located with the ground-breaking Community Shop behind the Lambeth Reuse and Recycling Centre on Vale Street.

We have brought into productive use a piece of land behind the recycling facility which had been abandoned for many years and have built a workshop and storage sheds for spare bicycle parts and taken over a shipping container which is being adapted for the project.

We respond to local community feedback in providing bicycle related services including :

1. a bike share / hire scheme.
2. repairing bikes including building up a stock of spares from abandoned and unwanted bikes.
3. providing cycle maintenance training (especially for young people).
4. providing volunteering opportunities.
5. recycling bikes for the local community and especially Community Shop users.
6. sending bikes to Africa – we have sent bikes to Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone

If you are interested in getting involved or have any ideas for our project please get in touch via the contact form.

If you have a bike which is not being used please consider donating it! We receive no outside funding whatsoever so all donations are welcome!

Donate your old bike to Community Bikes, make some space and we’ll make sure it goes to good use!

We are interested in donations of bikes, spares and workshop equipment.

Bikes donated will be repaired or used for parts for our community hire scheme or sent to our partners in Ghana and Tanzania.

Whilst we will accept full-suspension bikes, please note they are usually of poor build quality and if not suitable for hire, parts or sending to Africa may be used for scrap.

We welcome donations of bikes in any condition as we can usually use the parts even if the bike is not repairable. We can arrange to pick up locally  at a time of your convenience.

For cash donations please use this button:

 

Please use the contact form to let us know what bikes you have.

Community Shop

Community Shop, the UK’s first social supermarket chain provides surplus food at low cost to disadvantaged communities. More than just food. Community Shop is a social enterprise that is empowering individuals and building stronger communities.

 

Lambeth Council

Lambeth Council is a cycling-friendly council with a number of useful schemes to encourage cycling including:

• Dr. Bike
• Free cycle training  and
• Try before you bike.

Lambeth Council provides abandoned bikes to Community Bikes for repair and reuse.

 

The Library of Things

 

A Library of Things is a space where you can

• borrow useful items like DIY tools, gardening things, kitchenware, camping kit and events equipment
• learn how to use items in 1-to-1 sessions and workshops
• get to know your neighbours at regular open nights
• please note the Library of Things has moved from the Vale Street site and is expected to reopen in March 2018 in Crystal Palace.
• Community Bikes have taken over one of the shipping containers (the one with the green roof.).

We are located behind the Lambeth Reuse and Recycling Centre at Vale Street – co-located with the Community Shop: