Bikes needed

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on November 10, 2012 at 12:21am

Thank you so much for taking this step.

I would suggest getting in touch with some of the larger shops as they may be interested in getting rid of a chunk of inventory at the end of the year and it sounds like there's the potential for a tax write-off here.

I would try to track down the owner of the shop-- don't bother with anyone else-- and target these shops:

Village Cycle (Chicago)

The Bike Rack (St. Charles)

The Trek Store/ On the Route Cycles (Chicago)

Village Cycle Sport (Arlington Heights-- no connection to Village Cycle above.)

I would avoid "used" bikes as if you're not well versed in bike repair yourself you may end up with something that needs so much money put into it to be safe and reliable that you'll end up spending more than on a new bike.

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Permalink Reply by Ace Mann on November 10, 2012 at 12:34am

You might also check with Bike n Roll & with Bobby's bike hike that do fleet sales

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on November 10, 2012 at 7:33am

Ten 27 in Evanston is closing down and getting rid of its rental fleet of bikes as well as all of its new bikes.  If you're buying in quantity you may be able to negotiate a very good deal there.

http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/evanston-s-ten-27-cycles-c...

 

If you haven't already done so, approach the bike and bike part manufacturers.  Trek, for instance, is located nearby in Wisconsin and Chicago's SRAM has a cycling foundation.  Those places may either be interested in donating bikes outright or giving you a grant to start up your program.  It shouldn't be difficult to convince them that what you're doing would be beneficial to them and to cycling in general.

 

Also, approach the Illinois Department of Transportation.  They already have a popular functional motorcycle safety training program throughout the state, and your inquiry may be the catalyst that leads them to creating a similar bicycle safety training program in Illinois.  With the motorcycle program, which I'm a small part of, I believe manufacturers donate motorcycles to Illinois each year, both as a tax deduction and part of their marketing budget.  IDOT may have the leverage you need to convince several bicycle manufacturers to support your efforts.

 

Touch base with the League of American Bicyclists.  They already have a curriculum for safety training.

 

Good luck and thanks from us cyclists for what you're attempting to create!

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Permalink Reply by Joe Willis on November 10, 2012 at 9:22am

Also get in touch with Active trans, They might be able togive you some usefull information.

http://www.activetrans.org/

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on November 10, 2012 at 1:00pm

Agree with all subsequent tips, good stuff.

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