About Us
We’re passionate about getting more people on bikes.
Recyke y’bike is a charity. We’ve been established since 2006 and generate the majority of income through sales of refurbished bikes and servicing bikes. Every year we give away hundreds of bikes to referred individuals and deliver a number of free bike maintenance workshops to different groups of people.
Our Charitable Objectives are defined as:
- To develop the capacity and skills of the socially disadvantaged community of the North East of England in such a way that they are better able to identify, and help meet, their needs and to participate more fully in society
- To preserve and protect the health of the public by encouraging cycling
- To advance the education of all ages of the public in the safe use, re-use and maintenance of bicycles
- The protection and preservation of the environment for the public benefit by saving bicycles from landfill, the promotion of bicycle re-use and recycling
We do that by saving unwanted bikes from landfill, refurbishing them with a team of volunteers supported by professional mechanics, selling them at a reasonable price or giving them away to people in need. We provide formal and informal training in bike maintenance in a variety of settings so that more people have the skills to keep their bikes in good repair.
Why? We do this because we believe that bikes are brilliant and address a variety of health and social issues. Cycling is proven to have beneficial effects on physical and mental health. It’s an affordable and environmentally friendly form of transport. The skills required to fix a bike can be easily taught and transferred to other settings.
You can check out our recent activities in our Annual Report 2021-2022.
All or our fantastic staff help make sure Recyke y’bike delivers great professional service. All of our mechanics are fully trained and admirably supported by our administrative staff and trustees.
Our Volunteers
We have a team of 40+ volunteers supporting us and being supported. Many of our volunteers are just looking to give something back, but some also have some additional support needs. We’re focusing on supporting veterans, refugees, people seeking asylum and under 18’s at present. All volunteers are welcomed, provided with a place where their contributions are valued. Volunteers receive training in cycle maintenance and are supported to work as part of a team including communicating, negotiating, taking responsibility, and demonstrating self-motivation. All of these are key employability skills. The majority of our staff team started out as volunteers, and we’re proud of our record of former volunteers who now have paid jobs in other organisations as well.
Find more about how to become a Volunteer.
Our Partners
We work with several partners on a regular basis; these relationships help both parties to achieve more.
Key Enterprises: We send excess bikes to who support adults with learning disabilities, mental health conditions and brain injuries.
FODI: We send excess bikes to Friends of the Drop in for Asylum Seekers for their bike projects which helps asylum seekers access bikes.
Deerbolt Prison: We also send bikes to Deerbolt Prison. These bikes are refurbished by young offenders, providing them with skills which they can use upon release.
Peace of Mind: We send scooters and other toys we don’t sell to peace of mind who redistributes them to asylum seekers in Gateshead.
Wheels 2 Work: We work with Wheels to Work in Chester-Le-Street to provide bikes which enable people to access or sustain employment.
Kids Kabin: We also regularly co-deliver street bike repair sessions with Kids Kabin who share their street work expertise and benefit from Recyke y’bike’s mechanical expertise.
Byker Children and Young People’s Partnership: support our work with children and young people in Byker.
North East Youth Alliance: We receive support to improve the lives of young people across the region.
Off the Grid Adventure: Together, we organise led rides for women
See more:
Our most recent Annual report: 2023 Annual Report
Visit the Charity Commission website for our Annual Accounts
Read our full Memorandum of Association
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