The case for using recycled bicycles

A story in the 10 December 2010 BBC News Health website describes a bicycle commuter who compared his commuting speed on two bicycles: One a new 1000£ ($1600) Carbon-Fiber road bike and the other a used Steel-Framed 50£ ($80).

Predictably, but well known by the hundreds of people who purchase used bicycles from Working Bikes or the thousands who receive used bicycles from one of our international partners each year, commute time on a used bicycle was identical to the commute time on a new upscale bicycle.

You can read the article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11958903 and the full study published in the British Medical Journal here: http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c6801

15,000 WOW

Alan Lloyd, Working Bikes volunteer and Vice President, recently mentioned in passing that he had patched his 15,000th bicycle inner tube.

How did he accomplish that? Alan is a one man assembly line.

• Monday: pump up tubes and identify the puncture, marking the hole with chalk line.
• Tuesday: buff each tube at the site of the hole and apply the patch. Alan buys rubber cement in large side jars.
• Wednesday: pump up the patched tubes
• Thursday: verify that the patch held, let the air out, and roll them up. Oh yes, he makes rubber bands out of defective tubes and uses those bands to hold the good tubes in their rolled up position.
• Saturday; deliver the patched tubes to Working Bikes.