By Cassandra Polyzou
Published September 2026
The wrenches and bike grease have been in ample supply at Recycle Cycles this season. Our community bike shop underwent renovations and reorganization to make the space more welcoming. We focused on bringing back the Do-It-Yourself bike repair stands and structure the main floor to bring more ease to the experience of volunteers and guests. Since we reopened in April 2026, the team of staff and new and returning volunteers have been hard at work supporting folks with bike repairs, maintenance and finding new homes for hundreds of used bikes. In spring and early summer, we sold over 200 bikes, supported 135 hours of bike stand use and hosted close to 400 hours of volunteer time.
Our mission remains to make access to transportation affordable and serve as a learning and community hub across downtown Kitchener. As an Enterprise Tool project of The Working Centre, people come in to learn and share knowledge on bike repair and maintenance, gain access to tools and hang out in a supportive and fun environment.
Tuesdays are our production days, when volunteers come in to work on bikes. These days are full of conversations, as we learn from each other, working on every kind of bike imaginable. The rest of the week, we focus on helping people with their bike repairs and selling affordably priced used bikes and parts.
We recently had a visit from a cycling advocate and mechanic from Sydney, Australia. It was a beautiful day, working alongside our new friend from across the globe, learning from his experience and hearing about the year-round cycling programs he and the team at Bike Wise Australia offer. We are keen to connect with other cycling groups and find ways to support the vibrant local cycling community.
Once a month we host a Volunteer Orientation for new volunteers to learn about our practices, the role of volunteers and get a tour of the shop. If you’re interested in volunteering with Recycle Cycles, reach out to us at volunteer@theworkingcentre.org for more information.
Whether you have a bike repair need, have a used bike you want to donate or an idea for a collaborative event, we would love to hear from you: recyclecycles@theworkingcentre.org
