Calgary charity Youth En Route hosting bike swap this weekend

A Calgary non-profit is helping families trade up their old bikes for a new one while also helping keep perfectly good bikes out of the landfill.

Calgary non-profit organization Youth En Route is hosting a bike swap this weekend for kids who have outgrown their bicycles.

The organizations’ second Kids Bike Trade Up event will be held at the YER Bike Hub at 1212 34 Ave. S.E. on Saturday, July 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; the first was held in May.

“Kids between three and 13 grow out of bikes pretty quick,” said Youth En Route executive director Laura Shutiak. “Buying a bike for a kid every year is impossible – and there’s really no need.”

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The program was inspired by a simple problem: good bikes often have far more life left in them once the children who ride them grow out of them.

“We find that lots of bikes in Calgary end up at the landfill, and we’re trying to avoid that,” Shutiak said. “We’re also trying to provide Calgary parents with a place where they can find a used bike that their kid likes and fits.”

She says quality children’s bikes – especially steel-frame models – can last for decades with basic care.

“A toddler bike should be able to last 20 or 30 years. Replace the tubes, the tires, brake cables as needed – but the frame should last.”

The organization isn’t just accepting trade-ins; families without a bike to exchange can still sign up to receive one.

“We have a ton of baby bikes,” Shutiak said. “We just want to give them away, because we want them to find homes.”

Bike mechanic Mario Rocha helps repair the donated bikes, many of which come from landfills or backyards.

“We’ll just do an assessment on the bike, make sure it’s safe,” Rocha said. “They might not be as pretty as a brand-new bike, but they are in really good condition… ready to go have fun, for sure.”

“They don’t need to be expensive bikes – they just have to be bikes that kids like and want to ride.”

Aaron Stagg, another volunteer mechanic, said the project also addresses a generational gap in Calgary’s cycling culture.

“I come from a major community of competitive cyclists,” Stagg said. “But there’s not a lot of kids growing up into the community… I want to see kids not just riding to school – but not racing bikes, having fun, competing for the sport.”

The Kids Bike Trade Up is funded by a Circular Economy Grant from the City of Calgary, and is being tested this year as a pilot.

A third event is planned for October at the Genesis Centre in northeast Calgary.

“This is freedom for a kid,” said Shutiak. “We know the need for bikes in Calgary is really dire. There are schools where 80 per cent of kids don’t have one — and they want them.”

More information can be found on Bike En Route’s website.