Hey ya’ll, So we have what amounts to a small army of volunteers here at Back Alley Bikes. These folks take on the tough, heavy and often dirty task of sorting through all our donations, organizing and cleaning our warehouse so it is functional for all of our programming. It may not sound very rewarding, but it is ever so important to what we do here. To get involved with volunteering here, you’ve probably heard about our volunteer orientations on the FIRST Wednesday of each month. That is the best place to get started right? Well, we are currently...

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Schwinn Suburban, Brown Brass, 50 cm frame, 5 speed, side pull brakes, kickstand, chain guard. $175 The sad fact is that bicycle frames made of brass are hard to find anymore* – we mostly see just the same old same old steel or aluminum or titanium frames**, with your occasional carbonite composite. Some early 19th century bikes were made of iron, making them even more suitable than modern bicycles for delivering the healthful benefits of vigorous exercise. But this ride has an all-too-rare color that at least nods toward brass, & is a perfect casual street bike. You shift...

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Murray Biotech, Gray, 18″, single speed, coaster brakes, new ape hanger handlebars, new grips, banana seat, new 26″ whitewall tires, kickstand, bottle holder. $250 Do you ever feel like your handlebars don’t express your larger-than-life personality, that your bike’s profile too easily lets you blend into the crowd, unnoticed & forgotten? Are you cramped by your saddle, confined to that tiny region above the seat tube by the suffocating dictates of political correctness, while your butt soul yearns to roam free & slide all the way back at will? This bike will set you free. This bike is the...

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Hello everyone, Monday MAY 20th is a very important day for two reasons: 1) You know that Progressive Dinner by Bicycle event I keep talking about? Well you have until 8am on Monday, May 20th to buy a ticket. Biking + Food + Fundraising = Good Times. 2) You know that Mechanic-in-Training program that we just got funding for? Wait, I didn’t tell you? Girl, we just got a bunch of funding from City Connect Detroit’s Grow Detroit’s Young Talent program to pay our MIT’s this year. It is pretty sweet. Anyway, the applications are due by the end...

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Hey all,So the most common questions we have been getting are. “How long is the ride?” and “What are we going to eat?” Well, I have answers for those questions! The ride will be 15 miles total with those five stops along the way. If you can ride at least 4 miles at a time, you will be fine during this ride. For the second question, I do not have the menu 100% done, but it is almost there. This is what I can tell you about the food. Stop #1: Green Dot Stables – Mystery Meat or Black...

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Currently on our shop floor. More at Bikes of the Now. Schwinn Impact MOS, black with slightly greenish yellow, 57 cm, 21 speed, new 26″ Kenda Kwest High Pressure 100 PSI tires, Shimano V-brake, Shimano Tourney Tx SiS (rear), SunTour (front), WTB Pure 5 saddle, bottle mount. $300 A resourceful hybrid, graced with those magnificent aero bars & enough gears to get you across Asia, Northern Africa & Europe. The tires are directional (embossed arrows show you which way to mount them, unlike most tires which are agnostic about turn direction) &  take a lot of pressure, which is...

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The Medical Journal of Australia has released a report on the use of helmets by motorcyclists & bicyclists. Spoiler alert: they think helmets are a good idea. The risks of severe head injury were more than five times higher in cyclists not wearing a helmet compared to helmeted ones, and more than three times higher in motorcyclists not wearing a helmet at the time of injury. https://theconversation.com/bike-helmets-an-emergency-doctors-perspective-13935 Not that this settles the question forever: other studies have indicated a counterintuitive conclusion, that helmets (at least on bicyclists) make riders & the drivers hitting them more careless, & furthermore by...

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So you might know about our widely popular Adult Mechanic Classes yeah? We offer them year round on Sundays rotating through different subjects going all around the basics of bike maintenance over 5 weeks. It really is pretty great, we ask for a $10 donation, but if you ain’t got $10, don’t worry about it – as long as you are there to learn, you are in the right spot. Well, recently over at our facebook page, Heather has been posting that 12 folks have been showing up each week. And really, 12 is as many people as we...

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Yes, it is that time of year. The time you have been waiting for. Well, if you are a high school student in the Detroit area that wants to become a bicycle mechanic, educator and coordinator that is. MECHANIC-IN-TRAINING APPLICATIONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!!! What does that even mean? Well, the Mechanic-in-Training (MIT) program is for high school youth aged 14-17. We take applications in the month of May, interview those that make the cut at the end of the month and then in the beginning of June, we hire a select few to work for Back Alley Bikes for...

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