Bicycle Exchange location: 3961 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA MAP.
Interested in volunteering? Explore our event calendar and visit our Eventbrite page to RSVP for upcoming opportunities. New volunteers can find details about our volunteer roles and general information.
Stopping by our shop? Make an appointment to shop for a bicycle or parts, ask us questions about volunteering, drop off a donation, receive service for your bike, or anything else! Shop Hours are Monday / Wednesday / Friday, 11:00 am - 5:30 pm.
Have a bicycle to donate? Donate bicycles and parts by emailing us photos and details of what you have, to
The Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange is a Section 501c(3) non-profit organization.
Have questions? Contact us.
Calling All Cycling Enthusiasts!Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange (SVBE) is hosting a Parking Lot sale on Saturday, March 21st, from 9:00 am to...
Read more: Gear up for Spring at the SVBE Big Parking Lot Bik...
We’re excited to invite our volunteers, partners, and friends to a special day at the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange as we wrap up 2025 and look ahead to an exciting year ahead.
Read more: Join Us for Our Annual Shop Cleanup & Community Ce...
This auction has ended. Thanks to all who bid on the great items from this auction that raise funds for SVBE!
Get ready to celebrate the season with BikeX’s 6th Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser! We...
Sunday, September 14, 2025 • 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Read more: Clear Your Calendar — Big SVBE Parking Lot Bike Sa...
At Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange, we have launched Veteran Repair Days in partnership with Veterans Association (V.A.) Palo Alto Health Care System’s Recreation Therapy. Held twice monthly on...
Read more: Veterans Repair Days at Silicon Valley Bicycle Exc...
Our homework hero Cap'n Jonny shared with us how he restored a Miyata 100 Mixte bike that was donated to Bicycle Exchange. He writes:
I couldn't resist taking this Miyata 100 Mixte home for a bit of...
For 32 years, Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange (SVBE) has been driven by the passion and dedication of our volunteers, staff and community. We've always strived to make a positive impact, and now,...
Read more: SVBE's Commitment to Vision and Transparency: Intr...
For over 30 years, SVBE has been a cornerstone of our community, providing valuable services through our dedicated...
Nestled in the heart of Mountain View, California, Hope's Corner stands as a testament to the power of community. This non-profit organization serves a critical role by offering essential services to...
Read more: Hope's Corner: A Beacon of Support in Mountain Vie...
The Bicycle Exchange Board of Directors invites interested parties to attend our monthly (virtual) board meetings. You can observe the entire meeting and/or provide feedback, perspective and...
Read more: Invitation to Board Meetings: Observers and Open F...
As we approach the year-end, we at Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange (SVBE) are reflecting on the remarkable impact we've had in 2023 and setting our sights on even greater achievements in 2024.
Read more: Join Us in Building a Sustainable Future for Silic...
The Palo Alto-based Midpeninsula Post stopped by BikeX during our Bike Swap to see
Newsletter readers have asked for more info about some of the organizations with whom BikeX partners. These organizations work within their communities to provide qualified recipients with bicycles...
Read more: Featured BikeX Charity Partner: Ecumenical Hunger...
We're pleased to announce board members Dave Fork and Jack Miller are the latest SVBE volunteers to be recognized by the Western Wheelers cycling club as Lefkowitz award winners.
Read more: BikeX Board Members Win Western Wheelers' Lefkowit...
2023 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange.
Our volunteers deserve credit for our extraordinary accomplishments. We have donated over 8000 bicycles while being...
Everyone at BikeX knows about the bicycles we repair and distribute. This, of course, has been the primary focus of the organization since its founding. The growth and success of BikeX have allowed us to...
(This is the kick-off entry of an occasional column by our board member and treasurer on matters related to Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange's bike donations to those in need.)
As we reach the...
On June 4, Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange joined Turning Wheels for Kids' (TWFK) bicycle repair day in East Palo Alto to repair over thirty bikes.
BikeX brought a big team of volunteers including...
Read more: BikeX, Live in Peace and Turning Wheels for Kids T...
SVBE is pleased to receive a generous donation from the Cupertino-based Bright Horizon Global Foundation to purchase helmets, lights and locks.
Read more: Bright Horizon Global Foundation Helps SVBE with H...
What a year!
Our Wednesday volunteer events took a long hiatus due to the pandemic.
Once we resumed on a smaller scale this summer, we still repaired an amazing number of bikes and shared plenty of...
The Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange is finally on Instagram! Give us a follow on IG at @bicycle.exchange to stay in touch with all our human-powered good.
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand...
Read more: The Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange is on Instagra...
Starting with our January 2019 events, Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange will now be operating at 3961 E. Bayshore Road in Palo Alto. Please let your bikin' buddies know that we are no longer at 2566...
We offer a bicycle safety program where we educate recipients of donated bicycles about bicycle safety. Just giving away bicycles to people who struggle to afford one is not enough to ensure their...
Silicon Valley Bike Exchange was happy to have volunteers from National Charity League, Mid-Peninsula Chapter, for the first time at our workday on Saturday, January 24th. Jennie and her mom Renee...
Here is a recent letter from our friends at City Team Ministries.
I wanted to express our thanks and gratitude to the SVBE/BikeX organization and its staff for the ongoing support you have so...
“Dear Dave and Everyone at the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange, Thank you so much for donating 24 bikes to our program! Our families are always so grateful to be given the opportunity to earn...
"Son, do you know how to adjust derailleurs?" Why was this elderly man calling me son? Maybe because he was old enough to be my father just like nearly every other person at the Silicon Valley...
Our homework hero Cap'n Jonny shared how he restored a dirty and neglected Electra Cruiser into a one-of-a-kind bike that's sure to bring joy to its new owner in its new forever home. He writes:
At...
Established at the dawn of the bicycle era, Elswick was a major British bicycle manufacturer for many decades, providing high quality utility bicycles for the domestic and international market....
Read more: Featured Bike: 1953 Elswick Hopper, Restored by Ca...
Recenly, Cap'n Jonny found in the Bicycle Exchange shop, a Diamondback Ascent tagged for donation. Being one of our top "Homework Heros," he says he just had to put his hands on it. Read on for...
Read more: Featured Bike: Diamondback Ascent, Restored by Cap...
Recently, Cap'n Jonny brought home a 36.6 pound gold 1966 Schwinn Varsity with roached paint to use as a base for a weight weenie build he was anxious to try. In the end he just put it on a diet and...
Read more: Featured Bike: 1966 Schwinn Varsity, Restored by C...
Cap'n Jonny is back at it again and beautifully restored an old Raleigh and turned it into a nice flat bar commuter. Read about his process in his tale below.
Read more: Featured Bike: Raleigh Record Flat Bar Commuter Bi...
Cap'n Jonny is back with another impressive restoration, and this one is available foranyone as impressed as us, and the sale will support our bike donations! Read on to learn more about this...
Captain Jonny is back with another amazing featured bicycle. This Pinarello Montello might be one of his most stunning restorations, bringing back a bike to its original beauty. The bike didn't last...
Read more: Featured Bike: Captain Jonny's Restored 1985 Pinar...
This month's featured bike is a 1977 Austro Daimler (AD) restored by another master mechanic named John, but this time it's John G.
The bike was donated by the original owner, Michael W., an...
Read more: Featured Bicycle: 1977 Austro Daimler SL Road Bike
Cap'n Jonny has a new featured bike, and it's a beautiful vintage model. Enjoy his profile of his latest project below.
I do a lot of restorations for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange here in the heart of the Bay Area tech scene. We get a fairly steady stream of interesting donation bikes and I make a point every...
This beautiful Schwinn Super Sport frame came to the Bike Exchange from our friends at the Cupertino Bike Shop when they moved earlier this year.
At BikeX, we are quite experienced tuning up bikes donated to us and ensuring they're in fine, safe operational shape. That's been the key to donating thousands of bikes to our partner charities over...
Volunteer John Felch is back to his magic this month, but appropriately for the July 4th holiday, his polish and wrenching were spent on good ol' American steel, this time working on a few stylish...
Read more: Featured Bicycles: Two American Classics from the...
I just finished work on this 1988 Canadian Bianchi Brava. It came into the Bike Exchange quite dirty and with a dent in the top tube. I really worked at cleaning it using both white polishing and...
With passionate volunteers, we don't always take the most time-efficient path to restore and refurbish bicycles. This fine restoration is a perfect example of a volunteer going the extra mile.
At...
Read more: Featured Bicycle: Windsor Carrera Sport Vintage Ro...
Here’s an update for the Windsor Carrera Sport vintage road bike we featured last month.
The frame has a beautiful new coat of paint, went through a thorough polish, and is ready for assembly. The decal...
Read more: Featured Bicycle: Windsor Carrera Sport Vintage Ro...
I just brought a 70's Windsor Carrera Sport home from the Bicycle Exchange. SVBE's Andrew picked it up from a teammate of his son's cyclocross team.
The bike has quite a history that spans three...
Read more: Bike of the Month: Windsor Carrera Sport Vintage R...
For the New Year here is something old that’s also something new.
Recently, I spotted a horrible looking Raleigh Superbe at the shop. The paint was in bad shape, it had a chrome fork that was wrong, and...
With all the mountain bikes, sport bikes, and race bikes that have graced this space, it might seem that this rather odd-looking kids’ bike is a bit out of place here. It is, in fact, the first...
Read more: Bike of the Month: Schwinn Stingray, Refurbished b...
Here's our most recent featured bike, donated by an owner moving from the Bay Area up to the Sierra, and fully refurbished by our tireless volunteer Cap'n Jonny. Enjoy a brief trip back in time:
Founded in...
Read more: Bike of the Month: 1974 Allegro Special, Refurbish...
The 1930 Rudge-Whitworth: An Adventure
by David Kamp
I dropped in at one of the garage sales late last summer, and the single-speed Rudge-Whitworth caught my eye. Jack said it had been donated and...
Toni Gregorio-Bunch has joined the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange (SVBE) as our Volunteer Coordinator, supporting our dedicated volunteers and improving their volunteer experience. Let's learn more...
Read more: Toni Gregorio-Bunch Joins SVBE as Volunteer Coordi...
Kelly Boyett has joined the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange (SVBE) as a Program Manager, bringing her passion for community engagement and sustainable transportation to our organization. Let's learn a...
Mark's a long-time volunteer with Bicycle Exchange, since being our liaison with partner organization City Team Ministries in the 2010's, to being one of our best homework heros. He now repairs...
Katy Tripp joined the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange Board of Directors in March. Katy is a much needed and welcome addition because she brings experience in both accounting and nonprofit auditing. SVBE...
Read more: Introducing SVBE's Newest Board Member: Katy Tripp
In May, the Bicycle Exchange hired Holly Nielsen as our social media specialist. She's thrilled to join us and looks forward to helping to spread the word about our incredible organization even...
Read more: Introducing Holly Nielsen - Let's Get Social with...
Ross joined the SVBE Board in February and brings with him a wealth of experience in operations and all aspects of running successful companies. One of the first things Ross has been tackling was...
Our featured volunteer this month is Bruce Hildenbrand. Bruce is the only SVBE volunteer who has served for as long as Dave Fork.
Our featured volunteer this month is the young chef Sam Spal, who currently is in Germany but spent many hours this year in our shop.
Our featured volunteer this month is Helen Hsiu. Helen has been a dedicated Wednesday volunteer all through the pandemic, and has recently taken over as the lead (along with Rose) for our Women's...
It's been too long since we've featured a volunteer, but hopefully, this one is worth the wait. Read about one of our regular high school volunteers, with a unique life story.
This month we're pleased to introduce our featured volunteer, Chris Jasper.
Chris is a local boy from the suburbs of San Jose. As a kid, He found love for a bike at a young age, as it provided fun and...
The BikeX Volunteer of the Month for June is Rob Kleinschmidt. A native of Buffalo, NY who moved to California 50 years ago, Rob is a retired software engineer, motorcycle enthusiast, and seasoned Bike...
The February Volunteer of the Month is Coleen DeLizza! A California native and long-time Bay Area resident, Colleen made her way to BikeX a decade ago with a friend and has been helping out ever since....
Originally from Palo Alto, Leo has been a regular volunteer for many years.
Leo first started volunteering at BikeX while he was a road racer in high school. He recently returned to volunteer again after...
Meet the latest Volunteers of the Month, Mark and Sue. After spending many years working in the finance side of the Semiconductor and Biotech industries, Sue and Mark have been enjoying the...
This month’s spotlight shines brightly on our Shop Manager Gregg Kato, who has been invaluable in helping with retail, donor and volunteer activities in the shop for the last year.
Regular readers of the BikeX newsletter may recall the beautiful restoration of a 1930s Rudge-Whitworth. This stunning relic of bicycle history was revitalized thanks to this month’s Volunteer of...
This month's featured Volunteer is John Garrish, who has been a regular visitor during the pandemic to pick up homework bikes, help with QA and lend his cargo bike expertise. John has a long,...
One of the silver linings of the pandemic is the arrival of some new faces to the Bicycle Exchange. Paul Southworth is one such example, having refurbished more than a dozen bikes from home, and...
During the pandemic, SVBE has been largely dependent on tireless "homework bike" volunteers to keep our bike donations going.
One of the most dedicated homework bike volunteers has been Michael...
In the last couple of years, SVBE has expanded its social media presence to include Instagram. The regular activity on our IG page has been a great way to get the word out about some of our...
One of the constants at the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange is that there are always more bikes to repair. Our talented volunteers are always repairing bikes at a good clip, but only by moving the...
Most people who have been to BikeX have seen Dave Fork, in his characteristic neon-yellow vest affixing green tags with a smile on bikes that have passed the first round of our rigorous quality...
A global pandemic presents interesting challenges for everyone and everything, and nonprofits are no exception. While the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange unfortunately can't safely hold our large...
The Bike Exchange is increasingly attracting families to our program. Oftentimes, there are mothers and fathers bringing their children in to learn about bikes and how to fix them. Some of these...
I love my job, especially when I get to interview someone as engaging as Carolina L. She is the latest addition to our Wednesday crew.
Carolina has done some traveling. Her father is an engineer and has moved...
Father, husband, engineer, businessman, certified bike nut?
Take your pick, he is all of the above and as of now, he is the new General Manager for the...
On September 7th the Bike Exchange had its semi Annual Bike sale. I have never seen so many people intent on buying a bike from us. We had a line 6-8 deep waiting to hand us money practically from the...
The bike Exchange is getting to be a world-class organization, attracting folks from far and wide. In far-off India in the city of Kolkata, Nilay M was born. Little did he know at the time that his...
Wednesday is becoming the new Saturday at the Bike Exchange.
Last week I arrived at 11 am and almost every station was occupied. Old friends and new faces and everybody swaying to jazz on the sound...
The Bike Exchange has expanded a lot recently. Today I am talking to one of the folks who work here during our new Wednesday hours.
Jack is one of that rarest of breeds, a native San Fransiscan. Jack...
Ahmed has been volunteering at the Bicycle Exchange for about three months. He likes to fix road bikes (like what he rides) and kids bikes. His goal is to become proficient in fixing his kids'...
Lately I have had a number of conversations with our volunteers from the Veteran’s Administration. They are all great folks and worth getting to know. Today I sat down with Kevin.
He grew up in San...
Dennis commuted by bike for decades here in Silicon Valley and maintained his classic road bike. Now that he is retired, he puts his bike-fixing skills to work at the Bicycle Exchange. He is part of...
Jeff has volunteered with the Bicycle Exchange for about four years after finding us via our website. He is our newsletter editor and used to work on bikes when he lived closer. Now he lives near Mt...
One of the ongoing partnerships we have at the Bike Exchange is with the Veterans Administration Hospital in Palo Alto. We regularly donate bikes to the vets and often have some of them visit us on...
Jerry, 29, hails from St. Louis originally and like so manyof this country’s best and brightest, he found his waya year ago to our beautiful state, and more specifically, here in Silicon Valley....
Today I want you to meet Eduardo. He is one of the veterans we serve who heard of the good work we do from Rebecca, the Veterans Administration Coordinator, and decided to come out and volunteer....
May 5th was our semiannual bike sale and it was a smashing success. People lined up at the gate when we opened and a steady stream of buyers scored fantastic deals. One of them, Maggie M, was a...
Tobi has been volunteering at the Bicycle Exchange for about a year. He found out about the organization through the Google website, as an employee. When he chooses a bike to repair, he often picks one...
Chris is originally from Wales but moved to the US, first Colorado then California, 14 years ago. He commutes daily to work via bicycle, taking the direct route to work, then the nice Bay Trail and...
Rebecca has been volunteering at the bicycle exchange for about 3 years - you will usually see her at the registration table helping volunteers, donors, and people who want to purchase bikes.
She...
Gordon and I have known each other since I first started volunteering at the Bike Exchange about 5 years ago. I have known him as a quiet, somewhat reserved individual who is always there when...
Lucy has been volunteering with the Bike Exchange for 3-4 years and is the person to go to if you need help with adjusting brakes or truing wheels. Her favorite ride is a Trek road bike which she...
Greg has been volunteering with the Bicycle Exchange for about a year and provides a lot of guidance to new volunteers (especially since recovering from an ice hockey injury). He loves to work on...
What a great bunch of volunteers! Jessica Ken and her horde of 20 volunteers from the Taiwanese American Professionals group descended on our humble facility once again to help us fix bikes. They...
Read more: Volunteers of the Month - Taiwanese American Profe...
Doug has been volunteering for the Bicycle Exchange for over 15 years. He often works behind the scenes checking our inventory of bike parts and purchasing parts from different suppliers to keep...
Looking around for my next person to interview I couldn’t help noticing Rao hard at work on a bike. He has been volunteering since April this year at the Bike Exchange.
A resident of Palo Alto, he...
Your ace reporter fell off his bike (in front of his house standing still) and broke his hip earlier this August and has been mostly house bound so has not been able to interview anyone for...
Rachel started volunteering at the Bicycle Exchange in May and is excited to earn her work apron on her fifth volunteer day soon. She enjoys working on the adult bikes because she learns repair...
Calvin started working at the bicycle exchange in 2014 and was promoted to QA about 6 months ago, so you'll see him wearing the yellow/green vest making sure that bikes are fixed to the...
Today we meet up with Kim and his son Jeff. Kim introduced his other son Alex to the Bike Exchange some time ago and figured that his son Jeff could also benefit from the experience, so today they are...
Patrick is a true coastie, born in beautiful San Luis Obispo, California. His family moved to Livermore in 1953, where he grew up in what then was a beautiful rural part of California with miles of...
Dave Z has been working at the Bicycle Exchange for 2 years fixing bikes. You may see him riding around on his Rivendell road bike - he's logged 100,000 miles on it. He used to go on bike tours...
Jonny grew up in the North beach neighborhood in San Francisco, and remembers the "Summer of Love" and his Black Panther neighbors among many "only in San Francisco" people and places in the City by the...
Judy has been fixing bikes at the Bicycle Exchange for 3 years, has more recently joined the Steering Committee, and writes all of our thank you letters to donors. She enjoys fixing the adult bikes...
Falguni is one of the people behind the scenes at the Bicycle Exchange that helps keep things running smoothly. She volunteered at a workday after her colleague, Doreen, told her about it. She moved...
Thursday, Oct. 6 was a special work day where we hosted a group from Adobe Systems at the bike Exchange.
Alison organized the event from the Adobe side (Jack Miller, as always, set things up on our...
A native to the bay area, Grant has been volunteering at the Bicycle Exchange for seven years. Many new folks get their orientation from him. He likes to make the orientation engaging and informal -...
This month we visit with Bahar R and her son Romtin. They live in Los Altos and their whole family loves riding.
They belong to the Young Men's Service League, Rancho chapter - Mountain view / Los...
Bob M grew up in Tonawanda, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. He started riding bikes as a child and his first two wheeler was a Huffy; complete with a spring shock absorber, light and a horn in the...
Colleen joined the bicycle exchange to learn how to fix bikes and has been volunteering for 2 1/2 years. You'll often see her managing the front table, receiving donations and greeting volunteers. She...
Doreen Y. grew up in Berkeley in the 60's. Her parents didn't own a car so she biked everywhere from the age of six. She didn't buy her first car until she was a college senior. While attending El...
If you've enjoyed some fresh-brewed coffee at the Bike Exchange, most likely Mary brought it. She's been volunteering for about 1 1/2 years and has regularly been bringing coffee to wake up the...
There are some really amazing people who volunteer at the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange. This month, meet Carol M. Carol has been volunteering at the exchange for 9 years, and was originally...
A student at Palo Alto High School, Leo M has been volunteering at the Bike Exchange for two years since a friend recommended he try it. When he looks at the pile of bikes needing repairs, he...
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