A healthier, happier, and more equitable community.
Mission
We are a non-profit organization using bike riding to make Elgin a healthier, happier, and more equitable community. We run free community bike rides to connect people with one another, to encourage bike riding for both transportation and recreation, and to connect people with the city of Elgin down to the neighborhood level. In addition to community rides, we run a community bike shop that provides access to bicycles, components, accessories, and repair services, including sliding scale repair services and low to no cost refurbished bicycles.
Goals
We’re working with the community for streets that are safe, to provide access to mobility tools like bicycles, and to create social connections that make our city a healthier, happier, and more equitable place.
01.
–
We run free community bike rides to connect people with one another, to encourage bike riding for both transportation and recreation, and to connect people with the city of Elgin down to the neighborhood level.
02.
–
We build “human infrastructure” to engage the community in the democratic process connected to designing our streets and built environment.
03.
–
We run a community bike shop to provide access to bicycles, components, accessories, and repair services, including sliding scale repair services and low to no cost refurbished bicycles.
04.
–
We provide education to equip community leaders with the skills to care for the community. We train community bike mechanics to repair and refurbish bicycles. We also provide bike navigation training to empower recreation and transportation.
We’re learning together to care for each other
History
Beginning as a blog to educate and share stories about bikes as transportation, Elgin Community Bikes was born in 2016. We really got our wheels under us the following summer as we launched our first Full Moon Ride in June of 2017. The Full Moon Ride became a featured event, occurring every full moon, year-round. Since then, we’ve gone on to host community rides all over the city and been joined by thousands of riders as they meet their neighbors and explore our great city.
In the summer of 2020, Elgin Community Bikes opened our community bike shop. Having been a bike shop desert for many years, Elgin needed access to everything that a standard bike shop provides. The ECB community shop brings that and so much more. Along with sales of bicycles and accessories in a traditional retail format, we are able to provide sliding scale repair services and low to no cost refurbished bicycles. The community shop’s focus is to connect people with the transportation solutions that they need.