the recyclery

Hi Friends,

Our yearly fundraiser is Tailwind for Tools. This year we had a goal of raising $6,000 to help keep the shop running strong for the coming year. We are excited to announce that we met this goal!

Your donations go a long way in helping The Recyclery serve our community cyclists.

Help us exceed our goal and get a STRONG TAILWIND for 2022!

In spite of all of the difficulties the world has faced in the past year, we have been lucky enough to be able to continue to help our community members around Chicagoland.

Here are a few of this year’s highlights:

• A big December kid’s bike repair and donation campaign in the Howard Area
• Bike light and balaclava give-aways (with help from our friends at Bike Lane Uprising)
• Several mobile repair events in the community
• A summer Justice Ride with our friends at Family Matters
• A new FTWN-B specific shop time
• Reinstatement of public facing programs, including Open Shop and Repair Classes

This year has also come with an increase in expenses. The ongoing bike shortage has continued to drive up the cost of parts from our wholesalers. Additionally, we have increased our staff wages to make sure that they are being fairly compensated for their time and efforts.

FTWN-B Open Shop Hours will be Sundays from 3-6 pm

This program is specifically catering to the Femme, Trans, Women, and Non-Binary members of our community. We’re aiming provide a welcoming, safe space for individuals who have historically been excluded by the bicycling community.

• bring in your bike and learn some repair skills from talented mechanics
• volunteer and fix up bikes for our Freecyclery program
• hang out with fellow FTWN-B bike riders

This program will be led by our new staff member Kingston! Please make sure to give Kingston a warm welcome next time you see them in the shop.

We have a weekly facebook event for the program that you can find here.

We ask for people who don’t identify as FTWN-B to come to our general Open Shop Hours every Sunday from 10 am – 2 pm instead.

Hi Everyone,

To keep our staff and volunteers safe, we have decided to cancel all public facing programs for Feb 2 – Feb 3. Stay warm and safe, can’t wait to see everyone soon!

The Recyclery Collective

Happy Winter Solstice and New Year everyone! Here are some updates from the shop.

Holiday Closure

We are closed to the public from December 24 through January 2. Our first Open Shop of the year will be on January 9, dependent on COVID recommendations from the city and state

We hope you have a wonderful few days and look forward to seeing you again when we reopen to the public.

Classes for the New Year

We are so excited to bring you more classes! Students and instructors must be vaccinated, and all present must commit to wearing masks throughout class.

Intro Tune Up Class

This class will introduce you to basic bicycle maintenance. We will cover tool and component terminology, fixing a flat, chain maintenance, brake pad replacement, and basic shifting adjustments.
Saturday 1/22 & 1/29, 10 AM – 1PM.  https://therecyclery.bigcartel.com/product/tune-up-class-january-2022

Overhaul Class

Through this course you’ll learn how to disassemble, reassemble, and adjust each major mechanical system of your bicycle, week-by-week. We recommend taking the Tune Up Class before this one, if you have never fixed a flat.Please bring your own bike to the class. This course will be held Saturdays 10 AM – 1 PM, 2/5 through 3/12.  https://therecyclery.bigcartel.com/product/overhaul-class-winter-2022