Neighborhood Bike Works

Neighborhood Bike Works

Website	http://www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org
Email	info@neighborhoodbikeworks.org
Founded	1999
Location	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Language	English
Services Offered	DIY Repair Services Mobile Repair Services Earn-A-Bike Services Bicycle Valet Services Workshops Bicycle Courses Group Rides Bicycle Advocacy In-School Programs Youth Summer Camp Youth Racing Team Women and Trans Programs
Mission Statement	Neighborhood Bike Works inspires youth and strengthens Philadelphia communities by providing equitable access to bicycling and bike repair through education, recreation, leadership, and career building opportunities.
Other Contact Info	https://www.instagram.com/neighborhoodbikeworks/, http://www.youtube.com/user/NeighborhdBikeWorks, https://www.facebook.com/NBWPhilly/

Neighborhood Bike Works is a nonprofit educational organization in Philadelphia. NBW presently operates out of its headquarters located in the Mantua neighborhood of Philadelphia.

History

Started in 1996 as Youth Cycle & Recycle, a program of The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Neighborhood Bike Works incorporated as a non-profit in July 1999. It expanded to the Haddington neighborhood in 2002, and opened the North Philadelphia Neighborhood Shop in 2009. The North Philly shop was also its sales and service location, and operated a fully functioning repair shop. In 2010, the South Philadelphia satellite program opened a location on 5th Street between Lombard and South. Historically, it held programming at four Philadelphia sites, a satellite location in Norristown, PA, and in several public schools and community centers.

A video about our organization, uploaded Nov 9, 2017: Neighborhood Bike Works Film on Vimeo.com

The Bikery (South Philadelphia)

Neighborhood Bike Works South Philadelphia (aka The Bikery) was located at 508 S. 5th Street, between Lombard and South, through partnership with the South Street Headhouse District. It was started in 2009 by a group of incredibly dedicated volunteers. Partnerships are developing with neighborhood schools, community centers and local organizations. The webpage for this shop is accessible on the Archive.org Wayback Machine.

There is also a Blogspot page for the Bikery which is still online as of September 2026.

Bike Salon (North Philadelphia)

Located at 1424 West Susquehanna Ave, NBW North Philly was just blocks away from many public schools and Temple University. This location offered many programs to youth in the area, including Earn-a-Bike classes, drop-in bicycle repair sessions, and monthly group rides! The shop also offered Adventure Rides during the spring and summer, and “Writing & Wrenching”, a class in collaboration with Tree House Books, which was located next door! In August 2011, NBW North Philly launched the inaugural North Philly Summer Bike Camp. This location was also Neighborhood Bike Works’ first full service repair shop, serving the greater community with reasonably priced repairs and used bikes for every budget. The webpage for this shop is accessible on the Archive.org Wayback Machine.

Headquarters

The Neighborhood Bicycle Works headquarters was previously located at 3916 Locust Walk, behind St. Mary's Episcopal Church on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The webpage for the old HQ is accessible on the Archive.org Wayback Machine.

Contact Info

Shop Address

3939 Lancaster Ave Philadelphia, PA 19104

Mailing Address

3943 Lancaster Ave Philadelphia, PA 19104

Services Offered

Mel’s Community Bike Shop

When the Community Bike Shop is open, members of the public can shop used bikes and buy simple maintenance items from the shop. This program is the designation for the shop being open for retail only. Participants hoping to perform DIY service must visit during "Bike Church" hours.

Do-It-Yourself Shop Hours aka “Bike Church" Hours

During Bike Church hours, we make our professional bike shop accessible to the public. Imagine you are able enter the repair zone of your favorite bike shop and get work to on your bike with the advice and support of the shop mechanics. That's what Bike Church is all about. We have specialty bike tools and repair stands available for use. We sell used bikes, parts and some new items as well (tubes, chains etc.). All sales support NBW's youth programs.

Bike Church is a donation-based program. We don't charge an hourly rate for a repair stand or for tool use. Instead, we ask Bike Church patrons to pay what they can and do a quick chore before they leave. It has been working for nearly 20 years.

Women /Trans /Non-Binary Only “Bike Church” Hours

Wednesday Bike Church is limited to those identifying as women or transgender, which includes all gender identities beyond cisgender, i.e. transgender, genderqueer, nonbinary, genderfluid, and so on. We hold this space for women/trans/queer people in an effort to make cycling more accessible to women/trans/queer folks who may find all gender shops unwelcoming or unsafe. This program is run by and for women and trans riders.

Adult Bike Repair Class

Our introductory Bicycle Repair course for adults is a great way to begin learning how to service and maintain your bike yourself or to brush up on rusty repair skills. Lessons typically include: flat fixes, brake setup and adjustment, drivetrain maintenance, bearing adjustments, and wheel truing. The class meets weekly for four consecutive weeks and consists of both lectures and hands-on learning.

Bike Valet

From the website:

" In addition to community participation and fundraising for our youth programs, we also provide valet bike parking as a means to employ select graduates of our programs. We are often contracted by other groups to do Valet Bike Parking for events that are expected to attract large numbers of cyclists. Frequently, we are able to employ a few youth for credit hours or a small hourly rate and a share of any tips collected. "

See Also

• Neighborhood Bike Works on Wikipedia.org