Build a Bike and Make a Difference

RESTORE | RENEW | RECYCLE

The New Orleans Community Bike Project exists to promote the use of bicycles and other human-powered transportation; to assist all bicyclists in learning to maintain their vehicles; to provide a space for sharing community resources and fostering community education; and to promote the reuse of materials that might otherwise be thrown away.

Plan B is a community-run bike project that functions as an open workspace for bicycle building and repair. The workspace makes an array of professional bike tools available for use to the public for free while volunteers offer free help and instruction in bike repair. The bike project makes donated parts available at low cost. Additionally, complete used bikes are also available at reasonable, fair-market prices. All of the proceeds from sales are used to keep the project running and allow us to offer free stand time, tool library use, and bike education programs to the general public.

Shop: 1024 Elysian Fields | New Orleans, LA 70116
Phone: 504-272-PBNO (7266)
Email: nolabikeproject@gmail.com

Click on the bike to learn more.

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2239 Piety St in the Upper 9th Ward | New Orleans
(at the corner of Piety and N Tonti)

RUBARB is an all volunteer run space, which means no bosses, no workers and no pay. We all participate in making the space, tools and parts organized and accessible, and any money that is received goes toward tools and parts and all other basic needs of the shop. Our primary goal is to provide adequate tools and competent help to meet the needs of those who desire to build and repair bikes. RUBARB is an educational space where we all can share and learn from each other's skills and experiences.

To meet these goals we currently offer:

Ways to build or get your own bike - start with a bike that needs a little repairing and a donation for all the needed parts and a person can finish the bike and make it their own. Work trades are also a welcomed way to get a bike and contribute to the shop. We also have a few bikes ready to ride, which we ask a $40 - $80 contribution for.

the EARN-A-BIKE program - after completing a series of 4 steps, which include learning basic maintenance and bike building skills, youth earn bikes that they take home with them.

step #1: fixing a flat. this is a basic skill that every bike owner should be able to do! kids learn to patch a punctured tube and should then be able to fix their own if experiencing a flat on their bikes.

step #2: overhauling a wheel. this step requires the earn-a-biker to take apart a wheel, regrease it, and put it back together. not only does overhauling a wheel make it ride smoother and last longer, but kids get a chance to see what's inside a hub, how it works, and how it goes together.

step #3: overhauling a bike. this is the time when kids pick out a bike to earn and begin working on it. some of our bikes are in various states of disrepair, so s/he may not only be overhauling the bottom bracket and wheels, but adjusting the headsets and brakes and piecing together parts such as handlebars and seats.

step #4: help beautify RUBARB. in this final step, the earn-a-bike participant does something to help brighten, organize, or simply make the shop a more enjoyable space. so far kids have made t-shirts, painted a mural, created a sculpture out of bike parts, organized our tubes, and painted ornaments for our tree made out of rims.

download the earn-a-bike flyer here