116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Chain Reaction Bike Hub looks to expand transportation access in Linn County
New shop opens with goal of providing affordable, equitable bike access
- Chain Reaction Bike Hub is a new nonprofit in Linn County looking to expand transportation access and inclusion in the cycling community.
- Through community partnerships and programming, the organization envisions bikes as a means to reduce inequities and strengthen social bonds.
- Its physical shop opened Wednesday at 1010 Third Ave. SW in Cedar Rapids and will be open two days a week as the organization starts up.
- Donated bikes will be repaired and sold at an affordable rate, and there are plans to eventually allow people to borrow bikes.
CEDAR RAPIDS — Ethan Eliaquim, a Coe College sophomore from Brazil, doesn’t have a car to get around town, so when he heard about a new Cedar Rapids nonprofit’s effort to sell bikes at an affordable rate, he knew he needed to scope out the organization’s newly fixed offerings.
After he arrived at the new Chain Reaction Bike Hub shop Wednesday, Eliaquim, 20, grabbed a Schwinn bike — gravitating toward one with a similar size and frame to bikes he rode back home — and tested it outside the shop. Dave DeWitte, the group member in charge of bike repairs, adjusted his brakes, and then Eliaquim was on his way with the new wheels. It only cost him $53.50 — and having several strangers take his photo — to be the first customer.
Eliaquim, who studies data science and economics, was looking for a better way to access parks and other Cedar Rapids destinations. He started biking at age 4 for fun, but then it became how he got to school and everywhere else around his hometown of Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s sixth-largest city.
Back home, he said there are lots of trails and ample bike lanes built into the roads that could help cyclists access any destination with ease.
“Here sometimes if there’s a highway, I’ve got to change the route or maybe ask for a ride,” Eliaquim said. “If the city was more walkable, which it already is compared to many others, it would still even be better — less traffic, place to be safe. Because sometimes I have to check if there's a highway before going, but it's still a pretty good city to bike in.”
Not having a car here, he said it’s “extremely” important to have a bike to get around town.
A new nonprofit aims to break barriers people like Eliaquim face to accessing reliable bikes and transportation in Linn County, and envisions bikes as a means to strengthen social bonds and reduce inequities.
Chain Reaction Bike Hub is a non-traditional bike shop that looks to improve access to affordable transportation — especially for those who are low-income, youth and young adults at-risk for engaging in gun or group violence as well as others who are traditionally marginalized.
To work toward that mission, the new nonprofit serving Linn County and the surrounding area opened its location Wednesday evening at 1010 Third Ave. SW within the Precision Drywall warehouse. It opened in conjunction with Bike to Work month.
“It's so much larger than the space,” said Executive Director Evan Schmidtke, who also works at Goldfinch Cyclery. “It's all about the accessibility, sustainability, inclusiveness and getting more people on bikes.”
Chain Reaction Bike Hub
Learn more at crbikehub.org or by calling 319-775-0304. You can donate or find information about volunteering.
Visit the bike hub at 1010 Third Ave. SW within the Precision Drywall warehouse.
May hours: 9 a.m.-noon on Thursdays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays. That will potentially be expanded by the end of summer as volunteers are onboarded.
Cedar Rapids is rich with cyclists, he said, so this seems like a natural way to get more people involved and to address inequities through that lens of fixing and riding bikes. The organization was first conceptualized last summer.
“The current cycling community as it is, it tends to cater to a certain population, and there's this whole other population that is traditionally underserved by lots of areas,” Schmidtke said. “I think we can fill that gap. We can serve those underserved populations.”
How it works
The bike hub takes discarded bicycles from Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency and accepts private donations, and repairs those bikes for people who cannot otherwise afford a bike. The general public may purchase these bikes, and eventually like the Iowa City Bike Library, there will be an option to borrow bikes.
As of Wednesday morning, Schmidtke said about 25 bikes were ready to be sold. Revenue goes toward the organization’s programming. The bike hub separates them based on the brand tier, but still has dozens of bikes to sort through and determine whether to use for parts or fix and sell.
Schmidtke said the organization’s board members come from an array of local organizations including Linn County Public Health and the sustainability program at the Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency, as the board looked to push its membership beyond only cyclists and more broadly represent the community.
People may purchase merchandise, make donations or volunteer for the organization. More volunteers are needed to sell bikes, take donations and work on bike repairs and to further expand hours and offer classes.
‘There's something for you there’
In addition to the bike shop and library at its physical location, the bike hub will run programming using community partnerships that envision bikes as a way to prevent violence, mentor youth and develop skills, Schmidtke said.
By dedicating resources for youth outreach and gun violence prevention, Schmidtke said he hopes it inspires future ambitions and expands mentorship and job opportunities, equipping youth with the skills to become a bike mechanic, for instance. He wants youth to feel welcome and know the shop “is a safe space that they can come and hang out.”
“If they're thrown in bad situation or if they're approaching a bad situation, having an outlet where they can hang out, work on a bike, learn some skills,” Schmidtke said. “ … Regardless of who you are socioeconomically … there's something for you there.”
Board member Maxine Prime, who works at Willis Dady Homeless Services as a permanent supportive housing case manager, said the bike hub is looking to hold classes to teach people how to properly maintain bikes. She said lots of bikes end up in the landfill simply because people don’t know how to replace a chain or change tires, for example, so this could help reduce waste while improving transportation access.
Prime said the bike hub is working on partnering with Kirkwood Community College to work with international students who can’t have driver’s licenses so they could rent a bike from the bike hub.
A sign marks the entrance to the Cedar Rapids Bike Hub on Saturday, April 20, 2024. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette).
Community members and volunteers look over bikes for sale during an open house at the Cedar Rapids Bike Hub on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette).
Bikes for sale at the Cedar Rapids Bike Hub on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Bikes at the bike hub are often sold below their market value according to CR Bike Hub executive director Evan Schmidtke. “If the mission of the bike hub is to increase the accessibility of cycling than selling bikes for more just because we can works against the whole point of what we are doing here,” Schmidtke said. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette).
CR Bike Hub repair Chair Dave DeWitte looks over bikes to be evaluated at the Cedar Rapids Bike Hub on Saturday, April 20, 2024. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette) Bikes are inspected to see if they are salvageable for repair and eventual sale and if not are stripped for donor parts for other bicycles and then scrapped.
Bike Hub Volunteer Kelle Kolkmeier strips tires from wheels at the Cedar Rapids Bike Hub on Saturday, April 20, 2024. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette).
Matt Neenan of Marion assembles display shelving ahead of opening at the Cedar Rapids Bike Hub on Saturday, April 20, 2024 (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette).
And through Willis Dady, the unhoused population could have a dedicated time to come to the bike hub and learn these skills too. Prime said there also are efforts to create bike racks and provide chains so those experiencing homelessness can have somewhere to store their bikes. They lack tools or additional parts needed to make repairs, and then the bikes they rely on for transportation don’t last long term, she said.
Some unhoused people who struggle with mental illness aren’t able to be at the Ground Transportation Center and use bikes for 100 percent of their transportation, Prime said. Others may have free-fare Cedar Rapids Transit passes, but the buses don’t operate on Sundays or late at night, so they’re not always available for people who work outside of 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekday hours.
“When you're trying to become self-sufficient again and independent again, and you have a job that works on Sunday but the bus doesn't run on Sunday, or you get the opportunity to work and make shifts but the bus doesn’t run, you can get a bike and you can get there on time,” Prime said. “That can actually be the difference between being able to get this job to pay your rent.”
Magnifying impact across the community
As a mother with a 17-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter, Prime said she wants her kids to learn volunteerism and instill in them the values of contributing to their community. She hasn’t recruited her son to help yet, but her daughter has started to volunteer.
“If she can learn how to (volunteer) and earn a bike in the process, I think it's a great idea to teach her how to take care of the community and people,” Prime said.
Working at Goldfinch Cyclery, Schmidtke said he enjoys seeing people light up with excitement when they buy their first bike or a new bike or repair their existing one.
“I think transferring that excitement and passion to somebody who maybe has been traditionally underserved, it just magnifies the impact that you can have,” Schmidtke said. “I think it'd be felt like in all corners of the community.”
Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com
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