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My wife benefits, because I am a happier man,
The donors benefit, because they have more space in their homes and they have most of the benefits I have written above.

BAM-LEF (Learning Enrichment Foundation) benefits because we give them bikes, that will be used to train community folks and newcomers on how to fix bikes (many of the mechanics now work on BIXI bikes!). The refurbished bikes will be sold at a lower price (benefits the buyer) and the money will be used by the institution to help people in need. Also many bikes will go directly to other community organizations who will give less fortunate people, families (including children) the repaired bicycles for free (benefits the recipient).

People like Kosomo and John that have helped the community with their volunteer work in exchange for a bike (earn-a-bike (beta) program).

So the question should be, who does not benefit (profit) from Friends of 2Wheels…. I would say only those that have bikes and throw them in the garbage or abandon them on the sides of the streets and rivers.

I agree perhaps the title may have read “upCYCLING Toronto”

MeHi – Friends of 2Wheels.
P.S. It’s a labour of LOVE!! – priceless…

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This is the ‘non profit’ part some of you folks are missing. (Fun fact: if you don’t charge for labour, then it’s not part of your costs.)

I agree the headline and photos are misleading in the sense that this is how he refurbishes vintage bikes and the photos are clearly not a step by step pictorial of the same bike all the way through. He donates any other bikes he gets not worthy of full detailed refurbishing to this degree to Darren Duke as also mentioned.

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This can be fun work, but I can’t imagine how they can fully recoup the labour and parts costs for overhauls like these. I’ve worked in bike co-ops and have been a mechanic for years — this is a labour of love for a DIYer, not a quick/cheap/easy way to make your bike awesome. Like another person pointed out — unless you are getting a professional paint job done, rattlecan paint jobs on bikes look really terrible, really quick, and are almost never worth the effort. Similarly, you simply can’t make money selling used bikes with this kind of labour.

If you’re really looking to save a bike, much simpler and more effective things are:
(cost of parts only. Go to a local bike co-op and someone will teach you how to do this!)
- New chain (especially if it’s a pre-1990s bike that has never been replaced) ~$7-15
- Replace cables, housing, and brake pads: ~$25 (unimagineable improvements will be had!)
- Replace old cruddy grips: ~$5
- get a set of slick fenders, never get a wet ass again: $25
- replace your raggedy old death trap tires with puncture proof awesomeness: $30-40 each
- put a front and rear light on your bike: $15
- install a rear rack: $20

Now that you’ve built up this relationship with your bike, it’s time to get intimate regrerase the hubs!

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