Another place to donate used, good (not department store) bikes is to the Scallywags Bike shop for their Rwanda project. The link is http://scallywagsbikeshop.com/?page_id=6.

They are working to provide specially made “Coffee” bikes to Rwandan coffee growers to transport their coffee for processing more quickly, enabling them to get a higher price for fresher coffee.

I read on http://www.bikeforums.net that they are taking bike donations right now.

Do you have a bike gathering dust in the garage? Are you an apartment manager
bothered by pesky abandoned bikes lying around the halls and storage areas? Do
you want to help broaden the bike movement in Mpls? Consider donating to the
Wellstone Bike Club!

The mission of Wellstone Bike Club is to “Empower Students through Bicycling”.

A program of Wellstone International High School, we introduce students of many cultures to Minneapolis’ “emerald necklace” of parks and trails - by bicycle.
Women and men learn to ride for the first time, to tune up their own bike, and to savor the joys of exploring beautiful Minneapolis on two wheels. Students who excel in the program are given bikes to ride to school, the library, shopping or anywhere else, empowered to save money and energy through “pedal power”.

Often we can pick up bikes at your address. Bikes in good working condition are always preferred though we may also accept “junkers” to use for parts. If you have a bike you’d like to donate, contact Jeff. All donations are tax deductible.

Their website:
http://wellstone.mpls.k12.mn.us/Wellstone_Bike_Club.html

I bought a new bike about three years ago to treat myself–and I found all sorts of things that I didn’t like about the bike. I started stealing bits from it to repair my rusty old standby, Murray.

At any rate, I still have the leftover bike-frame (I’ve taken the wheels and seat for good old Murray). I don’t want to just throw it out, but it’s just been taking up storage space for three years now.

one-on-one bikes (downtown)
longfellow bikes (54th st & 43rd ave)
nokomis cycles (42nd & either chicago or bloomington)
Hub co-op (minnehaha ave, between Lk & 31st)
Freewheel (west bank)

I haven’t been into sunrise, but they look like a good option for a used bike. There’s also a seasonal shop in St Paul on Snelling just south of 94 that also sells used bikes, My wife bought an excellent ‘69 Schwinn there, I found a good deal on an 80s Fuji.

mplsbikelove.com is a good source for local info, as suggested. For general bike info, you might try bikeforums.net. I found the “Classic and Vintage” section very helpful when I was looking for a used road bike.

I certainly hope this weather keeps up - it’s nice to see everybody out and about again! (and be out and about myself)

That’s horrible to hear, but the thief actually did you a favor if you had a Target model. Like most stuff sold at Target or Wal-Mart, the bicycles should be considered disposable. The parts are horribly substandard and when they break they cannot be fixed–you need to replace the entire bicycle. This is one of the results of the economic race to the bottom paradigm of low prices and low wages.

For an affordable ride around town, I would suggest visiting one of our many independent bicycle shops to look for a used road bike. I would recommend a single speed conversion for low maintenance riding around town. The single speed has less pieces to care for and you can experiment with different sizes of chain rings and cogs in order to find the best gear ratio for you.

One local shop where I’ve purchased such used bicycles is Sunrise Cyclery now located on Bryant and Lake in Minneapolis:

http://www.sunrise-cyclery.com/

You can also become a member of the Minnepolis Bike Love forum where you can ask for advice from any number of cyclists from all over the metro area:

http://www.mplsbikelove.com

Good luck getting back in the saddle!

since my last one was a cheap Target model, I’m looking for suggestions for a decent bike for city riding that won’t cost a ton