msr_78

I've accumulated, as I believe we all have, a fair amount of stuff that I can hardly try to sell, but that is still in pretty usable nick and, more importantly, needs to be recycled, if not outright reused: from 26" rims to clipless shoes, to helmets and tires.
I have been looking around and cannot find anywhere where I can donate/dispose of the stuff, and I just don't want to throw it in the trash - too much waste, and I'm sure someone could make use of it.

So my question is: does anyone know of a charity/non-profit/other that recycles/reuses cycling parts/shoes/equipment? What do you do with cycling clothing when you don't use it anymore? I don't think Goodwill will take it, they are having huge issues with people just dumping whatever on them - and honestly I don't think they'll know what to do with SunRingle rims.

Thanks

dedhed

https://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki..._Organizations

ShannonM

See if you have a co-op / community bike shop within a convenient distance. Most decent-sized cities should have one. Give them your old parts. They'll be grateful.

--Shannon

PS: I volunteer at my local co-op, so I'm biased... having full parts bins is very, very nice when I'm fixing someone's bike.

Retro Grouch 

Off topic but I have a question about how you choose which parts bin part to use:

The "sock drawer" theory is to take the most worn but still serviceable part to use it up. Otherwise it stays in the parts bin forever.
The "Pope tablecloth" theory is to take the best you can find in the bin. Otherwise the best parts never find a worthy project to get used on.

ShannonM

Depends on the bike, and on the part. My rule o' thumb is to use equal or slightly-better-than-stock parts if I can find ones that work. Sometimes you can't. Front derailleurs are probably the hardest, it's not unusual for there to be only one in the bin that will work, because there's like 937 different ways to make a front derailleur, none of which are compatible with any of the others.

--Shannon

CrimsonEclipse

Figured with all the 1x conversions, you'd have barrels of front derailleurs

msr_78

Thanks, I'll google and see if there's any co-op open in my area - unfortunately the link in dedhed's reply wasn't too useful, as most of the organizations seem to have closed or are just too far away

ShannonM

Alos look at your local Craigslist. That's how I found the Erueka, CA Bike Kitchen, we put our contact info in the ads for the bikes that we sell. Also, Bike Kitchen is a national organization for co-ops, their website probably has a list, although it would only have BK-affiliated shops.

--Shannon