Our Mission: Serving the community while
inspiring people to learn the art of bicycle repair.
Quick Answers
Location: 3961 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA MAP
Currently our volunteer days are on pause due to COVID-19. Main volunteer workdays when we're not in a pandemic are 10am to 3pm on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of January-October. See the event calendar for more events and volunteer days.
Donate bicycles and parts by appointment. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and details of what you have. We have specific drop-off times on Wednesday and Friday and other times by special arrangement. We'll let you know if we have a need for your items and get you drop-off details.
The Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange is a Section 501c(3) non-profit organization.
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What's New
Featured Bicycle: Windsor Carrera Sport Vintage Road Bike Part III - The Thrilling Conclusion!
- Details
- Written by Cap'n Jonny Felch Cap'n Jonny Felch
- Published: 03 May 2021 03 May 2021
With passionate volunteers, we don't always take the most time-efficient path to restore and refurbish bicycles. This fine restoration is a perfect example of a volunteer going the extra mile.
At long last, John Felch's Windsor Carrera Sport is done. Here’s an update on the long process of restoring the Windsor Carrera Sport. For the history of this restoration, check out Part 1 and Part 2 on our website from earlier this year. Read on for his thrilling conclusion, in his own words, to this three-part series.
Featured SVBE Volunteer: David Kamp
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- Written by Andrew Y Andrew Y
- Published: 02 May 2021 02 May 2021
Regular readers of the BikeX newsletter may recall the beautiful restoration of a 1930s Rudge-Whitworth. This stunning relic of bicycle history was revitalized thanks to this month’s Volunteer of the Month, David Kamp. In addition to lovingly bringing this historic bicycle back to life, David has been an integral part of BikeX during the pandemic by repairing numerous take-home bicycle projects, getting broken carbon frames repaired, and most recently, overhauling dozens of pedals. David has a fascinating background outside of BikeX. Read on to learn more about the endurance athlete and tireless mechanic.
Bicycle Film Festival Comes to Silicon Valley
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- Written by Andrew Y Andrew Y
- Published: 28 April 2021 28 April 2021
The Bicycle Film Festival is coming to Silicon Valley and we're proud to partner with the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition to spread the word.
The 20th Anniversary of the Bicycle Film Festival is going virtual and coming to your home!
Dates: May 7 – 16, 2021
Location: Silicon Valley (virtual platform)
Host: Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Tickets: boldtypetickets.com
Selected Shorts for the Silicon Valley BFF:
Bicycle Exchange Tech Tip: ETRTO - Three Important Digits and Five Letters in Tire Sizing
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- Written by Andrew Y Andrew Y
- Published: 09 April 2021 09 April 2021
At the Bicycle Exchange, we end up replacing a lot of tires on our bikes. It's a big portion of the expense in refurbishing the hundreds of bikes we donate each year. We replace tires on kid's bikes, mountain bikes, hybrids, cruisers, vintage 3-speeds and road bikes. At times, we also have to replace wheels as well, to get these bikes rolling again.
Read more: Bicycle Exchange Tech Tip: ETRTO - Three Important Digits and Five Letters in Tire Sizing
Featured SVBE Volunteer: John Garrish
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- Written by Andrew Y Andrew Y
- Published: 08 April 2021 08 April 2021
This month's featured Volunteer is John Garrish, who has been a regular visitor during the pandemic to pick up homework bikes, help with QA and lend his cargo bike expertise. John has a long, interesting history with bikes and has been an invaluable SVBE evangelist at the company he works for.
Enjoy our spotlight on John in the interview below.
Featured Bicycle: Windsor Carrera Sport Vintage Road Bike Part II
- Details
- Written by Cap'n Jonny Felch Cap'n Jonny Felch
- Published: 09 March 2021 09 March 2021
Here’s an update for the Windsor Carrera Sport vintage road bike we featured last month.
The frame has a beautiful new coat of paint, went through a thorough polish, and is ready for assembly. The decal set recently arrived from Velocals and will be affixed shortly before I build up the bike. The only substitution from the original parts is the handlebars. The old ones were in bad shape and slightly bent and these new ones are age-appropriate and in much better condition.
Read more: Featured Bicycle: Windsor Carrera Sport Vintage Road Bike Part II
Bicycle Exchange Tech Tip: Freeing up Stuck Shifters / Brifters
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- Written by Roger Conley Smith Roger Conley Smith
- Published: 05 March 2021 05 March 2021
Have you found a bike with a set of brifters that just don’t shift like they once did? We have come across countless sets of shifters and brifters (also called trigger shifters, Shimano Rapidfire shifters and Shimano STI shifters) that get stuck and cannot reach the full range of gears at the shop.
We at SVBE have used many sprays of WD-40 and Kroil in an attempt to restore shifters like these back to their original glory. Always a messy affair, this method has only resulted in mixed results. I personally have tried this on at least two sets of brifters and all I got was a few new stains with the brifters still not operating fully.
Read more: Bicycle Exchange Tech Tip: Freeing up Stuck Shifters / Brifters
Featured SVBE Volunteer: Paul Southworth
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- Written by Andrew Y Andrew Y
- Published: 05 March 2021 05 March 2021
One of the silver linings of the pandemic is the arrival of some new faces to the Bicycle Exchange. Paul Southworth is one such example, having refurbished more than a dozen bikes from home, and QA'd many more. Paul comes to BikeX via Green Town Los Altos and its annual ReCYCLE Bicycle Drive.
Bike of the Month: Windsor Carrera Sport Vintage Road Bike
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- Written by Cap'n Jonny Felch Cap'n Jonny Felch
- Published: 04 February 2021 04 February 2021
I just brought a 70's Windsor Carrera Sport home from the Bicycle Exchange. SVBE's Andrew picked it up from a teammate of his son's cyclocross team.
The bike has quite a history that spans three generations as told to us by the donor.
Read more: Bike of the Month: Windsor Carrera Sport Vintage Road Bike
Featured SVBE Volunteer: Michael Khaw
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- Written by Andrew Y Andrew Y
- Published: 02 February 2021 02 February 2021
During the pandemic, SVBE has been largely dependent on tireless "homework bike" volunteers to keep our bike donations going.
One of the most dedicated homework bike volunteers has been Michael Khaw. Almost every week you can find Michael at SVBE unloading the bike rack on his red Mazda Miata with clean, freshly-tuned bikes that he worked on at home.
We caught up with Michael to learn more about the man behind the mask, and the volunteer behind many of the bikes we've donated.