- Unwholly Bikes is a nonprofit that provides free bikes to the Lakeland, Florida, community.
- The bike shop had its grand opening on September 14 and requires people to put in 10 hours of work for a new ride.
While it may sound like a dream to walk into a bike shop and walk out with a free bike, Unwholly Bikes is making that dream a reality for the community of Lakeland, Florida.
Just be ready to work a little bit for your ride.
The nonprofit bike shop, which held its grand opening on September 14, has already sold or donated 20 to 25 bikes in the three months since its soft opening. The shop was operating unofficially through word of mouth, but now that it is fully functioning owners Tyler Fox, William Shaffer, and Mac Masters are confident that they will be able to reach even further into the community.
Patrons are able to either donate 10 hours of work at the shop toward their bike or pay $50. This also gets them a year-long membership to the shop so they can get free repairs done on the bike when necessary.
“During the grand opening, a local homeless man organized the parking for the event. We gave him a free Raleigh bike for his services,” Fox told Bicycling. It is particularly the lower income or homeless community that Unwholly is trying to reach—a bike can be a life changer for them, and often is their sole mode of transportation.
The shop began as a community service project called Church of the Unwholly Bike, which “entailed an hour of grilling food and hanging out with other locals, an hour of riding, and one to two hours of community clean-up,” Fox said.
The idea for an actual bike shop came from William Shaffer, who created a previous bike co-op in the early 2010s called Veloswan. Shaffer then connected with Mac Masters, and they began to form ideas for the community service based shop.
In their minds, this bike shop would provide bikes for anyone and everyone in the community who wanted one. The bikes wouldn’t necessarily cost any money, but payment would be made in the form of labor. Customers are expected to take the lead on fixing their bikes unless they have a disability that prevents them from doing so, and if they want or need a new part for their bike, they can pay for it by cleaning or sorting parts in the shop.
While the “church,” the day designated to good riding, good eating, and good deeds still exists, it is now only a once-a-month event. Fox and his friends realized that their idea was better suited for a nonprofit, with the goal of getting bikes into as many hands as possible.
Unwholly Bikes is currently applying to become a government-recognized charitable agency, which would let the shop apply for grants so it could hire someone to work part-time—and open the shop during regular business hours.
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In the long-term, they are committed to helping the community become a cleaner, and more mobile place. “We are excited to have been so successful before we really even opened,” Fox said. “I look forward to seeing how much we can help people in the future.”
Before joining Runner's World, Gabrielle Hondorp spent 6 years in running retail (she has tested top gear from shoes, to watches, to rain jackets which has expanded her expertise—and her closets); she specializes in health and wellness, and is an expert on running gear from head-to-toe. Gabi began her journalism career as a Digital Editorial Fellow for Runner’s World and Bicycling Magazine, and has since advanced to a Runner's World Editor specializing in commerce. She has a double degree in English and Media and Communication from Muhlenberg College where she also ran cross country and track.
