Frequently Asked Questions

The Ohio City Bicycle Co-op (OCBC) is a volunteer-driven, non-profit bicycle education center that offers riding and repair classes, a well-equipped community shop where individuals can repair their own bikes, and a bicycle thrift store for refurbished bikes and used bike parts and gear. Through the Pay What You Can program, OCBC provides free and affordable bikes and repairs to low-income cyclists in Northeast Ohio.

We are located in the Flats, close to beautiful downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Our address is 1779 Merwin Avenue Cleveland, OH 44113. From Columbus Road, turn onto Merwin Avenue. Merwin is a brick road between the green Columbus Rd. lift bridge and Sainato’s pizza. Then, turn right at our Ohio City Bicycle Co-op sign. The entrance to our section of the building is near a black chain link fence at the far end of the parking lot.

Sometimes GPS will send people further down Merwin Avenue, but if you reach Merwin’s Wharf restaurant, you’ve gone too far. If that happens, turn around and take the first left into the parking lot.

Step 1: Measure your leg length

In order to choose a bike that is safe and comfortable for your height, you’ll need to first measure your true leg length (as in this video; wearing your riding shoes, and lifting the book as high as possible!). It’s not the same as your pants inseam. The description of each bike online has its recommended minimum leg length. 

If you want a more “casual,” upright posture (handlebars higher than the seat), get a bike with a minimum leg length that matches yours. You should have just an inch to spare when you stand over the toptube while flat-foot on the ground. 

If you want a more “aggressive,” athletic posture (handlebars lower than the seat), choose a bike with a minimum leg length a bit shorter than yours.

Step 2: Browse our Online Shop and choose a bike

Purchasing a bike online is the best way to get the bike you want. Our inventory is usually much larger than we can fit in our physical showroom, but all available bicycles are listed online where you can browse by style and price. By purchasing it online, you  “reserve” the bike you want and schedule your test ride/pick up appointment (Thursday, Friday, or Saturday afternoons — or, if needed, at other times with an email).  

Step 3: Visit our physical store to test ride your bike

When you come in for your personal appointment, wear shoes you’d normally ride in. Bring your helmet, or we will lend (or sell) you one. We’ll take the time to help with proper fit adjustments, and you can ride as long as you like: there are nice trails right nearby. If the bike you chose isn’t just what you need — for whatever reason — we are happy to help you pick other bikes to test ride. If we don’t have something that suits you, you can get shop credit and a rain check for one that does, or we’ll just return your payment with no fees. 

All refurbished bikes include:

• One year trial membership from our advocacy partners Bike Cleveland
• Mechanical check over at 3 months or 300 miles

Youth bikes include “trade-up credit” for 50% of their cost off the next bike as they grow (up to adult bike sizes).

The bicycle thrift store is currently closed for the season. We’ll see you when we reopen on Thursday, January 2, 2025, 12:00pm – 5:00pm.

Yes! We have a physical showroom with bikes for sale. We’re open for retail shopping on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 12-5pm. Our parking lot and main entrance are located next to the Crooked River Skatepark at 1779 Merwin Ave. Cleveland, OH 44113.

The number of bikes available for purchase is often too large to fit in our showroom. To see our complete selection, please visit our online shop.

In the warmer months, we can get very busy, and our staff/volunteer capacity is limited. For best service, we recommend pre-ordering a bike via our online store and scheduling a test ride appointment. We can do a return/exchange if needed when you come for a test ride. 

Bicycle donations:

Our space is limited, and it takes a long time to evaluate and process each donated bicycle. Therefore, we request that anyone wanting to donate a bike first send a photo of it to info@ohiocitycycles.org. It’s helpful if the photo is high-quality, from the chain side of the bicycle. One of our staff members will respond letting you know if we’re able to accept your bike for donation. 

We are not able to accept any electric or gas-powered bikes.

If you are able, we request a voluntary $10 donation per bike when dropping off the donation. It helps offset the ~ $30 worth of new parts we put on the average bike we refurbish and greatly helps get used bikes back on the road for anyone who needs one. 

See our bicycle donations page for more details.

Monetary Donations:

Donations can be submitted via the donations page of our website. Checks can also be mailed to: Ohio City Bicycle Co-op 1779 Merwin Ave. Cleveland, OH 44113. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Bicycle Racks, Apparel, and other accessories:

We also accept any bicycle car racks, jerseys, spare parts, books about cycling topics, and other cycling-related items. If you would like to donate these items, no need to send a photo in advance. Just schedule a donation drop off appointment.

The bicycle thrift store is currently closed for the season. We’ll see you when we reopen on Thursday, January 2, 2025, 12:00pm – 5:00pm.

We are not currently allowing members of the public to browse our parts room. If you are looking for a specific part, please fill out our parts request form, and we will let you know whether or not we have what you’re looking for. 

We have a limited selection of parts available for public browsing in our showroom, including hubs, derailleurs, brake pairs, brake levers, shifters, freewheels/cassettes, splined cranks, pedals, wheels, tires, tubes, fenders, and racks.

We also have a smaller selection of parts available in our front dock area, including pedals, water bottle cages, handlebars and handlebar bags, kickstands, and grips.

Our showroom and dock are open 12pm-5pm Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

New volunteer orientations are currently on hold due to short staffing. Check our volunteering page to see when orientation appointments resume.

Yes! Please check out our volunteering page. All new volunteers must complete a volunteer orientation, even if you’ve already been here to take a class. If you have time to stick around after the orientation, our staff can give you a task to do.

We have volunteering opportunities until 9:00pm on Wednesdays and until 5:00pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. We are not open for volunteering on Sundays, Mondays, or Tuesdays.

If you’re under age 18, we require a youth permission slip. Please fill it out with your parent or guardian and bring it to your orientation or the first time you volunteer. If you’re under age 15, you must also bring an adult with you whenever you volunteer.

“New Old Stock” or used bicycle parts and accessories, used clothing, shop time to work on your own bike, bikes with an “as-is” price, or our classes. We are not able to accept volunteer credits for new items, refurbished bikes, or bikes awaiting refurbishment.

Yes, you can schedule an appointment to reserve one of our shop workstations. Tools and a repair stand are included. Assistance from our knowledgeable staff is available for $1/minute. Please see our Public Shop Use page for more details.

Sorry, due to insurance reasons, no one can work on gas-powered or electric bikes in our facility.

As a nonprofit bicycle education center, we’re focused on providing knowledge, tools, and space for individuals to repair their bikes on their own. In 2020, we started offering drop-off bike repair services because demand for bike repairs was too high for retail bike shops to meet alone. We have now stopped offering drop-off repairs, and we encourage you to visit a local retail bike shop for this service.

We are continuing to offer bike repairs for low-income customers through our Pay What You Can program. To inquire, please email pwyc@ohiocitycycles.org.