By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Alberta Bike Swap back in Lethbridge this weekend

Apr 23, 2018 | 12:47 PM

LETHBRIDGE – If you’ve got an old bike taking up space in your garage, or if you like to cycle but just can’t afford the price of a new bike, you’re in luck.

On Saturday, April 28, the Alberta Bike Swap is taking place in Lethbridge at Exhibition Park.

It’s a non-profit event that returns half of the profits from bikes sold back into the community to fund safe cycling and make informative tech-check bikes accessible.

Hannah Lee, the Bike Swap Lethbridge Volunteer, says this event will be split into two time frames.

“The first half in the morning between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. will be when people are able to drop off the bikes they’re looking to sell, and the price will be set by the current owners. During that time, bikes will go through tech-checks and serial number checks,” Lee said, adding the Lethbridge Police Service fully supports the event.

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“They just want to make sure that the bikes being brought in aren’t stolen.”

Bike Swap takes a small consignment fee that’s used to fund the event and to donate to like-minded local organizations.

Lee says the afternoon will be when the event opens up to the public to come by, browse, and shop.

“Between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. we’re going to be open for business. If someone’s bike is sold during that two-hour window, they’ll be contacted to come pick up what they’ve made off it and that’s when we take the fee,” Lee said.

The Bike Swap has been a popular event in past years, according to Lee.

“The event started at South Minister Church and since then it’s continued to grow so we needed more space,” she continued. “This year’s Bike Swap is taking place at the Exhibition Grounds because of the amount of space and parking available for us.”

Lee says typically they see around 2,000 people come out but adds they’re hoping for even more this year.

There’s also an environmental aspect to the Bike Swap event, as hundreds of bikes are dumped into the landfill every week.

Bike Swap works with groups in the city to make sure bikes get a second chance and don’t become a burden in the landfill.

“In Edmonton, about 600 bikes go into their landfill a week, which is crazy. We don’t have the exact numbers in Lethbridge but it’s likely a smaller number than that. One of the biggest reasons behind the event is keeping bikes out of the landfill because they aren’t easily composted and broken down,” Lee said.

Any of the bikes that don’t get sold, Lee says, are usually donated to the Bike Swap after the fact by the owners.

“Then we look for an organization to give the bikes to, basically free of cost, but this year we’re having troubles finding an organization to take the bikes,” Lee stated. “We’re putting the call out there to any organization around Lethbridge that could use free bikes to get in touch with us.”