​With all the non-profit bike organizations in Chicago such as Working Bikes, West Town Bikes, the Recyclery, Bikes N’ Roses, and Blackstone Bicycle Works, is there room for another non-profit devoted to bikes?  Free Bikes 4 Kidz, a national non-profit that focuses on collecting and donating bikes for kids, now has a Chicago chapter that promises to fill a void with their focus on bikes for kids.

​The idea behind Free Bikes 4 Kidz comes from these marketplace facts:

• About one-third of all bikes sold have 20 inch wheels for smaller riders which means there are a lot of used kid’s bikes available
• The zip code people live in impacts their life expectancy indicating that living in an underserved area impacts a person’s success

If you are like many other people coming out of a COVID-19 lockdown, you are wanting to enjoy the warmer weather on a bicycle.  Riding a bike is a way to get outside while being socially distant, get exercise, run errands to the grocery store, pick up take-out food, and commute to work, without the expense of operation and parking of a car or risky public transportation.   In many cities including Chicago space is being reclaimed on streets with pop-up cycleways making safer cycling infrastructure.   But unless you already have a bike or acted a month ago, you have probably found it difficult to purchase a new bike today that costs under $1000.  The shortage also includes kids bikes and some bike components like tires and tubes.  Why is there a short supply at this time?