Rue Bikes Started as a Community Bike Shop and tool library. The Bike Lab was located in the North Portland Neighborhood of St. Johns . It began by teaching individuals in the community how to complete their own bicycle projects. There were classes on basic maintenance as well as a full build workshop.  We took vintage frames and outfitted them with new components. In the process we met the transportation needs of local musicians, artists, and college students. From this came the calling to help those in need.

 

My passion is for restorations of old Schwinn's and steel frame bikes from the sixties, seventies and eighties. With a full vintage frame gallery, and mountains of used bicycle parts that had been harvested, repaired, and organized,  we were able to accomplish any project at extremely low cost. In addition it evolved into a prototype shop, as we helped local inventors achieve their projects by using bicycle parts for mechanical engineering. We also worked with youth in the community to develop an after school program, where the participants volunteered their time in return for building a bike of their choice.

 

During the winter, we ended up doing a lot of  pro bono work for the homeless. There is a real need in Portland winter climate for a bike clinic that specializes in helping people who live outdoors in tents and sleeping bags. The Gresham community is not not presently equipped to help the homeless with bicycle related needs. There is only one Bike shop in the area, and it is not set up to do this kind of nonprofit work. Ruebikes has established the mobile clinics in order to fill this need. As a community we can make a difference. It takes a network of people to fight poverty, acting to plant the seeds for change.