Slideshow Silicon Valley Bike Exchange Board of Director Member Gordon Hamachi and Founder and President Dave Fork at the site in Mountain View on March 6, 2018. Photo by Michelle Le Silicon Valley Bike Exchange. Photo by Michelle Le Silicon Valley Bike Exchange Founder and President Dave Fork and Board of Director Member Gordon Hamachi at the site in Mountain View on March 6, 2018. Photo by Michelle Le Previous Next

After more than 25 years of repairing bikes for donation, the Silicon Valley Bike Exchange based in Mountain View is now searching for a new home. For nearly its entire history, the scrappy club of bike enthusiasts has operated out of a Leghorn Street garage, but members say they will soon need to leave.

Through its history, the Bike Exchange and its small crew of volunteers have fixed up thousands of abandoned or neglected bicycles. On average, about 900 bicycles are repaired each year and put back on the road, said Jack Miller, an active member. After being fixed up, most of these bikes are donated to local charity groups such as the Community Services Agency, Hope's Corner, Life Moves or similar nonprofits.

For a nonprofit, the Bike Exchange has kept a low profile and its membership is relatively small, consisting of about 25 active members. The group has no professional staffing and it operates on a lean budget of about $12,000 a year, much of which goes to purchase repair supplies.

But what it lacks in resources, it makes up in passion, Miller said. The members love bicycles and are eager to teach their know-how to others. The club's workshop, tucked behind an auto shop, is bustling with activity on its scheduled workdays on the second or fourth Saturday of each month.

"All of our guys just want to share their fixing skill and take bikes that were abandoned and return them to the community. That's always been the driving force," Miller said.