RE-OPENING!
The New Brunswick Bike Exchange will open for the 2023 season on APRIL 4, 2023. Come and visit, and see our bikes! Come and chat with our volunteers – we’d love to see you!
Please always check here before coming to the shop in case we have unexpected closings due to inclement weather, a lack of bikes or volunteers.
Thank you.
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BALANCE BIKES! We now have balance bikes for kids AND FOR ADULTS! Come on in and let us help you teach yourself, or your kids, how to ride!
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On Saturday, September 17th, the New Brunswick Bike Exchange (NBBX), in partnership with the City of New Brunswick, Keep Middlesex Moving, Harmony Family Success Center, PRAB, Mobile Family Success Center, New Brunswick Recreation, the New Brunswick Police Department, and Girls In Gear, presented the free New Brunswick Bike Rodeo at Recreation Park to a great turnout by the community.
The NBBX ran the ABC Quick Check station to ensure that participants’ bicycles were safely operational and their tires were inflated to the correct pressure.
Mayor James Cahill, who saved our program from shutting down when our lease was up at our old 90 Jersey Ave location in 2020, came by to see how we were doing.
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Pictured with Mayor James Cahill and Clary Barber from the Mayor’s Office are NBBX volunteers, from left to right:
Joe Blaney, Yifan Zhang, Laura Cinque, Anna Hausmann, Harv Moy, and Nelson Bayas.
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In 2022, the New Brunswick Bike Exchange is pleased to provide mechanical support and bike safety checks at the following children’s bike rodeos in Middlesex County.
For those who haven’t been to one before, a bike rodeo is a bicycle skills event which provides an opportunity for children to practice and develop skills that will help them to become better bicyclists and avoid common hazards and accidents. Some rodeos are designed as large, municipal events with skills activities, exhibits and games, while others are smaller in format.
Most are held on a Saturday or Sunday morning from 9am-11am, except for the North Brunswick Rodeo which is on a Wednesday afternoon.
1. Perth Amboy Bike Day by the Bay- June 4 Saturday
2. Sayreville Bike Rodeo- June 11 Saturday
3. Edison Bike Rodeo- June 26 Sunday
4. Piscataway Bike Rodeo- July 16 Saturday
5. East Brunswick Bike Rodeo- August 13 Saturday
6. New Brunswick Bike Rodeo- September 17 Saturday
7. North Brunswick Bike Rodeo- October 12th (Wednesday 4-6pm)
Join one or all of these events; there is no charge but you must register your child at
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04/04/2022
The New Brunswick Bike Exchange will open for the 2022 season on Tuesday, April 19th!
Our hours of operation will be Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6pm to 8pm.
Please always check our website and Facebook page prior to coming, to be sure that we are not closed due to weather or staffing shortages.
If you have not visited us before, please see “How the New Brunswick Bike Exchange works” under ANNOUNCEMENTS on our website’s home page.
– We accept cash only.
– For your safety and that of our volunteers, face masks must be used by staff AND customers alike, and social distancing protocols must be observed.
– Due to the small size of our shop and available staff, we will only be able to serve 2-3 customers at a time. Please wait on line outside until we call you in.
– Please be considerate of other customers and try to make your test ride(s) and decision(s) as quickly as possible.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation; we look forward to seeing you!
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03/15/2022
Gear up for life with Girls in Gear! Girls in Gear registration is now open for our spring season. We host an eight-week program for riders 6-12 that blends social-emotional learning with bike handling skills. All riding abilities are welcome! The 6-8-year-old group meets at 1pm and the 9-12-year-old group meets at 2:30pm in New Brunswick starting April 3rd. Registration costs $25 and we offer a no-questions-asked scholarship policy. Each site is run by 2-4 volunteers who work through an age-appropriate curriculum. Registration is at girlsingear.org.
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12/10/2021
We have closed for the season.
We look forward to seeing you in April 2022!
While we are closed, you may still donate bikes that are in reasonably good condition by dropping them off at our local business partners:
Kim’s Bikes, New Brunswick
Bike N Gear, Somerset
Local Bike Shop, Highland Park
We encourage everyone to support these local businesses for quality bicycles with expert and friendly sales and service for all your cycling needs.
We also accept donations of cycling related parts, tools, and accessories.
Thank you and be well!
The New Brunswick Bike Exchange
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The New Brunswick Bike Exchange is still out of adult bikes, but will reopen this week for sales of children’s bikes only.
Please remember to always check our website nbbikeexchange.org or FaceBook page before coming to our shop (not a Google search).
We are a 100% volunteer-run operation so there may be occasional days where we do not have enough volunteers available.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
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6/23/2021
The New Brunswick Bike Exchange is pleased to support the Mobile Family Success Center of Middlesex County (operated by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, and administered by the Middlesex County Human Services Advisory Committee) by donating two restored bikes as prizes for the raffle at their upcoming Bike Rodeo.
Pictured here is Harv Moy, Director of the New Brunswick Bike Exchange, presenting Rosela Roman, Director of the Mobile Family Success Center, with two BMX bikes restored by volunteers at the bike exchange.
MFSC’s June Bike Rodeo will be held this Saturday, June 26th at 10am at the Sayerville Library.
Bring your bicycle for a fun event that will show children the skills necessary to ride safely, from the experts at Keep Middlesex Moving, so that you will never miss out on a fun day outside! Don’t forget to bring your helmets. Raffle prizes of bicycles will be announced at the end of the event and community resources will be provided!
The bike rodeo is free but your children must register at this link:
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6/1/2021
We’ve sold out of adult bikes during our first month of the season. We’re in the process of rebuilding our inventory and will post notice here and on our Facebook page when we have a decent selection to offer.
Thanks for you support and patience!
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May 1, 2021
The New Brunswick Bike Exchange is finally ready to open for the 2021 bicycling season on Tuesday May 4th!!
Thank you for your patience while we transitioned to a new home.
Thanks to the generosity of the New Brunswick Mayor, James Cahill, and the Director of Human and Community Services, Keith Jones II, the New Brunswick Bike Exchange will be able to continue serving the community, now from the Hub Recreation Center located at 411 Joyce Kilmer Ave, New Brunswick.
Our hours of operation are Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6pm to 8pm.
We may open on occasional Saturdays when staffing allows, and those days will be posted on our website and Facebook page.
If you have not visited us before, please see “How the New Brunswick Bike Exchange works” under ANNOUNCEMENTS on our website’s home page.
For your safety and that of our volunteers, personal protective equipment (PPE) must be used by staff AND customers alike, and social distancing protocols must be observed and will be strictly enforced.
– All customers MUST WEAR a face mask covering their nose and mouth. No face mask; No service… No exceptions.
– Due to the small size of our shop and available staff, only ONE shopper will be served at a time (two if you are with a spouse or a minor that you are shopping for).
– We anticipate being able to serve approximately 8 shoppers during the 2 hours that we are open each evening. Whenever there are more than 8 people on line, we will issue numbers to the first 8 shoppers to arrive and will be calling each number to be served. Please be considerate of other customers and try to make your test ride(s) and decision(s) as quickly as possible.
If we service all 8 customers before 8pm, we may take others who’ve decided to wait on line. However, we cannot guarantee that we’ll be able to service any who choose to wait on line beyond the first 8 customers.
Upon arrival, wear face mask, and see our greeter for a number that he/she will call when we are ready to serve you.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation; we look forward to seeing you.
Update 03/29/2021
Exciting news- The New Brunswick Bike Exchange will have a new home starting with the 2021 biking season! The location and opening date (tentatively late April) will be announced here and on our Facebook page.
We are busy with the move and cannot answer individual inquiries about our opening at this time so please check here or our Facebook page regularly.
Donations of bikes: We’re moving to a smaller space so we can only accept bikes that are in fairly good condition and in the sizes that are most in demand- for adults and teens (wheel sizes 24″ and larger). Please contact us to discuss donations on a case-by-case basis through our website.
We look forward to seeing you!
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6/18/2020: The New Brunswick Bike Exchange would like to thank Chris Cardelfe (Store Manager) and the Milltown Home Depot (Store #918), for donating a generous supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to help us launch our season in this COVID-19 pandemic. We are especially grateful for this donation of gloves, face masks, and hand sanitizer because PPE has been particularly difficult to source and their cost is prohibitively expensive compared to pre-pandemic prices.
The Home Depot is known for supporting their communities especially during natural disasters and extraordinary situations, and the Milltown Home Depot is a prime example of this generosity and caring. Without this donation, we would not have been able to open as early as we did- within a week of Governor Murphy authorizing bike shops to open for sales.
We encourage all our supporters to shop the Milltown Home Depot.
Pictured here with the donated PPE, Senior Mechanic Rickie G, Mechanic Philip H, Shop Manager Nelson B, and Program Director Harv M.
6/04/2020: Thanks to all of you who visited the New Brunswick Bike Exchange during our first three days of the 2020 season. Whether you purchased a bike (or two, or three!) or just came by to see what was available, we appreciate your stopping by.
You gave a home and a new lease on life to 48 lucky bikes! 48 riders discovering or rediscovering the joys of cycling. 48 less bikes going into our landfills. And your sales proceeds help fund PRAB’s early childhood, youth, family, and community services to over 30,000 individuals and families annually right here in Central New Jersey.
Due to the record number of sales during these first three days, our inventory has been depleted and we will need time to build it back up in order to offer you a decent selection of styles and sizes. Therefore we will be closed until further notice. Please bear with us- we have a very limited number of volunteers who are available AND willing to venture out in this pandemic so it may take a week or two at least to ready a new batch of bikes. Please check our website and Facebook page to see when we’ll be ready to re-open; in fact, it’s always a good idea to check for any last minute changes before coming to our shop.
On behalf of PRAB and all of us here at the New Brunswick Bike Exchange, we thank you for your support and patience during these unprecedented times.
Be well, stay safe, and enjoy the ride!
– The New Brunswick Bike Exchange
05/18/2020: Thank you for your patience! Since the State has finally allowed bicycle shops to open for in-person sales, we at the New Brunswick Bike Exchange would like to welcome you to the opening of our 8th season on Thursday, May 28th.
As Governor Murphy has stipulated and for your safety and that of our volunteers, personal protective equipment (PPE) must be used by staff AND customers alike, and social distancing protocols must be observed and strictly enforced.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
The New Brunswick Bike Exchange
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In Season Hours:
Tuesdays: 6PM to 8PM
Thursdays: 6PM to 8PM
** Check here and our Facebook page for last minute shop closings **
03/28/2020: The New Brunswick Bike Exchange Receives 2020 Best of New Brunswick Award!!
NEW BRUNSWICK March 28, 2020 — New Brunswick Bike Exchange has been selected for the 2020 Best of New Brunswick Award in the Stores category by the New Brunswick Award Program.
Each year, the New Brunswick Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the New Brunswick area a great place to live, work and play.
Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2020 New Brunswick Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the New Brunswick Award Program and data provided by third parties.
About New Brunswick Award Program
The New Brunswick Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the New Brunswick area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.
The New Brunswick Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.
https://newbrunswick.town-choice-recognition.net/PressReleaseub.aspx?cc=DMM2-WBMK-8M88
The New Brunswick Bike Exchange is a non-profit organization run by the efforts of volunteers who collect, recondition, and sell used, quality bikes. The NBBX offers an ever-changing selection of low cost bikes for riders of all ages, from occasional recreational riders to frequent riders and commuters. All bikes are fully assembled, operational, and available for test rides before purchase.
Sales are cash-only.
Our mission is to promote a healthy and active lifestyle through cycling while raising money to support PRAB’s various community services.
We are located at 90 Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick. The entrance is at the rear of the PRAB building through a garage door in the rear parking lot.
If you have bikes to donate, please e-mail Leighann at leighann.kimber@gmail.com to discuss any arrangements.
Bike essentials for beginners
Thinking about starting to bike, biking more often, or perhaps commuting by bike? Did you just get a bike but aren’t sure what else you need? Here are some helpful resources:
The folks at Gizmodo have tips for commuting: Gear You Need To Commute By Bike
The folks at REI have tips for:
The folks at Bike New York have tips for:
Protecting your bike from theft
It has probably happened to you or someone you know: Having your bike stolen. It is not fun and it is just infuriating. Although there is no guaranteed way to prevent your bike from getting stolen, there are ways to deter would be thieves from choosing your bike as their next target. We found these articles to be very helpful:
Check back often to see what we are up to!
If you want to get involved in the New Brunswick Bike Exchange there are a couple ways of doing so:
- Organize and/or host a bike drive in your community, workplace, church, boy/girl scout troop, or other community and service oriented organizations. If you can put the word out to your community, we will provide support for the drive including brochures, fliers, and transportation to get the donated bikes back to our warehouse.
- Volunteer in our shop, located in the warehouse at PRAB’s 90 Jersey Avenue facility. No mechanic experience is necessary and there are a variety of volunteer roles. We need cashiers, salespeople, accountants, mechanics, and bike drive coordinators. Check out our Volunteering page for more details.
Have any more questions? Send us an email at info@nbbikeexchange.org and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. If you want to host a bike drive, contact us at drives@nbbikeexchange.org.
PRAB is a Human Services Organization in Middlesex County, New Jersey that provides a comprehensive range of essential services for children, youth, families and senior citizens. For more information on PRAB, click their logo.
Hope to see you around the shop!
