Bike Manchester, which focused on local trail and city riding, has been folded into the Queen City Bike Collective, a nonprofit housed on lower Elm Street whose mission is to keep the Manchester community riding bicycles safely and affordably.

“They approached us,” said volunteer QC Bike Collective Executive Director Abby Easterly. “It comes at a good time as we’re trying to have more of a community presence. We were looking for a wider market.”

The collective has offered low-cost bicycles, parts and repairs since 2015 to the Manchester communities most in need — the working poor, and the immigrant community.

“Our largest demographics are adults for whom a bicycle is the only form of transportation, and children,” Easterly said. She estimates that 600 to 700 donated bikes come through the shop annually. Gossler Park and Beech Street elementary schools partner with QC Bike Collective through the Earn-a-Bike program. Some 120 to 150 4 th - and 5 th - grade students are offered a refurbished bike, new lock, new helmet and light set each spring. The Manchester Police Department is on-site at the schools to register the bikes on the day they’re awarded. The collective also partners with the Manchester Health Department.

The Queen City Bike Collective has offered on-site, low-cost supervised repairs since its inception. There’s a strong emphasis on education in the busy shop. Riders are encouraged to learn how to maintain and repair their own bicycles. Shop manager Tyler Glodt has a knowledgeable and dependable staff of volunteers.

The collective did a Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats (SWOT) analysis last fall, and one result was the installation in December of a Dero Fixit Station at Bronstein Park. Nine more stations throughout the city are expected to follow. An air pump and tools are free to all at the stations and are attached by metal cable to prevent theft.

Recreational rides led by a volunteer are offered Mondays at 5:30 p.m., starting in front of the QC Bike Collective shop at 35 Elm St. A June Pride Ride attracted a dozen cyclists.

“The demand for bikes is big now, but it was huge during the pandemic,” Easterly explained. “For many people, it’s the difference between being able to get to work or not.”

Glodt is succinct in advice for simple bicycle maintenance: “Keep your tires properly inflated and keep your bike clean.”

Drivers and cyclists are sharing more roads in Manchester through the addition of designated bike lanes.

“Bike lanes are always good,” Easterly said. “They make people better drivers. They have to be patient”