Salvos bike workshop keeps Brisbane peddlers powering on
- simoneworthing
- Jun 12
- 4 min read
BY SIMONE WORTHING
Salvos Recycle Bikes in Brisbane is about to celebrate its fifth anniversary!
An event to mark the occasion will be held on Saturday at the Red Hill site, attended by Queensland Divisional Commander Major Mark Everitt, volunteers past and present, members of the Queensland Police, and the local community.
A free barbecue, coffee and short celebratory speeches will be part of the event, which starts at 9.30am.
The constantly developing social enterprise is set up in the grounds of the Salvos Stores complex in the city’s inner northside.
Andy Steele, a Brisbane Salvationist and experienced cyclist, established Salvos Recycle Bikes in 2020, utilising a couple of refurbished shipping containers on concrete slabs, and remains the coordinator of the enterprise to this day.
The goal was to restore bikes to sell in Salvos Stores – a supportive partner in the initiative. The vision was, and continues to be, on people – both those who work and volunteer fixing and selling bikes, and on community members who can now buy affordable bikes for transport, leisure, fitness – and everything in between.
“Every life, and every bike – even if it’s just a reflector or bell – is worth saving,” said Andy. “This is where I felt God leading me.”
Assistance from the Brisbane City Council and Salvation Army grants helped Salvos Recycle Bikes become operational. A repair and maintenance service for the public was introduced, and conventional bikes could also be converted into electric bikes.
Lives changed Wes Thompson was the chief mechanic when the service started. A former aircraft engineer, Wes had spent several years in jail, where he met Andy through prison ministry and turned his life around. He has since moved to Victoria to be closer to family, but will be returning to Brisbane for the anniversary celebration this Saturday.
“I want him to see it,” said Andy. “I had the vision, and he helped bring it to reality – he was part of the God team for sure!”
Damien (Damo) Saal is now the chief mechanic. He had completed the Salvos’ rehabilitation program at nearby Moonyah when he heard about Andy and the bikes through God’s Sports Arena (a Salvos ministry at Brisbane City Temple that reaches out to the homeless and those struggling in their life journeys) and became involved. He credits the support and sense of purpose he found there, with literally saving his life.
“Damo runs the whole thing when I’m away,” says Andy. “He is also part of supporting change in people’s lives, and he helps others and backs those who need it.”
Any profits from the sale of the bikes benefit the Brisbane Streetlevel Mission, as well as covering wages and continuing to develop the business.
“Over these past five years, we’ve become more advanced, have taken over more space to work on and sell our bikes and have more signage up to let people know we’re here,” said Andy.
“We also now handle electric bikes and are getting more and more high-quality bikes that are lost, stolen or unclaimed, being donated by Queensland Police and Queensland Rail.
“Australia’s largest bicycle retailer, 99 Bikes, has come on board and are good supporters. We also get some quality bikes from the cycling community, including recently, a carbon-fibre road bike. Local community members are buying their second and third bikes from us and referring others to us. We’re seeing parents who buy bikes for their kids bringing the bikes back and buying another one as their kids grow, and regular bike users do all their servicing and repairs with us.
“We have some great volunteers, including five regulars, and we are very grateful for them. There are two regular staff members.”
Andy and his team made the conscious decision not to have a social media presence as “we didn’t want to have to be constantly updating information,” Andy said.
More expensive bikes – those with a value of $1000 or more – are sold online as they don’t have a wide market.
“Not all the volunteers have completed the Certificate III in Bicycle Workshop Operations, which, in the early years, the program made available to a small number of volunteers,” Andy explains.
“Mike helps with paperwork and spreadsheets; Laurie had his own bike shop and is very experienced. More and more program participants from Moonyah are also volunteering for shifts. Most of them have exited the program and come to help us during their transition. It’s amazing to see it all after five years. It’s gone so fast.”
Salvos Recycle Bikes workshop is open from 9am-noon Tuesday to Saturday.
To contact Salvos Recycle Bikes, call 0432 422 371.
