Get a bike for as little as £60 at Huntly’s community bike shop

Buying a new bike nowadays is a prohibitively expensive prospect for a lot of people.

But a new community-geared shop in Huntly is looking to change all that.

With refurbished donated bikes for £60, and brand new ones around the £400 mark, it offers all sorts of bikes at price ranges everyone can afford.

And on top of this, the new project is already making a real difference in the community through school projects and more.

Join us behind the scenes at the Bikery shop in Huntly, and find out why this talk of the town is attracting shoppers and cyclists from all across the north-east.

What was the Bikery in Huntly before it was a bike shop, and how’s it so different to a regular bike shop?

The Bikery opened on Huntly’s Gordon Street back in March.

It’s based in the premises of the former J and I Smiths bakery, (hence the name), which shut down in 2019. 

Operated by the charity Gordon Rural Action, the new shop is designed with community benefit and involvement in mind.

When you enter the shop, you’re greeted with a friendly smile from the chatty “fowk” at the front of the shop.

And beyond the front of the premises, the organisation is using the huge space formerly occupied by baking equipment in the back for storage of countless bikes, along with piles of parts and busy toolbenches.

It  seeks to provide a place anyone can buy or donate new or old bike parts, get their bikes fixed up at a reasonable price, and even learn new skills.

The Bikery also aims to help people cut down on waste, and swap to using bikes instead of cars for getting about in the Aberdeenshire town.

Proceeds go back into the running of the shop and employing staff, like the two full-time trained mechanics who work there — including 18-year-old Adam Parkinson.

“I started as a trainee, and just became full time,” says Adam.

“I’ve always been into using my hands, and since working here I’ve really got into bikes.

“It’s charity-run, so it’s a really laid back place to work, everyone’s friendly and we always have a laugh.”

The Bikery also offers opportunities for volunteering — there’s eight helping out routinely.

And there’s a focus on education outreach too — such as getting pupils from local schools down to the shop to learn mechanical skills.

Huntly’s Bikery is coming up on 100 bikes sold after just a few months

“Since we opened at the end of March, we’ve sold over 80 used bikes” says Laura McNeil, project coordinator at the Bikery.

“So that’s in just two months, and we’re really proud of that.”

Shoppers have come from all across the north-east, including Banff and Aberdeen to visit the Bikery.

“We sell new and refurbished bikes because we want an offering that would suit anyone in the community.

“We want to support people on a low income that want to cycle, and we also want to have biking enthusiasts coming in as well.”

Lauren says people who have been using the Bikery’s services are finding getting about Huntly by bike has benefits over taking the car.

She says: “A lot of people are commuting on them to and from work, especially if they live locally, it saves on fuel.

“There’s also so many lovely trails here as well to enjoy.”

Lauren explained the shop was particularly busy over the Easter holidays with families coming in to buy and service their bikes.

Looking ahead into the future, the Bikery plans on expanding its service for the community, with initiatives like renting out time with its workbenches and tools for people wanting to fix up bikes themselves and learn some mechanics first hand.

Got an old bike taking up space? Why not donate it to the Bikery?

There’s one thing that the Bikery depends on, and that’s a steady stream of donations of people’s old bikes.

Whether it’s one your young ones have outgrown, or you’ve replaced it with a more modern model, the shop can find all sorts of uses for any kind of bikes they get donated.

Ones which are suitable for it undergo a specialist refurbishment treatment by the engineers and re-sold, and bikes so degraded or damaged that the have no chance of ever being cycled on again get stripped down for parts.

Laura explained people can come past and donate bikes at the premises at 49 Gordon Street, during the opening hours of 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Friday.

And if there’s any community groups like Scout groups or schools who want to collect a bunch of bikes together to donate, the Bikery can come to you and do a bulk pick-up of donations.

Find out more here.