An event created 8 years ago to offer a safe place to buy, sell and donate bikes returns to Red Deer today (May 11th).

Alberta Bike Swap, a non-profit, hosts 5 events across the province, offering you an opportunity to consign a bike, shop for a new to you bike, or simply donate a bike.

As event co-director Chris Grant explains, they'll have a local service group handling donations.

“We are accepting donations that go to the Optimist Club and they fix them up and get them back into service in the community.  The admission, the $2 at the door goes towards fixing those bikes up, so we take donations from 4-8:30 pm”.

(photos from last week's event in Calgary where about 400 bikes were sold - courtesy Alberta Bike Swap)

If you have a bike you want to sell, Grant explains how consignment works.

“We do charge a rack fee to help cover our basic expenses of putting on the event, $15 or reduced to $10 if you are an Alberta Motor Association member (AMA), so don’t forget your card, and then there is a 13% fee when your bike sells”.

In addition to covering off their costs, those fees also support other initiatives they do, like safe cycling programs.

While they do accept kid’s bikes, if you’re looking to consign them, Grant encourages you to ensure the fee structure will make sense for your sale.

It’s an outdoor event at Westerner Park in front of Salon B.

“We start taking bikes in at 4 pm, we’ll take bikes in until 7 pm and I’m expecting a record turn-out, probably 100-125 bikes.  We take a short break and then at 7:15 pm we start the sale and the sale runs from 7:15-8:30 pm”.

For more information about Alberta Bike Swap visit http://albertabikeswap.ca/