First of a series of events targets making a million bikes rideable again
Specialized has launched a day of free bike tune-ups on Saturday, 26 October 2024, with the aim of getting a million unused bikes back to rideable condition by the end of 2025. It’s not limited to Specialized bikes and you can bring bikes from any brand in for a once-over.
Called Reduce, Reuse, ReSpecialized, the initial event will take place at participating Specialized retailers on Saturday, 26 October 2024. It’s part of the brand’s celebrations to mark its 50th year.
The initiative is worldwide, but different terms apply to different territories. In Europe, in addition to its free tune-ups, there’s a discount available on larger repairs booked for a future date and Specialized will offer a free helmet for children in certain regions.
In North America, however, tune-ups are limited to 'single-tool repairs' and discounts on larger repairs won't be offered.
Specialized says that it will announce further repair days and community events as part of the programme in future. You can find a list of locations near you on Specialized’s search page.
Simple fixes for free
Specialized reckons that many bikes just need small adjustments to make them rideable (Image credit: Specialized)
Specialized reckons that, in many cases, bikes go unused due to flat tyres, a noisy chain or poor brake or shifting adjustment, all of which can be fixed simply for free on the day on 26 October. Owners will need to pay for any parts that are needed.
If mechanics identify that a bike needs more serious work, riders will be handed a coupon which offers a significant discount on parts and services, to be booked for a later date.
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The brand has totted up the benefits of getting a million bikes back on the road and claims that even if each were only ridden 12 miles a week, CO2 emissions would be reduced by 438 million kilograms, equivalent to planting over 7 million trees.
Riders themselves would burn 25 billion calories and reduce screen time by 66.6 million hours, with associated benefits for their mental and physical wellbeing.
You can find a list of Specialized stores near you here, if you want to find your closest store, although not all may be participating in the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle day.
Paul has been on two wheels since he was in his teens and he's spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate test along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages.
