Help Us Crank Up the Comfort!

87 degrees. By 10am. Before a single customer walked in.

On July 13, 2026, our staff arrived to open the shop and found it was already 87 degrees inside — and it was only 10am. It's been a brutally hot summer, and our bike center, housed in a warehouse with no functional heating or air conditioning, traps heat worse than the outdoors. In winter, the same building's concrete floors make it nearly impossible to heat, even with our heater running, we can't get the shop above 58 degrees.

On February 10, 2026 during our peak season, the refurb-cycle for our Bike Giveaway Program, we arrived to the bike center to 45 degrees inside. We can’t ask our staff, volunteers, and the customers who come to us for affordable bikes to keep working and shopping in these conditions.

Our Plan

In February 2026, we started working toward a real fix. The Crank Up the Comfort Campaign will fund:

• A proper HVAC system to keep our 12,000-square-foot bike center, the largest in Wisconsin, comfortable year-round
• A repaired roof to stop the leaks that make everything else harder

This wasn't an easy decision. We know our current building will be torn down in 3 to 5 years, and we're already planning for our forever home. But our team and our community can't wait years for relief from conditions like these. With the support of Porter Construction Management, we're investing in comfort and safety now, while we plan for what's next.

Our Mission

Bikes for Kids Wisconsin exists to increase the use of bicycle-based transportation for underserved communities through access, low-cost repairs, and education. Every bike we put on the road supports mobility, health, economic opportunity, and community-building.

Our Impact

• 15,977 bicycles distributed to people in need across Wisconsin
• 54 youth graduated from our Bike Mechanic training program
• 480,000 lbs of waste diverted from landfills through reuse, refurbishment, and recycling
• 8–9 million lbs of CO2 emissions prevented since 2017, thanks to donated bikes we've refurbished and redistributed

Your Gift, 100% at Work

100% of every donation to this campaign goes directly to the Crank Up the Comfort initiative, the HVAC unit and roof repair that will keep our doors open in comfort and safety. Your contribution is 100% tax-deductible.

Help us crank up the comfort for our staff, our volunteers, and every individual who walks through our doors. Donate today and help us build a bike center where our team and our community can thrive, no matter the season.