Revolutions Community Bicycle Shop
First Congregational Church UCC
1000 S. Cooper St.
Memphis, TN, 38104
revolutionsbikeshop@gmail.com
901.949.1201
Who We Are
Revolutions Community Bicycle Shop opened its doors in the basement of First Congregational United Church of Christ at 1000 South Cooper St. in June of 2002 with a dangerously simple vision: we intended to save the world, one bike at a time. That summer, we built a shop where people could rehabilitate and recycle bicycles, and we dedicated ourselves to providing all Memphians—particularly the working poor of Memphis—with bicycles that function well. We wanted to create a place where people could acquire the tools and knowledge required to keep bicycles rolling, but most importantly, we wanted to make a positive impact on our community one bicyclist at a time.
Seven years later, the jury is still out on whether we saved the world. But what we have done is recycled and rehabilitated more than fifteen hundred bicycles. We have helped people from 7 to 70 years old build bikes from scratch. We have taught the mechanically un-inclined how to fix a flat tire. We have provided hundreds of children with bicycles and the freedom that comes along with the open road or single-track trail. Many of our members built a bicycle because they needed a way to work. Other just wanted a new bike that they built themselves, piece by piece. Regardless of why our members built a bicycle at Revolutions, one thing is certain: building the bicycle made a difference in their life, and riding that bicycle in Memphis makes our city a better place to live, work, and play.
We are accountants. We are commodity brokers. We are students. We are teachers. We are mechanics. We are novices. We are church people, and we are agnostic. Revolutions recognizes that our shop, like our communities or families, is only as strong as the least among us. And this is why we teach our members how to repair their bicycles instead of repairing the bicycle for our members; an educated cyclist is a bicyclist that can fix a flat and still make it work on time. A bicyclist possessing the knowledge and tools needed to keep a bicycle running is an individual that has been empowered to be a part of an active community of bicyclists. This is why Revolutions provides all people, regardless of financial circumstances, with the opportunity to build and repair a bicycle. Our mission and our strength is our community.
