Bike Pirates first opened on July 1, 2006 as an autonomous, anarchist collective, run by local activists and bike punks who wanted to have a space to fix their bikes and to help others do the same. Originally located at 457 Bathurst St., with limited hours and gradually increasing resources we helped hundreds of people get their bikes running, learn to build a new bike, and even sold some people their very first bicycles. Within two years, a base of volunteers and service users was built up and the time was ripe to relocate to a much larger space accessible to people of all abilities.

In August 2008, Bike Pirates moved to 1292 Bloor Street West, and also became an official non-profit organization. In November 2008, we added our weekly “trans & women” Sunday hours which have been running successfully ever since, as part of our mandate to make cycling more accessible. After 2008 we more than doubled our hours, selling hundreds of refurbished bicycles, and in 2015 we moved to 1416 Queen Street West in Parkdale. In early 2020 we moved again to our current home at 1564 Bloor Street West, but had to reduce our operations due to the pandemic.

We have become a well known leader in the cycling community, participating in community events and partnering with other local bicycle organizations.

In January 2009, Bike Pirates was proud to receive the City of Toronto’s 2008 Bicycle Friendly Business Award for Best Skills Development.

We currently serve several thousand DIY participants and recycle hundreds of bicycles each year.