bikes · Alberta

Where to donate bikes and sports gear in Calgary

3 organizations in and around Calgary that take donated bikes — what each one accepts, what it turns away, and which will come and collect it.

Verified 2026-09-24 from each organization's own website. We are not affiliated with anyone listed here, nobody pays to be included, and we receive nothing if you donate to them.

How to tell what you have got

Before you call anyone, two minutes with the object settles most of it. None of this needs an expert — it needs a flashlight and a look at the back.

  • A lugged steel road bike from roughly 1970 to 1989 carrying a tubing decalLook at the seat tube and down tube for a decal naming the tubing: Reynolds 531, Columbus SL, SP or SLX, Tange, or Ishiwata. The frame joints are lugs, meaning sleeves with shaped, scalloped edges, not smooth welds. The shift levers are on the down tube, not the handlebars. A magnet will not stick to the rims. On a Reynolds frame, read the whole decal rather than just the number. Reynolds' own 1972 booklet on what the 531 decals guarantee sets out the hierarchy: the top decals promise 531 stays, taper-gauge forks and butted frame tubes, while a decal reading only "butted frame tubes" covers the top, seat and down tubes and leaves the fork blades and stays as lesser material. The words "forks & stays" are what tell you the 531 runs through the whole frame.
  • Any adult bike with alloy rims that rolls, brakes and shiftsMagnet-test the rims, not the spokes or the frame. Our Community Bikes in Vancouver gives the test in a parenthesis on its donation page: "(if a magnet sticks to the rim it's steel)". If the magnet falls off, the rims are alloy — that inference is ours, not theirs, but it is the whole point of the test.
  • Hockey skates, protective gear and sticks in sizes people actually needSkates with steel left above the blade holder and no deep rust pitting, pads with intact straps and foam that has not crushed flat, and sticks with no cracks at the hosel. On any helmet, the CSA sticker must be present, legible and unpainted.
  • Skis and snowboards whose bindings are less than ten years oldFind the binding model and its year, not the ski's year. Snow Valley Ski Club's swap in Edmonton states that "Skis with bindings older than 10 years may not be accepted." It gives no reason for the rule.
  • Cast iron and steel free weights, Olympic plates and dumbbellsThe weight is cast or stamped into the iron. There is no motor, no display and no electronics, so there is nothing on it that can be broken.
  • A recent e-bike whose battery still holds chargeThe pack charges and holds that charge overnight, the casing is not swollen or cracked, the contacts are free of corrosion, and the display powers up and reports a sensible range.

What this list turns away

Counted from what each place says on its own site, not from what is generally true. Most refusals are about condition and completeness rather than category.

  • 2 of 3 will not take large appliancesDiabetes Canada Declutter Program, Goodwill Industries of Alberta
  • 2 of 3 will not take hazardous materialDiabetes Canada Declutter Program, Goodwill Industries of Alberta

Rarely worth anything

Not a rule, and not a reason to bin something without asking. These are the things people most often expect to be worth money and find are not.

  • Entry-level dual-suspension mountain bikes
  • A bike with steel rims
  • A bike that has sat outside and seized
  • Used bicycle helmets
  • Used ski and snowboard helmets
  • Straight, unshaped downhill skis
  • Skis and boards with bindings more than ten years old
  • An e-bike with a dead battery
Bicycle helmets are single-impact items and must be replaced after any impact Canada, national guidance from Parachute, not law

Parachute, Canada's national injury prevention charity, states: "Some helmets are designed for a single impact, such as a bicycle helmet, and must be replaced after an impact. Others are multi-impact, such as hockey helmets, and are designed to protect against more than one impact, but must be replaced when you see damage." That is the whole of what the guidance covers. The inference about second-hand helmets is ours, not Parachute's: on a used bike helmet you cannot establish whether the single impact has already happened, which is why a crashed helmet should be binned rather than passed on. Parachute's page gives impact-based replacement only and states no time interval, so the widely repeated five-year rule is not something we can source to it.

Read the rule →
E-bike and e-mobility lithium batteries must go to a battery recycling route, not household waste Canada, with distinct additional programs in British Columbia and Quebec

Call2Recycle Canada operates the e-mobility battery collection program, accepting rechargeable lithium batteries that power e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards and hoverboards. Collection runs through retailers, municipalities, property managers and other potential partners who opt in to be collectors and receive specialized shipping boxes, so coverage depends on who has opted in near you — check the Call2Recycle locator for your own province rather than assuming a site exists. In British Columbia, Call2Recycle also offers a separate and distinct BC e-mobility program supporting the collection and recycling of full e-bikes, including the battery, in that province. In Quebec, effective 1 July 2026, ecocentres can also opt in to collect complete e-mobility devices for recycling. Outside those two provinces, only the battery is covered and the frame must be handled separately.

Read the rule →

3 places in Calgary that take bikes

Bicycles for Humanity - Calgary Chapter

Drop off only
TakesUsed bicycles
CollectionDrop-off only; no pickup is mentioned on their site. Two drop-off points are listed: Spyhill Landfill, 2142 47 Ave SW — "Drop off in the alley, Accessed is off 20th St. SW", "Any day of the week between 9AM and 5PM"; and BikeBike, 430b 40 Avenue NE, "during business hours". They publish no bike-condition policy, so email calgary@bicycles-for-humanity.org first if you are unsure whether yours is usable.
WhereTwo drop-off points confirmed on their site. All-volunteer, no storefront.
Visit their site →

Diabetes Canada Declutter Program

Will collect, conditions apply
TakesClothing, shoes and accessories, Bedding and textiles, Laptops, tablets and cell phones, Sporting goods, Books, Cookware and tableware, Small appliances
Won't takeAll furniture, Beds and bedding parts, Large appliances, Televisions and computer monitors, Hazardous materials
CollectionFree home collection, but only when they have a scheduled run in your area — enter your postal code on their site to check. Items must be in sealed bags or boxes under 40 lb and left on the doorstep; loose items are not collected.
WherePickup availability is checked by entering your address on their site. No Calgary-specific coverage or bin locations are stated on their own pages.
Visit their site →1-800-505-5525

Goodwill Industries of Alberta

Will collect, conditions apply
TakesNew and gently used clothing, laundered and clean, Footwear, Housewares, Linens, sheets and towels, Sporting equipment, Artwork and collectibles, Jewellery, Toys and games, Books, Bags
Won't takeFurniture over 50 lbs — furniture must go to the Impact Centres or a partner non-profit, not regular stores or donation centres, Upholstered furniture, hide-a-beds, waterbeds, bed frames with springs, Mattresses, Large appliances, Pianos, Halogen lamps, lava lamps, fluorescent and ceiling lights, Console and non-flat-screen TVs, Bicycles, Ski and snowboard equipment with bindings, Guns, replica and play guns, ammunition, fireworks, Aerosols, cleaners, chemicals, paint, Barbeques, gas-powered mowers and snowblowers, Building supplies and car parts, Baby gates, cribs and cradles, strollers, playpens, swings, walkers, bath seats, Toilets and sinks, Wet or soiled furniture, Carpeting and linoleum, Medical supplies and personal care items
CollectionCORRECTED — Goodwill does offer pickup, contrary to a common claim that it does not. Their site states: "Goodwill has partnered with College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling to offer donation pickup." They also note the hauler "will also pick up donation items that Goodwill cannot accept." Their site does NOT state whether this is free or paid, and does not confirm Calgary coverage — check availability and cost on their Donation Pickup page at goodwill.ab.ca/donation-pickup/ before assuming anything.
WhereTheir own donation-centre finder at goodwill.ab.ca/donate/ lists 16 Calgary locations, each with its own phone number and hours — use the finder rather than a fixed list, as hours vary by site. Furniture under 50 lbs is only taken at the Calgary Impact Centre.
Visit their site →1-866-927-1414

Not sure what you have got?

Photograph it and we will tell you what it is and what it is worth — including when the honest answer is that it is worth nothing.

See what it's worth Sell it instead → Everything in Calgary →

Other things in Calgary

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Bikes in other cities

Edmonton3 placesMontréal4 placesQuébec City4 placesSaskatoon3 placesWinnipeg4 places