A winning combination… awesome bikes for around town, expert mechanics who give you the time and information to make the best choices, and a great range of practical and reliable parts. This is why we are here.

This page explains a little bit about our background and the things we care about.

Community

Human Powered Cycles grew from the grassroots. The concept was a community initiative: we recycled bikes, we reused parts, we diverted landfill, we helped out a bunch of people in need…

But it got so popular we had to leave the greenery of the Merri Creekside. In the shop we’re proud to be working around the clock to keep Melbourne’s bicycles ticking over. We’re still putting energy into the community: sponsoring fundraisers and events at local schools and community groups, working with our local bicycle users group (DBUG), recycling all waste products we can, running regular bike maintenance trainings and much much more. Like hanging out doing free bike fix at gigs like this:

Cafe

We’ve also got a cafe in the shop! As Cafe Steve says: “Bikes and coffee. Usually can’t have one without the other.” Needless to say, we’re hooked!

Check out the full menu and opening hours for the Human Powered Cafe.

E-News and social media

We send out a monthly newsletter. And we’ve got a running commentary on bikes, Melbourne and coffee on Twitter. And befriend us on Facebook!

Up on the right side of this page pop your details in to join the mailing list.

Environment

So we preference environmentally preferred products. Of course.

We look at whole of life impact. Sure the bike might not be made locally but will it last for the Long Haul? And what embedded energy do the frame and components hold? There’s no industry standard rating for this stuff yet but we’re thinking about it.

Some of our brands do cool stuff like  Gazelle’s internal Supplier Assessment Criteria. And some of our brands do what the do because it’s green. Check out the Green Oil biodegradable non-toxic chain lube. We like it.

We recycle as comprehensively as possible (including paper, cardboard, bottles, glass, metal, fluro tubes, e-waste etc). And we use recycled products too. Of course. And the recycling just got even better: we recycle old bike tyres and tubes. Locally.

But the best thing we do is encourage cycling and the massive social and environmental benefits this provides!

Got an old bike you no longer need?

Please take your old bikes straight to the Bike Shed at Ceres.