Recyke y'Bike joins Voucher Magpie: how your shopping can help get more people in the North East on bikes

Recyke y'Bike has joined Voucher Magpie. From today, you can choose it as your cause, and whenever you shop through one of our codes or deals, we'll give 50% of the commission the shop pays us to the charity. You pay the same price and still get your discount.

Recyke y'Bike is a North East charity that refurbishes donated bikes, sells them from shops in Byker and Chester-le-Street, and uses the money to give bikes to people on low incomes and run free repair sessions.

At a glance

• Who: Recyke y'Bike, registered charity 1124639, based on Brinkburn Street in Byker, Newcastle, with a second shop in Chester-le-Street.
• What it does: refurbishes donated bikes, gives free bikes to referred people on low incomes, runs repair workshops and training, and saves old bikes and parts from landfill.
• How to help through us: choose Recyke y'Bike on its page, then shop as normal.
• What it costs you: nothing. The money comes out of our commission, not your basket.

Twenty years of second lives for bikes

Recyke y'Bike has been going since 2006, when it was set up as a charitable company, and it joined the Charity Commission register in June 2008. It believes bikes are cheap to run, good for health and the planet, and that fixing them is a skill almost anyone can learn.

Almost everything it sells or gives away is donated. Bikes that can be saved get a full safety check, have worn parts replaced and are set up properly before they go on sale with a warranty. Bikes too far gone are stripped for parts, and the rest is recycled. By its own figures, it saved 4,000 bikes from landfill in 2024.

What Recyke y'Bike does today

Most of its income comes from selling refurbished bikes and servicing customers' bikes in its two workshops, where the mechanics are Cytech qualified. All profit goes back into the charity's work. That includes a referral scheme that gives a free bike, helmet, lock and lights to people on very low incomes in Newcastle and County Durham. By its own figures, it gave away 115 bikes this way in 2025, to children, families, refugees and people seeking asylum.

Out in the community, it runs free Dr Bike repair sessions (22 of them in 2025, fixing more than 250 bikes), street repair workshops in Byker with Kids Kabin, women-only maintenance evenings, a Saturday club where 13 to 17-year-olds learn bike mechanics, and supported volunteering sessions for refugees and asylum seekers. It also runs paid courses, up to Velotech mechanic qualifications. The Charity Commission register lists 6 trustees and 50 volunteers, and income of £441,808 for the year to 30 June 2025.

How your shopping helps: a worked example

Say you spend £50 a month on cycling kit, clothes and household bits at a shop that pays us 4% commission. That's £2.00 commission, and £1.00 of it goes to Recyke y'Bike. Over a year, £12 comes from shopping you were doing anyway.

If 100 supporters did the same, Recyke y'Bike would get £1,200 a year. Commission rates differ from shop to shop, and some shops pay more on certain products, so your own total may be higher or lower.

What you can do now

1. Choose Recyke y'Bike. Go to its page on Voucher Magpie and tap Choose. You don't need an account; we remember it on your device.
2. Shop for your bike through us. Halfords has up to 20% off two or more selected tyres. Leisure Lakes Bikes has free Royal Mail 48 delivery on orders over £50 (bikes excluded), and Decathlon has free standard Click & Collect.
3. Use it for everything else too. Clothes, holidays, broadband and gifts all count, so Recyke y'Bike gains whenever you shop through us.
4. Volunteer. Its support us page has applications for adults and under-18s, with roles from bike and salvage mechanic to social media and admin. No minimum hours are needed.
5. Donate a bike or money. If you're in the area, drop off any bike, in any condition, at either shop during opening hours (they can't collect). You can also give once or monthly on JustGiving.

Questions

Does choosing Recyke y'Bike cost me anything?

No. The shop pays us a commission for sending it your order, and we give half of it to Recyke y'Bike. Your price and your discount stay the same.

When does Recyke y'Bike get the money?

A shop confirms a sale, usually 30 to 90 days after the order, once the return period has passed. We pay each cause its confirmed commission every quarter.

Can I go to Recyke y'Bike for help myself?

Anyone can buy a refurbished bike, book a repair or join a course at its shops in Byker and Chester-le-Street, which are open Tuesday to Saturday. Free bikes are different: you must be referred by a professional and meet criteria on income, where you live and how a bike would help you, and there can be a wait of several months. The outreach page explains the scheme and its free drop-in sessions.

Can I change my cause later?

Yes, any time, from any cause's page. Your future shopping then goes to the new cause.

Sources: Recyke y'Bike: about us, outreach, 2025 impact recap, shops, support us, Charity Commission: charity 1124639