Birmingham BikeFoundry

Birmingham Bike Foundry began in 2009 when four members of a Birmingham student housing co-operative, most of them trained bike mechanics, set up a workshop to repair and refurbish bikes rather than see them scrapped. It has operated since as a registered worker co-operative from a shopfront on Pershore Road in Stirchley, with every worker holding an equal stake in how the business is run. The team repairs and services bikes, cargo bikes and e-bikes, rebuilds donated and part-exchanged bikes for resale, and builds custom frames and wheels to order, alongside running cycle maintenance courses for schools, community groups and individuals. Parts and accessories are stocked for sale alongside the workshop. The Foundry was a founding member of Stirchley Co-operative Development, a group of worker co-ops that has helped bring affordable housing and retail space to the surrounding high street since 2018, and is part of the wider Radical Routes network of co-operatives.