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The Des Moines Bicycle Collective, a nonprofit group that recycles and refurbishes used bikes, has plenty of two-wheeled bikes and even some three-wheelers parked on the shop floor and waiting for buyers.

“An old rotted bike, at a glance, probably appears to be worthless, but generally for $30 or $40 worth of parts and labor, you can get it back to tip-top (condition), and it will make somebody pretty happy,” said Graham Johnson, the Bicycle Collective’s shop manager. “One of our main goals is to get old bikes under new people.”

The shop, which is located downtown at 617 Grand Ave. across from the Ruan Center, serves as a retail storefront, where cyclists can purchase bikes and biking accessories, as well as a service shop that does tuneups and repairs. Johnson said the shop tries to keep its bikes reasonably priced, ranging from $40 to $100.

“There are a lot of people who want to get into biking but really aren’t interested in spending $500 on (a new bike),” he said. “You come down here and for $150 you can get yourself a pretty decent bike, a lock and some other stuff to go with.”

Besides selling bikes, the shop also donates them, Johnson said. Recently, the Collective partnered with a bike co-op in Chicago to participate in a program that donates bicycles to developing nations.

“We sent about 150 to 200 bikes to a working bikes project,” he said. “Those bikes got packed into a shipping crate and sent to developing nations where they can mix and match them into usable rides where they will suit them just fine.”

Johnson said all of the bikes at the Des Moines Bicycle Collective have been donated and that most of the tools and spare parts have been donated as well.

“It’s surprising how much stuff people have just lying around and they just have no idea what its intrinsic value might be,” he said.

More than 30 people have volunteered their time at the shop since it opened last summer. Johnson said volunteers can accrue their hours and use them as a credit for a new bike.