Our Mission:
Loaded Bikes is a non-profit devoted to making bike trailers a bigger part of Chicago life. By relying more on bike trailers we can reduce our dependence on petroleum-based vehicles and create jobs that keep people active.
Our Methods:
1) Loaded Bikes builds its own trailers right in the city.
2) We’ve started the Loaded Bikes Collective, a trailer-sharing collective analogous to I-Go or Zip Car - only for bike trailers, not cars.
3) Loaded Bikes works to increase the amount of locally grown food distributed by bike. There are many ways to use bike trailers to replace car trips in Chicago, and this is just one important one!
4) We also sell the trailers we build. In particular, people who hope to start distribution businesses of their own, or people who know they will be using their bike trailer on a fairly regular basis may choose to own a trailer, rather than share trailers with a collective.
5) Collaboration. This is probably our most important method. We are collaborating with some incredible organizations that have been doing great work in Chicago for years. West Town Bikes and Growing Home and Working Bikes in particular have been incredibly generous with their resources and with their trust.