Photo / Courtesy Portland Gear Hub
Mechanics work on bikes.
Updated: January 6, 2025
Portland Gear Hub secures permanent ownership of store and workshop
Photo / Courtesy Portland Gear Hub
Portland Gear Hub secured permanent ownership of its store and workshop at 155 Washington Ave.
The Portland Gear Hub reached a milestone when it secured permanent ownership of its store and workshop at 155 Washington Ave.
The acquisition positions the nonprofit to expand its programs, deepen its community impact and secure its role as a community leader of outdoor accessibility and mobility in Portland for future generations, according to a news release.
Ownership of the space eliminates the burden of rent and provides financial stability, enabling the Gear Hub to reinvest in its mission. The property will provide permanent space and growth opportunities to programs such as Bikes for All Mainers, Kids Bike Parties and hands-on classes.
The purchase was financed by $1.56 million in donor contributions.
Origin
Portland Gear Hub is a nonprofit outdoor gear and bike shop operated by Ketcha Outdoors, a year-round youth outdoor nonprofit in Scarborough with programs in youth development and family enrichment, as well as summer day camps.
Created in January 2014 in the basement of the Portland YMCA, the Gear Hub’s primary goal was to provide funding for existing youth development programming.
But the idea grew. In 2015, the Gear Hub opened a retail storefront on St. John Street in Portland’s Union Station Plaza, where it gained new exposure, hired staff and began drawing more donations and foot traffic.
In 2017, the Gear Hub raised about $6,000 from the community to relocate to a former auto garage at 155 Washington Ave. in Portland and to open a bike school at 85 Anderson St. The school offers sliding-scale youth and adult programming, including Open Bench Time and Bikes for All Mainers, as well as a variety of advanced bike maintenance classes.
Outdoor access
At 155 Washington Ave., the Gear Hub takes in donations of used outdoor gear and inspects and repairs the equipment. It recycles and reuses as much as possible, saving parts for reuse and refurbishing bicycles both for sale and for programs.
The mission is to provide equitable access to outdoor experiences and gear. Acceptable gear includes bicycles, bike components and accessories, cross-country skis, boots and poles, snowshoes, winter and other types of outdoor apparel, tents with all pieces included, sleeping bags and sleeping pads and backpacks.
The aim is to lower the barrier of entry for those interested in outdoor recreation and/or sustainable transportation.
In addition to year-round staff, the nonprofit is supported by volunteers who help sort skis, repair bikes, make improvements to the building, translate traffic safety classes and more.
“A bicycle is a simple, affordable and sustainable solution,” said James O’Donnell, the organization’s director. “When paired with educational programs, a bike becomes a tool for transformation.”
Grassroots campaign
The $1.56 million in donor contributions came through a grassroots capital campaign that started two years ago and represents about 450 individual donors, said Laragh Kavanaugh, executive director of Ketcha Outdoors, the parent company of the Portland Gear Hub.
Awareness of the organization’s mission and the fundraiser is spread mostly by word of mouth.
“People come to our shop,” she said. “We have big sign that says, ‘Donate bikes here.’ People say, ‘Oh, I thought you were just a retail shop.’ We say, ‘We’re a nonprofit bike shop and we rely on your donations and volunteer resources.’ Usually it’s an educational moment.”
The organization was at 155 Washington Ave. on a lease.
“We had benevolent landlords and they wanted to support us,” Kavanaugh said. “They offered to sell us the building.”
“The biggest product we sell is bikes and gear related to biking,” she said.
Photo / Courtesy Portland Gear Hub
Laragh Kavanaugh trained for the Tri for a Cure this year.
About three quarters of the space of about 1,800 square feet is a workshop where staff and volunteers repair, service and build bikes. The retail shop is about 400 square feet.
“Every day we wheel the bicycles for sale outside to our parking lot, which extends our retail space,” she said.
Customer numbers fluctuate between seasons: spring and summer are the busiest. Things quiet down in the fall and winter, but people still come in for cold-weather items such as used cross-country ski gear and snowshoes.
The Gear Hub also provides cross-country ski and snowshoe rentals at the Oxbow Beer Garden in Oxford for use on trails there.
Thousands of bikes
In addition to other outdoor gear, “We have thousands of bikes that have been donated,” said Kavanaugh.
Many are stored at Ketcha Outdoors’ facilities on 100 acres in Scarborough.
“The barn is full of bikes,” she said. “We put them in the cow run, in the changing rooms of the swimming pool area. We have a Quonset hut that we received grant funding to build. That is literally full of bikes.”
The Gear Hub is something of a niche shop.
“If you have an old-style bike that you’re trying to rebuild or refurbish, you can often come to us and say, ‘I’m looking for a derailleur from a certain type of bike from a certain year,’” she said. “And our staff will try to help you find the part and can advise you on your bike building project.”
Program expansion
The Gear Hub currently has five full-time and two part-time employees.
The property acquisition positions the nonprofit to expand its programs, she said.
Photo / Courtesy Portland Gear Hub
A small staff, plus volunteers, refurbish and resell donated outdoor gear.
Programs include Bikes for All Mainers, a free educational program that offers people ages 12 and over the opportunity to receive a bicycle, lock, lights and helmet and build skills in bicycle maintenance and safe riding. The program is designed to provide a bicycle for affordable transportation and recreation for anyone experiencing economic instability or hardship.
The Gear Hub operations are funded primarily by the sale of bikes. Eliminating rent costs and gaining financial stability will allow the organization to further invest in those programs plus more classes, volunteer development and community events.
The Gear Hub has been offering six to 10 Bikes for All Mainers classes throughout the summer. Classes culminate in a bike ride, when students learn about hand signals and rules of the road. Then they go home with a free bike.
“We provided 250 bikes in 2024 to community members for no cost,” said Kavanaugh.
Photo / Courtesy Portland Gear Hub
Portland Gear Hub has thousands of donated bikes, stored at Ketcha Outdoors in Scarborough, ready to be refurbished or used for parts.
Preparing for the programs don’t just involve building the bikes. There’s planning and marketing, working with partners to recruit people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to bikes, and teaching the classes.
“It’s a lot of bandwidth,” said Kavanaugh. “Now that we own the building, we can refocus our efforts to support these programs more.”
Additional goals include hosting new workshops and investing in volunteer development and community events.
She continues, “We also want to give away more bikes and expand our reach to other communities. I think we’ll have the bandwidth now to develop other partnerships in Portland and to build more bikes.”
For more information about the Portland Gear Hub and its programs, click here.
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