SoliCycle

What SoliCycle does

SoliCycle is a French non-profit association (association loi 1901) that operates a network of solidarity-based bicycle workshops across the Ile-de-France region. It combines environmental and social objectives, functioning as a "chantier d'insertion" (insertion workplace): recovered and donated bicycles are refurbished for resale or stripped for parts, while creating training and employment pathways for people in difficulty. The organization runs six active workshop locations (Paris 18ème, Paris 14ème, Bezons, Les Ulis, Garges-lès-Gonesse, Plaine Commune / Saint-Denis), with a former site in Clichy-la-Garenne now permanently closed.

Service revenue derives from five streams: household membership at €20/year enabling self-repair workshop access; sale of refurbished bicycles priced €10-€150; paid repair packages (revision and full-restoration); clearance and donation-collection services (€200 per operation or €5 per bike); and a B2B/B2G mobile workshop offering for enterprises and local authorities that includes on-site repairs, Bicycode registration, team-building, fleet management, and cycling-promotion events. Distribution is primarily physical and community-led, with go-to-market executed through workshops, social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn), and a dedicated enterprise contact (Ediman DIBO, [email protected]). No external capital, patents, or third-party institutional investors are disclosed; the organization is funded through membership fees, donations, and earned service revenue.

Name

SoliCycle

Legal name

SoliCycle

Website

https://solicycle.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SoliCycle is a French non-profit association running six solidarity bicycle workshops across Ile-de-France that refurbish donated bikes, deliver self-repair and paid repair services to community members, and provide mobile workshop and fleet services to enterprises and local governments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bicycle Repair and Recycling Services

NAICS

Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance (8114)

akta.pro primary industry

Bike Service, Repair & Maintenance Shops (CRAMAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Used & Refurbished Bike Retail (CRAMAHAK), Material Reuse & Upcycling Services (Non-recycling Transformation) (EUAIANAJ)

Keywords

• Bicycle repair services
• Used bicycle sales
• Community repair workshops
• Mobile bike workshops
• Bicycle recycling services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual household membership at 20€/year providing access to self-repair workshops, purchase of used bikes, and parts at reduced prices.
2. Used Bicycle Sales: Sale of refurbished bicycles recovered from donations, priced between 10€ and 150€ to ensure accessibility regardless of income.
3. Repair Services: Revision and full restoration service packages for bicycles, including express repairs for common issues like inner tubes, tires, cables, and brake pads.
4. Clearance/Collection Services: Building clearance services for old bicycles at 200€ per operation or 5€ per bike collected. Supports the supply of bikes for recycling.
5. Enterprise and Collectivite Services: Mobile workshop services for businesses and local governments including on-site repairs, team-building activities, bicycle marking (Bicycode), safety training, and fleet management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

SoliCycle is a French non-profit association (association loi 1901) operating community bicycle repair workshops, selling used/refurbished bicycles, and providing mobile bicycle repair services across the Île-de-France region. The organization combines social and environmental impact through bicycle circular economy, employing insertion workers and offering community-based repair education, while also serving enterprises and local governments through dedicated mobile workshop services and fleet management.

Product overview

SoliCycle is a non-profit association operating a network of solidarity-based bicycle workshops across Ile-de-France. The organization provides a unified service portfolio centered on bicycle repair, recycling, and community engagement: core self-repair workshops (autoréparation) enable members to service their own bikes with guidance; used bicycle sales and donations support circular economy goals; professional repair services (Forfait Révision and Forfait Remise en état) offer staffed repairs; and Bicycode marking provides bicycle registration. For businesses and local authorities, SoliCycle offers mobile workshops and fleet management services. The various workshop locations throughout Ile-de-France (Paris 14ème, Paris 18ème, Bezons, Les Ulis, Garges, Plaine Commune) operate as part of a single associative network under one membership system (€20/year per household).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Self-Repair Workshops (Autoréparation)

Quantifiable outcome

• Minimum 300 bicycles recovered annually in initial operations
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Bicyclo / Maison du Vélo Saint-Denis: Federation of cycling-promotion associations in Île-de-France. Operates the Maison du Vélo referenced in SoliCycle's Plaine Commune contact address, indicating a partnership/ecosystem relationship in the same territory.

Broad incumbents

• Bouticycle: Federation of independent bicycle shops in France. Represents the established for-profit bike-retail channel against which SoliCycle's membership and used-bike economics compete for price-sensitive customers.
• Emmaüs: National French movement running insertion activities through reuse and recycling. SoliCycle's chantier d'insertion model and donation-driven supply chain mirror Emmaüs's social-inclusion approach at much broader scale.
• Envie: French network of insertion enterprises focused on refurbishing and reselling second-hand goods. Highly comparable social-economy structure and reuse-first mission to SoliCycle, though broader than bicycles.
• La Recyclerie: Paris-based social enterprise combining a café, urban farm, and reuse/repair workshops. Shares SoliCycle's social-and-environmental impact positioning and community workshop format.

Direct peers

• L'Heureux Cyclage: National network of solidarity bicycle workshops in France offering self-repair sessions and refurbished bike sales. Operates the closest analog to SoliCycle's community-led atelier model at greater geographic scale.
• Repair Café: International network of community repair workshops including bicycles, where volunteers help members fix their own items. Highly comparable community-repair operating philosophy applied to SoliCycle's self-repair sessions.
• Cyclofix: Paris-based mobile bicycle repair service sending mechanics to homes and offices. Directly competes with SoliCycle's mobile workshop enterprise offering and shares the on-site repair positioning.
• Atelier 2 Roues: Paris-based participatory bicycle workshop offering self-repair sessions, refurbished bike sales, and repair training. Operates a near-identical service mix to SoliCycle in the same Paris market.

Emerging players

• Mobile en Ville: Mobile bicycle repair and on-site maintenance service for businesses and individuals in France. Comparable mobile-workshop enterprise offering competing for the same B2B customers as SoliCycle.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLJ9QY0cAZ4WwxG0exFC2bBl1Ax0uzpT5y
• Facebookfacebook.com/SoliCycle
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/solicycle
• Instagraminstagram.com/solicycleidf/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SoliCycle