Originally Posted by
rachel120
people have mentioned something called a co-op. I'm assuming it's a social group, but what is it exactly? How do you find them?
As stated by someone above, find them with the name of your city and bicycle co-op in a search engine.
Here's a link to the co-op(s) near me, as an example of what they are. I like them because they have bins full of inexpensive used bike parts that they let customers browse through.
Bikes Together | Denver's Nonprofit Bike Shop
Helpful tip: bring gloves if you're going parts-bin scrounging. Old bike parts are often dirty, sticky, and/or smelly.