Dendermonde (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Bike Library in Dendermonde, Belgium, has completed five years of providing children with access to affordable bicycles, prompting volunteers to celebrate the milestone on Saturday morning.
This event turned out to be an occasion when the volunteers expressed their gratitude to the people who have been helping the initiative to succeed since its foundation. “As it is our celebration of the successful initiative in the community,” the volunteers explained why this particular event had to be celebrated. This evaluation is justified by the fact that this service is important for the families who do not have enough money to buy the bicycles that would need to be changed regularly.
The actual date and place of the celebration were not mentioned, and there were no reliable data on how many volunteers and families were present at the celebration. Moreover, the number of the bicycles which had been lent by the Dendermonde branch during the last five years of its existence was not released.
How does the Bike Library operate?
The Dendermonde programme is one of the projects under the Belgian Fietsbieb programme, also known as Children’s Bicycle Library. The Fietsbieb programme works with volunteers to offer children second-hand bicycles that are fixed and checked before being made available for borrowing. The Fietsbieb program is organized as a community-based lending scheme instead of a traditional bicycle shop.
The children can borrow a bicycle for a year and then exchange the bike after their growing needs. The idea behind the programme is that the children get access to a good bicycle without having to keep buying a new one. The Fietsbieb project belongs to beweging.net and works through volunteers from its local branches. The volunteers work by receiving donated bicycles, checking their condition, doing some repair work, managing membership, and helping the families during the borrowing process.
The philosophy of the organization is based on affordability, reuse, and solidarity. The bikes are borrowed locally, and donated or used bicycles are reused rather than thrown away.
Who can use the service?
Fietsbieb is designed for children up to 12 years of age. The yearly membership for a regular member amounts to €30, while the membership price for families that have a higher allowance amount is set at €10. Additionally, a membership implies the payment of the deposit for each bike that equals to €20. Thus, the upfront cost for a regular member will be €50 that covers the price of membership and the deposit.
For those who pay the reduced price of membership, the upfront cost is €30. It should be noted that the bikes are able to be changed during the membership period in case a bigger bike is needed by the child. This aspect is especially important taking into consideration the fast growth of children. Upon the expiration of one year of the contract, the bike is to be returned to the lending point, where the deposit will be returned after checking the condition of the bike.
Have similar milestones occurred elsewhere?
Dendermonde anniversary comes at the heels of similar milestones in other parts of Belgium within the Fietsbieb network. In November 2023, another local branch announced the registration of their 100th loaned bicycle. This time, the organisers used the same milestone to solicit for more volunteers. Some branches have celebrated through opening of new offices and hosting of various events. The Fietsbieb branch in Herentals shifted to a new office space in January 2025. Similarly, a new branch in Wingene opened up in an old bank office and was soliciting for volunteers.
Additionally, another Fietsbieb in Kapellen held an open day in April 2024. The open day gave people a chance to see the available bicycles and engage with volunteers. These few examples highlight that development of the network has occurred through new branches, better offices, open days, volunteer solicitation and bicycle lending milestones. The wider Fietsbieb network covers regions such as Dendermonde including Buggenhout, Denderleeuw, Hamme and Dendermonde. Therefore, the local anniversary celebrates both the sustainability of one branch and expansion of a wider Belgian community-bicycle movement.
