For years, Colorado Springs native Gabe Alvarado looked forward to an annual event that brought together fellow cyclists to buy and sell bikes, gear and apparel. Then he learned the event might be ending; the organizer was moving on. 

“A lot of friends really enjoyed it in years past, and I enjoyed it as well,” Alvarado recalled. “I was like, What’s preventing us from continuing this?”

Thanks to him, other volunteers and partnering nonprofits and small businesses, the Colorado Springs Bike Swap they started is marking a 10th year. 

On May 9, buyers and sellers will again converge at SoccerHaus, which will take on the feel of a bike-centric farmers market, as Alvarado likes to describe the swap.

“Where everyone’s just part of the community and they’re all super helpful,” he said.

The swap that Saturday will run from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., with vendor setup starting at 9 a.m. Buyers get in for $5 and vendor spaces range from $25-$120. Spots can be purchased via the event’s website: tinyurl.com/5ahfyruk

Also, the swap will return the bike corral — “like a giant used bike sales lot,” Alvarado said. Sellers can add bikes for $15 each and leave them under supervision; they’ll get a call if a buyer is interested. 

Prospective buyers have numbered between 700-800 in recent years, Alvarado said. He said vendors have ranged between 15-20 bike shops and small businesses “and then about 40 or 50 other just regular joe blow sellers like you’d meet on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.”

They look to unload bikes, parts and attire from their garages while buyers look to stock up and save ahead of the riding season — just as Alvarado envisioned 10 years ago. 

The years have seen economic changes for much bigger swaps, such as Denver’s VeloSwap, which came under nonprofit ownership in 2023. 

In Colorado Springs, “it’s just a grassroots kind of thing,” Alvarado said. “We didn’t have this grandiose vision of, you know, having it take off into this multi-day thing. It’s just, keep it cost effective and smaller sellers and smaller businesses.”

Keeping it simple — that’s been his aim. 

“I’ve been riding for 25 years, so it’s always just been a passion for me,” he said. “But then when I see my friends and people in the industry doing well or getting great deals or making money, it’s a win-win.”