Critical Mass is a leaderless movement that began in San Francisco, California, in 1992 and has since spread to cities and countries around the world. It organizes monthly bicycle rides both to celebrate bicycles and human-powered vehicles and to protest their marginalization as a form of traffic, as well as other issues. Though Critical Mass has been organizing rides in Winnipeg since at least 1999, it came to prominence in May 2006, when force was used to arrest a number of ride participants, leading to accusations of police brutality. Though Critical Mass became less active following these events, its name is still used by community organizers.

The W.R.E.N.C.H. (Winnipeg Repair Education and Cycling Hub) is a registered charity that was founded in 2010 to provide community bike programing to schools, community members, and other organizations with the aim of supporting and promoting the use of active transportation options that are sustainable and affordable. In addition to operating its own bike repair shop that opened its doors in 2011 and reclaiming discarded bikes, it supports other bike shops in schools and around the community.