There's beauty in a spoke or a wheel, a banana seat or a set of handlebars. The challenge is finding it, and the artists in the seventh annual Bike Part Art Show have done just that.

Imagine an elegant light fixture that, on closer look, is made of bike chains. Or a quirky garden sculpture that uses a brake set to make a face. There's jewelry from crocheted wire, sculptures infused with ball bearings, paintings that incorporate gears.

"These artists see the beauty of bike parts as separate from something you can use on a bike," said Kate Duncan, who is coordinating the event. "It's amazing to see the variety. You can't even say there's a typical bike-art piece."

Dozens of well-known local artists will have their wares on display at Studio 34, 4522 Baltimore Ave., now through next Friday, when these unique pieces go to the highest bidders in a silent auction. Pieces can sell for $30 to $1,000. Items in the $10 range will be for sale at an adjoining craft boutique. Among the artists are Warren Muller of Bahdeebahdu gallery, and Katie van Vliet, who uses parts of her own bike as it changes and undergoes repairs.

Proceeds from the sales of the donated items benefit Neighborhood Bike Works, a West Philadelphia nonprofit organization that promotes cycling to urban youths.

"This is about helping kids get bikes and exercise and the feelings of empowerment and freedom that go with it," Neighborhood Bike Works director Andy Dyson said. "Plus, it's a good time, and you can buy some reasonably priced art."

Neighborhood Bike Works operates with a budget of about $200,000, and this fund-raiser in the past has brought in as much as $10,000. That's a major chunk of the revenue, Dyson notes, and it could be even more significant this year as normally reliable government funding sources have dried up.

"This is very important to us," Dyson said.

Among Neighborhood Bike Works' many offerings is Earn a Bike, an eight-week program that teaches basic bike repair and rewards participants with a bike if they put in enough hours. About 350 youths put in enough hours to earn a bike each year.

There's also a racing team, as well as summer and after-school programs. Sue Ellen Klein, a former Neighborhood Bike Works board member who helped launch the first art show, said she has stuck with the organization for so long because she believes in it.

"It starts with the love of cycling and wanting to have bikes, and it builds on that," she said. "The kids learn substantial skills and how to achieve goals, and they love the opportunity."

The group's approach is multidisciplinary, she said, as it shines a spotlight on concepts such as fitness while stressing sustainability: Biking is better for the environment - and the human body - than driving a car. Neighborhood Bike Works recycles old machines to keep them from ending up in landfills. Broken or unusable bike parts are recycled yet again by the artists who support the Bike Part Art Show.

"It's an amazing concept," Klein said.

But let's not forget the art. One of Dyson's favorite pieces is a fish made of brake levers because "it's all about looking at an object and seeing something else in it." Duncan can go on and on about her many favorites, including mounted bike seats painted to look like animals, such as a zebra and an antelope. Klein said she once purchased a silver bikini made of bike parts. It hangs in her home. ("It certainly doesn't fit me," she said quickly.)

"People are hugely creative and very generous with their time. I'm always amazed by some of the things people have done," Klein said. "What I would love is to see this become an event that's anticipated among the Philadelphia art scene, where people say, 'The Bike Part Art Show! That'll be in the fall.' "

Bike Part Art Show

Works will be on display now through next Friday at Studio 34, 4522 Baltimore Ave. All items will be available for sale during a silent auction from 7 to 10 p.m. next Friday. The event will feature music, and food and beverages will be sold. A $5 donation is suggested. Information: www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org/.