Trade your clunker for a bike, get up to $490

The Bicycle Trade Association of Canada will pay you up to $490 to replace four old wheels with two new ones.

That's better than the $300 you can get from the federal government for scrapping a pre-1996 clunker.

Both deals are offered through Retire Your Ride, Canada's national vehicle recycling program, delivered in Ontario by the Clean Air Foundation, which also runs the Car Heaven program that issues tax receipts for old cars donated to charity.

Lisa Tait, Retire Your Ride program director, says the bike program is intended mainly for purchase of high-end, hybrid, commuter cycles. (Hybrids combine features of road racing and mountain bikes.)

Models selling for up to $499 are eligible for a discount of $350 and those costing up to $749 earn $375. You get $420 if you spend $750 to $999, and the maximum $490 if you buy a bike priced at $1,000 or more.

Tait says 10,000 cars have been recycled since Ottawa began offering $300 Feb. 19, and 5,000 more applications are being processed. She hopes the bike program will up the numbers.

To take part in Ontario, you have to be ready to surrender a 1995 model year or older vehicle that's in running condition and has been registered and insured for the last six months. You start by applying online at retireyourride.ca or by phoning 1-877-773-1996.