TheThinkTank November 2007

thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org

36 participants
24 discussions

Is there a collective in New Orleans?
by Jonathan Morrison 06 Dec '12

06 Dec '12

Email me if you know of one. -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Project Coordinator Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org

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Tools for starters
by Ariel raymon 02 Aug '08

02 Aug '08

Hey everyone, Ariel from bikefarm here. We're starting to make our space into a shop, and are looking at the tools we need to purchase. Suggestions on bare minimum tools for a funcitoning shop would be really helpful, as we'll be making a large order from the UBI distributors in a month or so. Also, Are there grants for things like this? Thanks, Ariel

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selling bikes
by Liza Mattana 25 Jan '08

25 Jan '08

if this has been answered before, can you link me to the archive thread? my questions is how does your org price used bikes? we've come across some nice older bikes (bridgestone CB-0 and an old stumpjumper), and we're trying to figure out a way to price them, kind of a way to standardize the process. we'll be turning them into commuter bikes with fenders and racks and making them safe and rideable, but we're not doing complete overhauls. i know this is a tricky question, but any advice you have will be helpful! thanks, liza -- Liza Mattana www.pedals2people.org Spokane, WA

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Waivers of Liability
by plan_9＠riseup.net 30 Nov '07

30 Nov '07

Hey, We just had our first news story done and we are swamped with donated bikes, before we are even done doing the shop fit-up. In addition to this, our local police dept. has donated 200 bikes that they want picked up this weekend. In order to process this many bikes to fit in our smallish space, we need to break most of them down, recycle the junk, and get organized fast. We will be asking the community as a whole to come help us tear these bikes down over the weekend and need to make sure we are covered legally from anything happening in the shop. In addition to getting our insurance squared away, we would like to have a liability waiver to sign, maybe in conjunction with our work-trade sheets that every volunteer fills out to account for hours. Does anyone have a good liability waiver that they wouldn't mind posting to the wiki or emailing me a copy of? We don't really have time to find a lawyer before we need the waiver. Thanks, Andrew FM Community Bicycle Workshop

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Coaster Brake Hub Overhaul
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 27 Nov '07

27 Nov '07

The coaster brake hub has the following parts from the drive side to the brake arm side for Suntour and Bendix hubs. When you are trying to put the hub back together this is the order you will need to follow. Axle, Axle nut Washer Lock nut (Thin) Adjusting cone 1" ball bearing retainer with 1/4 inch balls Driver with retaining ring, cog and some have dust caps 1 1/4" ball bearing retainer with 1/4 inch balls Hub shell Clutch ( Usually made of three parts, one being a spring) Brake pads (Some have clutch pads and brake pads) Stationary expander 1 1/4" ball bearing retainer with 1/4 inch balls Dust cap Brake arm Keyed (With chain stay clamp, nut and bolt) Washer Lock nut (Thick) Washer Axle nut Tools needed: Bench Vice, Can be a small 3' Jaw, clamp on vice, or a full size bolted to the table vice. Two cone wrenches to fit the lock nut and adjusting cone, (15 MM and 9/16" or 17 MM are normal) Magnet, Rod or Pen style is nice. Grease (you get to choose the quality you like) Shop rags to remove old grease. Disassembly Procedure The order parts go into the hub shell and the orientation they go into the hub shell are important. Flipping brake pads, bearing retainers, brake arm, hub shell, or adjusting cone can be a really bad thing. As you take parts off the axle, Lift them straight up, and over to a rag, place them in the order you take them off and in the orientation they were on the axle. Do not flip them over in your hand as you put them down on the shop rag. Place a shop rag beside a bench vice. Take off both sets of axle nuts and washers and put them on a rag. One set (nut/washer) in one corner of the rag and one set (nut/washer) on the other corner at the top of the shop rag. Hold the hub so the axle is pointed towards the ceiling and the floor with the brake arm on the bottom side of the hub shell Place the lock nut next to the brake arm in the jaws of the vice, (DO NOT put the axle threads in the jaws) Put the correct cone wrenches on the Lock Nut and the Adjusting Cone. Hold the Adjusting Cone still as you loosen the Lock Nut. put your cone wrenches down. Use your fingers to unscrew the Lock Nut and place it beside the washer on the rag. Use your fingers to unscrew the Adjusting Cone and place it beside the Lock Nut on the rag, Orientation is important. Use the magnetic pen to remove the 1" ball bearing retainer and place it beside the Adjusting Cone on the rag. Orientation is important. Use your fingers to twist the Driver out of the hub shell, place it beside the Ball Bearing Retainer on the rag. It may fall on its side. Use the magnetic pen to remove the 1 1/4" ball bearing retainer and place it beside the Driver on the rag. Orientation is important. In the next step the brake pads will fall out the bottom of the hub shell. If you wrap one finger and a thumb below the bottom flange of the hub shell to catch the brake pads as they fall out. Grasp the hub shell and lift it off the axle. Place it on the rag beside the 1 1/4" ball bearing retainer. Orientation is important. Pick the brake pad off the floor and place them on the rag beside the hub shell. ( I knew you would drop them the first time, you will get better at catching them) Remove the Clutch and place it on the rag beside the Brake Pads. Orientation is important, and the Suntour Clutch likes to fall over. If you have a digital camera take a photo of the parts and their orientation before you clean. This is all that you need to remove to rebuild a hub. If you want to disassemble the rest do the next list, if not skip and go to Cleaning Grasp the Brake Arm and twist it counter clock wise. Loosen the bench vice jaws from the lock nut. Use your fingers to remove the lock nut, place it on the rag next to the second set of axle (nut/washer) Remove the Brake arm and place it on the rag beside the Lock Nut. Orientation is important. Remove Dust Cap from Stationary Expander, and place it beside Brake Arm, Orientation is important. Using your fingers unscrew the Stationary Expander Push on both sides of the 1 1/4" ball bearing retainer to pop it off the Stationary Expander. Place the Stationary Expander beside the Dust Cap, Orientation is important. Place the 1 1/4" ball bearing retainer beside the Stationary Expander. Orientation is important. If you have a digital camera take a photo of the parts and their orientation before you clean. Cleaning I prefer to use a rag and no cleaners. If you use a green color bio degreaser it will work a little better if it is warmed up to 120 F. If you use a Yellow citrus degreaser, use gloves and ventilation. The green stuff is a strong detergent and the yellow is an aromatic citrus acid. If I do not use a solvent then I do not have to remove the solvent from the part with a second compound. Detergents remover the citrus and water removes the detergents from your parts. I like to push out all the bearings out of the retainers and replace them with new grade 300 balls. Grade 25 Campagnolo quality bearings would be overkill. I wipe all the grease I can get off the bearing cups/ cones and the threads of the clutch/ driver. There are also new parts washers that use warm detergent if you like to use big tools. Wash with water after to remove the detergent. Place all the parts back on the shop rag in the correct order and orientation. Reassembly If you did not remove the brake arm from the axle then skip the next nine lines. In the correct orientation place the 1 1/4" ball bearing retainer on the Stationary Expander In the correct orientation screw the Stationary Expander about 1 1/2" onto the Axle In the correct orientation place the Dust Cap on the Stationary Expander In the correct orientation place the Brake Arm on the Stationary Expander Place the Washer against the Brake Arm Screw the Lock Nut on the axle up to the washer, Keep the assembly loose so you can adjust it. I use the 1" Ball Bearing Retainer as a measuring tool to determine where the lock nut is supposed to be. I hold the assembly in one hand and twist the Axle in or out of the rest of the loose assembly until one inch is sticking out from the Lock Nut. Check that the Stationary expander is snug against the lock nut. Place the Lock nut into the jaws of the bench vice. Grasp the Brake arm and tighten it clockwise as hard as you hand will allow. No hammering needed. In the correct orientation place the Clutch on the Axle and onto the Stationary Expander, Twist the clutch until it locks into the Stationary Expander. Look at the inside of the brake pads, Bendix pads will have one end smooth and one end with dents in the surface finish. The smooth sides of the brake pads push against the stationary expanders smooth ramps. on the other end of the brake pad will be little dent marks from the rough edges of the Clutch ramps. Grease up the inside of the Hub Shell and the bearing race cups at the end of the Hub Shell. The more the merrier The following is a strange skill I learned form a good teacher. Place the brake pads between the ears of the Stationary Expander. Pinch the pads as far to the bottom of them as you can. Slide the Hub Shell down over the pads. Do not release your fingers and push the shell down, Let the Hub Shell push your fingers out of the way as you slowly push it down. Twist the Hub Shell to make sure it is seated correctly over the lower bearings. No bearing should be visible from the outside. Install the Upper 1 1/4 bearing retainer, Orientation is important. Grease the Driver cup and cone surfaces. Install the Driver into the Hub Shell, twist it into the Clutch. Install the 1" Ball Bearing Retainer into the Driver. Install the Cone, Orientation is important. Install the Lock Nut Using the appropriate Cone Wrenches adjust the cone and lock it into place. Check the hub adjustment to see if it is too tight or too loose. We have been holding races with our students to Disassemble, name all the parts, and reassemble a coaster brake hub. These were hubs cleaned of all their grease and just for such races. The top time so far is 2:36 Two minutes thirty six seconds. Pinching the brake pads is a real trick. Christopher Wallace BicycleEducation(a)aol.com **************************************Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest products. (http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)

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coaster brakes
by Macho Philipovich 27 Nov '07

27 Nov '07

any shops have coaster brake materials they'd like to share? thanks, macho

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full-timers/directors/project coordinators: how's the job treating you?
by rachael spiewak 27 Nov '07

27 Nov '07

since taking on directing sopo full time, i've come to find that this job is all kinds of intense. wonderful, but exhausting. i'm wondering.. how much if it is me and how much of it is this job? is it unique to community bike shops, or is it like this for other kinds of organizations? or is it more about the organization being a start-up? for the folks in a similar position: what's your day like? hanging in there? thanks! rachael

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tool order
by tom m. 27 Nov '07

27 Nov '07

tips please on how to order tools, I know... go to parktools.com but more detail, exactly what do you do there? _________________________________________________________________ You keep typing, we keep giving. Download Messenger and join the i’m Initiative now. http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=TAGLM

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Re: [TheThinkTank] full-timers/directors/project coordinators: how's the job treating you?
by omar 26 Nov '07

26 Nov '07

it seems the "get organized" vs. "more leftist than thou" dynamic plays out at all levels of many community bike projects. when our ed left in 2001, the 4 full time staff members stepped up to manage our organization collectively. by 2005, 3 of the 4 had left because, bottom line, they couldn't work together, and projects had dropped to the point that we'd atrophied to a single community bike shop. now, realizing that shit flows downhill and if someone's going to clean it up they should be recognized for it, we've developed a hierarchy, people have assumed managerial and coordinator roles, and we're once again getting a lot done. there are still folks who complain that there's too much structure and want to make things more egalitarian - funnily enough though, they're also the ones who rarely step up, have a hard time showing up to work their shifts and don't seem to get much done. i love my job. its crazy and stressful some days, constantly challenging, infinitely rewarding and a hell of a lot of fun. -- omar bhimji project manager pedal bike depot p. 604.708.4992

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Bicycle Co-Ops & Zoning?
by Jake Liefer 26 Nov '07

26 Nov '07

Hello, I operate a small bike Co-op in a small, run down town called Beaver Falls, PA. We're looking into purchasing a location and think we've found the perfect spot. It's a former business / house with a three car garage and a large glass storefront area. The only problem is that it's zoned residential even though it used to be a business many years ago. The street is pretty run down, with three of the four 'neighbors' being vacant housing, so I'm not too worried about neighbors complaining about it. I'd like to paint our logo on the garage but I'm afraid that it my draw too much attention from the zoning people. Do any of your co-ops operate in non-commercialy zoned space? Have you had any problems arise because of it? Thanks, Jake

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TheThinkTank November 2007