January 2008 - TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Collectives and board of Directors
by plan_9＠riseup.net 21 Jan '08

21 Jan '08

Thus far the FM Community Bicycle Workshop has been operating as a 501c3 through a fiscal agency agreement with a local non-profit. The agreement is for a limited time period so I have been working on our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Tax forms. The crossroads were at with it though, is that we are set up to operate as a traditional collective (consensus, democratic decision making, non-authoritarian structure) with elements of Participatory Economics (we have worker councils set up). This doesn't seem to reconcile very cleanly with how the US wants non-profits to be structured with a traditional Board of Directors, Chair, Co-chair, Secretary, Treasurer, etc. So what I'm wondering is this: How do other groups that have a non-heirarchical organizational structure set up their bylaws and articles to reflect their values, yet be accepted as a legitimate by the state? I have been told by a few more non-standard organizations that they just set it up like "it's supposed to be" and then disregard it. I really don't want to do that since if it's on the books, we can be held accountable to it. These seem to be the logical options so far: 1. Collective as the Board of Directors. In this scenario we basically form the board using the collective members as board members and build our bylaws around our the rules and procedures that are outlined in our volunteer handbook. To get outside folks involved in this we could set up an advisory board that would give input but not make decisions that would meet something like once a quarter. 2. An Outside Board In this scenario we would form a board that would consist completely of outside individuals who are understanding of our mission and would represent the populations that we serve. The collective would serve the role of the executive director(s). In this situation we would be tasked with the day to day decisions of the FMCBW and have input into the Board of Directors but macro decisions such as funding, long term planning, would ultimately be decided by the Board of Directors. (This idea has already met with much opposition from the group so this is probably out) 3. A Mixed Board In this scenario we would form a board that would consist of some collective members and some outside community members. There could be checks and balances put into place to make sure that the collective continues to have real tangible input into the board of directors decision making. This would take some extra mechanics in our bylaws and is slightly non-standard in the non-profit world, (but is somewhat more standard in the business world) but in the end might be the best of both worlds if done correctly. For Example: We have a board of 9 people, four of which were collective members and five of which were outside community members that would represent the populations that we serve. We could run the board conservatively (as in more resistance to change, not politically of course) where we would put into our bylaws that we there must be Consensus U-3 to make binding decisions. This would enable the collective to block any proposals, given that they have solidarity on the issue, that the board may make that might be against the interest or the intent of the collectives mission. This method would also stand for electing new outside board members, ensuring that the integrity and intent of the organization would stay in line with the collectives mission. The numbers and methods are up in the air, of course, I was just using this as an example. These all have pros and cons to them. The collective as the board we would continue to have autonomous control over what we do and how we operate and would allow us to make decisions "light and fast" but at the loss of credibility, resources and the ever important perspective of the community. Having an outside board would make it easier to propose "self-serving" ideas, such as paying us wages, funding outside training, going to conferences, spending shop money to renumerate the collective. Plus it spreads the risk, it allows input from veterans in the non-profit world as well as access to their resources without begging. It would give us an air of credibility to some institutions that might take us "not so seriously". It also allows us to focus on building bikes, teaching bike maintenance, and developing our programs. The risk is that we don't have control over the board at all and are totally at their whims. We can put a good board in place that understands our values and mission but they are responsible for voting in new board members, and if their judgment isn't the same as ours, there is the potential that a few years down the road there could be a group of people directing us in a way we might not agree with at all, and could possibly disband the collective and appoint a director. The Mixed Board has potential to have the best of both worlds if executed correctly. If executed incorrectly it could possible result in some of the negative possibilities of both the the others. It would probably also take a little longer to make decisions, but since we are already operating fairly well we probably are done making rapid decisions. Sorry for the ridiculously long post, I decided not to chop it down in case this info is useful for the seemingly many new bike collectives that are in the works right now. Andrew FM Community Bicycle Workshop

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Re: [TheThinkTank] low cost lights
by troy neiman 18 Jan '08

18 Jan '08

Here in Tucson, it is fairly common for folks to get a generic mini maglight from the ace hardware or a sporting good store. these come with a few to many LED bulbs for the cost of 5-15 $ generally the more you spend the better quality the light. Then pick yourself up a couple of hose clamps and put one around the light and loop the second through the first and around the handle bar or stem. this creates a good adjustable, theft resistant bracket as good or better than that plastic crap on the market. This has been a great solution for many people. you get about 10-15 hours out of most of the lights and the cost is a relatively low 10-20 dollars for and aluminum body led light as opposed to a plastic one for the same price. Bike lights that are supposedly built for "bike riding" are probably one of the most frustrating things about the industry, i personally think they are all crap or overkill. > ----- Originale ----- > From: "1304bikes" <1304bikes(a)gmail.com> > To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Piles of freewheels? > Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:31:41 -0500 > > > Christopher, While the points you raise are valid and very good advice, I'm > afraid it doesn' help our shop out very much. We deal with a lot of > homeless and working class poeple who can not or would rather not spend $30 > on a bike light. Likewise, our organization doesn't have the funds to > provide every EAB paticipant with a full set of lights, even though we want > to. > > That being said, I'm still open to hearing what other shops have come > up with for inexpensive solutions to the light issue. I still feel that any > light is better than no light. > > -Doug > 1304bikes, Raleigh > > > > There is a physical problem with lights that are not powerful. As we > > humans get older our cornea become harder and do not open and close as > > quickly as in our youth. This leaves us blind to all but the brightest > > lights after we are hit in the face by car headlamps. I witnessed a cyclist > > disappear when he was backlit by car headlamps. He had a few $15 to $20 > > front flashers, a reflective vest, and reflective tape on the bike. Once he > > was back lit by a car all those inexpensive low wattage lamps were worthless > > to his safety > > > > If you do not invest in a bright light you will disappear when back lit > > and in other situations. The lesson I learned is simple if you are to be > > traffic at night time you need to act like traffic. If you can get the Cat > > Eye 520 at cost, it is about $30 and well worth it. 1200 candle power is > > close to the brightness of a car head lamp, 300 hour burn time with 4 AA > > batteries. When in traffic, act like traffic. If they are well lit, you > > should be equally lit to be seen. A flash light is not enough. > > > > > > I am not saying do not have fun with cheap lights too. I look like an > > alien space craft with all the cheap lights around my bike. I also have a > > serious head and tail light. I do make a spectacle of myself out on the road > > at night. Have fun and think about safety. > > > > Christopher Wallace > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in > > shape<http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489>in the new > > year. > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Thethinktank mailing list > > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > > > > > -- > 1304bikes > 2419 Mayview Rd. > Raleigh, NC > 1304bikes.org > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > y -- Want an e-mail address like mine? Get a free e-mail account today at www.mail.com!

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Bicycle Physics Curriculum
by AndaLaLucha 17 Jan '08

17 Jan '08

Hello, Free Ride has this exciting partnership with City High School in Pittsburgh in which we teach bicycle repair in a "How Things Work" Physics class. We had some lessons with tire pneumatics and Boyle's law and also a gear ratio lesson. I was wondering if people had other science related curricula planned? If so can you e-mail me or put it on the wiki? Also, I don't know if people know already but the Youth Bicycled Education Network has some useful curricula posted-- http://www.yben.org/category/resource-guide/curricula-and-lesson-plans/ Thanks, Andalusia P.S. I'm not sure if people know what Ghost bikes are- but they are pretty powerful memorials for cyclists who have died. There was a memorial ride in NYC last week to honor the 23+ cyclists who died last year and I did a radio report about it and wrote an article for those interested Article: http://www.indypendent.org/2008/01/12/a-silent-roadside-reminder/ Shorter Radio: http://www.fsrn.org/content/new-york-city%2526%2523039%3Bs-ghost-bikes-hono… Longer Radio: https://wiki.indypgh.org/cgi-bin/twiki/viewfile/Radio/Shows/2008x01x14?rev=…

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Lights
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 16 Jan '08

16 Jan '08

I always behave like i'm invisible to cars no matter how much illumination I have. Brian UBP If I taped ten thousand lightning bugs to my body I still would not put out much light, Barely a dim glow if I was lucky. It is not the number of lights that make you seen or not seen it is the brightness of the lights that matters. If you put on Aircraft landing lights on the front of your bike and shot a beam a half mile down the road I am sure you could not say "I always behave like i'm invisible to cars no matter how much illumination I have." If you said "I have a bunch of low lumen flash lights on my bike and I can not be seen by cars that have lots of lumens coming out of their headlamps, then I would have to say DUH! Car drivers are looking for traffic to have high lumen lights out on the road, if you wish to be treated like traffic, act like traffic! What would you think if a car had two little battery powered flash lights or little bicycle blinkers where its head lamps were supposed to be? Would you see the car if other brightly lit cars were around it or would it be near invisible? Brian you should behave like you are invisible when you have low lumen lights on your bike, because you are. You can either whine about it or change your choice of lights. I am asking you to Think, We are the Bicycle education leaders of our communities. Christopher Wallace **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

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The Build-A-Bike Team Building Workshop
by Jonathan Morrison 16 Jan '08

16 Jan '08

www.build-a-bike.com You know we are doing good when the for-profit takes the idea mainstream. It looks like these folks have a registered trademark on the "Build-A-Bike" name. -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Executive Director 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 Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Lights
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 15 Jan '08

15 Jan '08

Brian I agree with you and never assuming you can be seen. I too have a 12 volt system and I ride I bike I know I can not be seen by cars coming on to the road way from a drive or an alleyway. I ride a low racing recumbent. I am below window level and I know that drivers can not see through sheet metal. I also know I can see their lights as they approach the roadway. I have found they can see my light also. I slow down and they stop when they see the pavement lit up by my lights. When a driver is Pavlovian trained to stop when they see the cross pavement lit by head lights. I have witnessed every driver stop, that I have approached from the side at night with my 12 volt system. In the world of dim low lumen bike lights, cars could not see you. Few people can afford 12 volt high lumen lights. Now there is a much more cost effective high lumen lamps out there. My 12 volt system cost $360 now led lights with similar Lumen output are $60 retail, $30 cost. My 12 volt system would last up to 3 hours on a huge battery, now led lights with similar Lumen output last 300 hours on 4 AA batteries. My points are simple: Great lights are affordable by the masses now. Point two: Most people do not know about the brighter lamps and choose lights that keep them invisible to traffic because of the lack of education from bike shops to their customers. I like that lights are so much less money for the amount of light they put out. I have a handle bar in the shop with 6 different lamps on it. I have a customer go to the far side of the room and I turn on each light and let them look at difference between older flash lights or blinking lights, and the new more powerful advanced LED lights. Sale made. NO BS, Compare/ contrast and sell. I also took photographs of all the lights aimed at a white wall 40 feet away. I printed the photos and use that as a sales tool also. This is what the light really looks like and how wide a beam it puts out at the brightness level compared to the other lights I sell. There will always be people that choose the $12 dollar lights, Given a choice people will choose the brighter lights also. **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

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spoke cards for categorizing
by Erik Stockmeier 15 Jan '08

15 Jan '08

Hi all- Erik D S from The Recyclery (Chicago/Evanston) here. We're working on making up some laminated spoke cards for our wheel room this winter... the idea being to have an easy, reusable (dry erase marker) id system for wheels that can tell any major features, defects, etc. so that people don't have to go traipsing back and forth to the wheel room to find something that both fits a fork AND spins. some ideas i've had are: diameter ideal tire width range (c/o chart by sheldon brown) hub/locknut-locknut width # of cogs (for rear wheels) other notes (things that need tightening, loosening, truing, rounding, overhauling, missing spokes, oddsized axles, rare alloys, whatever) have any other shops done this? if so, what information have you found relevant to put on the cards? i'd like to keep it simple enough to make a volunteer/work trade task without superfluous options of information--a nice volunteer/work trade task. Thats all! thanks, erik

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Lights and being broke
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 14 Jan '08

14 Jan '08

In a message dated 1/14/2008 9:52:45 P.M. Central Standard Time, BovineOaks(a)aol.com writes: In a message dated 1/14/2008 7:33:01 A.M. Central Standard Time, 1304bikes(a)gmail.com writes: I still feel that any light is better than no light. This is true any light is better than dressing in all black and riding at night. I do (easily) sell the lights for $60 to walk in customers and sell them for cost $30 students and volunteers. My customers are the same low income folks you sell to. I have sold great lights to inner city low income folks in St louis, Indianapolis, Champaign- Urbana, Chicago's south and west side. I sell education and give people a choice to make them safer at night time. Many people who own 15 dollar bikes and will balk at a $20 dollar repair have spent $60 on a lamp. If you teach safety, biology, act like traffic, you can sell good product to "newly educated" people. Broke ass folks like me still spend money wisely when we know the "WHY" a product is needed. I can not afford to drive a car around but I can afford a great light. I can not afford to spend time in a hospital because someone did not see me, but I can afford a great light. I can not afford a box to be buried in but I can afford a great light. If a homeless person wanted to work for a lamp, I would give him a job worth $30. If they do not want to work I do not have time for them. No one give me bikes for free, they make sure I am working to make the world a better place before they donate a bike to me. I work hard, and I believe you do too. I have a recumbent I built out of recycled materials for $20 and it has $50 bucks of rear and front lights. Being broke ass does not mean you can not spend money to make life better, beer, shoes, lights, and a news paper once in a while. If you know how to sell safety (helmets, act like traffic, reflectors, tires, brake pads,) you can also sell good lights. Safety is not just for rich folk, it is for all peoples of our world. if a person had no brake pads and rotted tires would you just say ride on the rims, go slower and use your foot for the brake? Or would you sell (talk and encourage them to buy) product for themselves because they need it to be safe on the road? Or are they too poor to be safe? **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Piles of freewheels?
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 14 Jan '08

14 Jan '08

In a message dated 1/14/2008 7:33:01 A.M. Central Standard Time, 1304bikes(a)gmail.com writes: I still feel that any light is better than no light. This is true any light is better than dressing in all black and riding at night. I do (easily) sell the lights for $60 to walk in customers and sell them for cost $30 students and volunteers. My customers are the same low income folks you sell to. I have sold great lights to inner city low income folks in St louis, Indianapolis, Champaign- Urbana, Chicago's south and west side. I sell education and give people a choice to make them safer at night time. Many people who own 15 dollar bikes and will balk at a $20 dollar repair have spent $60 on a lamp. If you teach safety, biology, act like traffic, you can sell good product to "newly educated" people. Broke ass folks like me still spend money wisely when we know the "WHY" a product is needed. I can not afford to drive a car around but I can afford a great light. I can not afford to spend time in a hospital because someone did not see me, but I can afford a great light. I can not afford a box to be buried in but I can afford a great light. If a homeless person wanted to work for a lamp, I would give him a job worth $30. If they do not want to work I do not have time for them. No one give me bikes for free, they make sure I am working to make the world a better place before they donate a bike to me. I work hard, and I believe you do too. I have a recumbent I built out of recycled materials for $20 and it has $50 bucks of rear and front lights. Being broke ass does not mean you can not spend money to make life better, beer, shoes, lights, and a news paper once in a while. If you know how to sell safety (helmets, act like traffic, reflectors, tires, brake pads,) you can also sell good lights. Safety is not just for rich folk, it is for all peoples of our world. if a person had no brake pads and rotted tires would you just say ride on the rims, go slower and use your foot for the brake? Or would you sell (talk and encourage them to buy) product for themselves because they need it to be safe on the road? Or are they too poor to be safe? **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Piles of freewheels?
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 14 Jan '08

14 Jan '08

-Effective (i.e., non-destructive) Cottered Crank removal (and re-usage) -ways to prevent cold weather pawl freeze up in cassette hubs -Cheap lights for bikes (I've heard tell of some creative holiday string-light setups) -ideas for rust proofing/rust prevention concerning steel frames, spokes, hub bodies, etc... the stuff that typically looks drippy and nasty. There is a physical problem with lights that are not powerful. As we humans get older our cornea become harder and do not open and close as quickly as in our youth. This leaves us blind to all but the brightest lights after we are hit in the face by car headlamps. I witnessed a cyclist disappear when he was backlit by car headlamps. He had a few $15 to $20 front flashers, a reflective vest, and reflective tape on the bike. Once he was back lit by a car all those inexpensive low wattage lamps were worthless to his safety If you do not invest in a bright light you will disappear when back lit and in other situations. The lesson I learned is simple if you are to be traffic at night time you need to act like traffic. If you can get the Cat Eye 520 at cost, it is about $30 and well worth it. 1200 candle power is close to the brightness of a car head lamp, 300 hour burn time with 4 AA batteries. When in traffic, act like traffic. If they are well lit, you should be equally lit to be seen. A flash light is not enough. I am not saying do not have fun with cheap lights too. I look like an alien space craft with all the cheap lights around my bike. I also have a serious head and tail light. I do make a spectacle of myself out on the road at night. Have fun and think about safety. Christopher Wallace **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

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